Triumphs

Legislative and Advocacy Successes

New Jersey State Department of Education (NJDOE) Prior Successes

School-Based Speech-Language Pathology Services During Emergency Situations: A Guide for Practitioners and Districts (July 2020): NJSHA was invited to provide to the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) recommendations and input regarding best practices when responding to emergency school closures under a temporary rule modification to allow the use of teletherapy.

This detailed document provides guidance for school-based SLSs and Districts regarding telepractice during emergency school closures, including technical needs of SLSs and students; therapy and assessment; and reopening /recovery suggestions for personal and environmental health.

School-Based Speech-Language Pathology Services During Emergency Situations: A Guide for Practitioners and Districts

New Jersey Tiered System of Supports (NJTSS) (2015): NJTSS is a framework of academic and behavioral supports and interventions to improve student achievement, based on the core components of multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS) and the three-tier prevention logic of Response to Intervention (RTI). With a foundation of strong district and school leadership, a positive school culture and climate, and family and community engagement, NJTSS builds upon intervention and referral services (I&RS) and gives schools a structure to meet the academic, behavioral, health, enrichment, and social-emotional needs of all students. NJTSS

Dyslexia Handbook (2015): The purpose of The New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook: A Guide to Early Literacy Development & Reading Struggles is to provide information to educators, students, families, and community members about dyslexia, early literacy development, and the best practices for identification, instruction, and accommodation of students who have reading difficulties. Dyslexia Handbook

Student Growth Objectives for School based SLPs: SGOs are long-term academic goals for groups of students set by teachers/SLSs in consultation with their supervisors.

New Jersey Framework for the Evaluation of Speech-Language Specialists (2013): Introduction to the NJSHA-recommended New Jersey Framework for the Evaluation of Speech-Language Specialists. Evidence of Effectiveness for the New Jersey Framework for the Evaluation of Speech-Language Specialists

Elimination of Emergency Certification (2013): After years of meeting with staff at the Department of Education (DOE) and the Governor’s office and delivering oral and written testimony before the Board of Education (BOE), NJSHA was finally successful in seeing the elimination of the use of emergency certification for speech-language specialists working in schools. It was replaced with Certificate of Eligibility (CE) which mandates that the holder be matriculated in a master’s degree program in speech-language pathology/communications disorders (versus enrolled – the wording in the old emergency which NJSHA long fought to change. Elimination of Emergency Certification (2013)

 

NJSHA Members Appointments

  • NJSHA is very pleased to announce that the five people NJSHA recommended to the Governor’s Office for open positions on the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Committee (our licensing board) have been appointed!! The people are:
    • Dr. Janet Koehnke, audiologist, reappointment
    • Dr. Kristen Victorino, speech-language pathologist
    • MaryAnne Ferraioli, speech-language pathologist
    • Al Faella, public member
    • Dr. Didier Peron, Board of Otolaryngology
    • Jeanine Gleba, public member

    The role of the committee is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of New Jersey; regulate the practice of audiology and speech-language pathology; and ensure that audiology and speech-language pathology is performed in compliance with State law.

    The Board protects the public by:

    • making sure that audiologists and speech-language pathologists meet all educational requirements for licensure;
    • investigating and prosecuting audiologists and speech-language pathologists who have broken the state’s consumer protection laws; and
    • requiring all audiologists and speech-language pathologists to be licensed by the state and to renew their licenses every two years.
  • The Aphasia Task Force: Linda M. Tucker-Simpson, Janice Dibling, Dr. Mary Jo Santo Pietro
  • Literacy Work Group convened 2024 by Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz:  Dr. Karen Kimberlin
  • Hearing Aid Dispensers Examining Committee (HADEC):  Maryann Pladdys, AuD and Kenneth Bodkin, AuD
  • Hearing Impairment Task Force: Olivia VanWagner
  • NJSHA was a stakeholder on New Jersey Tiered System of Supports 2016-2019: School Affairs Representatives – Sue Goldman and Mary Faella
  • New Jersey Dyslexia Task Force (2014-2017): Karen T. Kimberlin

Learn more about state issues and get involved by contacting the legislative chair at info@njsha.org.