SCSHA 2000 Conference Wrap Up

     The party's over---and WHAT A PARTY! 700 attendees, 27 sessions, one very live auction, 2 1/2 days of networking, learning, laughing and celebrating who we are and what we do. I hope you didn't miss it, but if you did, you can plan to join the SCSHA 2001 Conference in Charleston. Your suggestions for topics, speakers, and logistics are appreciated. You will see some of them implemented in next years conference. Conference evaluations indicated that the membership was very pleased with the bound handout booklets. Many of you want to have ALL session handouts in the book. Presently only handouts for speakers from out-of-state or allied professions are bound. We decided that instate speakers handouts can easily be requested or accessed from the SCSHA website. It cost $5000 to produce this years booklet and adding ALL speaker's handouts would be cost prohibitive.
     Your feedback also indicated that you really liked the auction and the motivational speaker. You also felt positive about the diversity of topics, to the point that it was sometimes hard to choose. School forum was the usual popular hit, and we are making plans to provide more space, time etc. to better accommodate this outstanding offering of information. Be sure to commend Piedmont Consortium Members for presenting such an excellent and useful array of information.
     Negative feedback was almost exclusively about the hotel and location. The problem with difficulty in finding places to eat and getting back in time for the beginning of the afternoon sessions has been examined and will be addressed. The hotel has been notified regarding other problems and options are being discussed now. Conventions as big as ours are booked 3 years in advance so your input is influential in determining the location of the 2003 Conference. We're looking at some ideas for revised scheduling, including possibly adding an evening session. Next year's conference in Charleston will be held over a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, NOT the Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule we're accustomed to. I'd really like membership input regarding scheduling a Sunday morning session or a Friday or Saturday evening session. Email me at eetaj@AOL.com with your inclination.
     The honor system and the session identification number system for CEU credit was not as successful as we had hoped. We were disappointed to learn that some people took down the numbers without really attending the full session. We are working on yet another method to insure integrity.
     There are so many people to acknowledge for all they did for this year's Conference. These self-sacrificing colleagues include members of the Executive Council, the Board, and Convention Committee members, especially Dee Cotton on program, John Fallon on transportation, Crystal Murphree-Holden on CEUs, Danielle Varnedoe and Maria Houston on Hospitality, and Jane Senn on Entertainment. What a great group of people to work with!!! The Central Office staff cannot be matched!! Aimee, Pat, MaryAnn and Jamie are WIZARDS!! They make everything work out like magic! They know where to find all the answers and how to do everything! Combining them with capable, reliable convention committee members was good alchemy! Together they created a great conference---and they are already at work to do it again next year!! See you there!! February 8-11, 2001 Embassy Suites Charleston Convention Center/Coliseum.

In the most recent INTOUCH we failed to include the names of two other SCSHA members who presented at ASHA last November. Congratulations to Dr. Leigh Ann Spell and Dr. Mary Steppling, Columbia College for having their papers accepted for presentation at our national conference. If you or any of your colleagues presented at ASHA and we failed to announce your good news, please write to the editor at rmillsa@aol.com or telephone 864-579-9611.

     The Piedmont Area Girl Scout Council held its annual Women of Achievement celebration on March 3rd at Spartanburg to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding area women who provide role models for the young women of today. Honorees, who were nominated by members of the community, were selected on the basis of meritorious service to the community in one or more six worlds of Girl Scouting:

     The World of Today and Tomorrow, the World of People, the World of Arts, the World of Out-of-Doors, The World of Well-Being or the World of Girl Scouting. Gloria Crank of Chester, a Speech Language Pathologist in the Chester County Schools was recognized in the World of Scouting for her commitment and involvement in the Scout program. On a voluntary basis she is a commissioner of the Chester Housing Authority, a board member of First Citizens Bank and Friends of the Dacus Library at Winthrop University, and is an active member of her church. She was voted Teacher of the Year at College Street Elementary and has received the Outstanding Academic Performance award at Winthrop and the Outstanding Young Women of America award. Congratulations Gloria!

If you were at the SCSHA conference and attended Jane Kitson’s presentation, you may want to learn more about her program: www.csag.cp./fingerplays.htm

 Governmental Affairs Report

Hello Everyone, there are several Governmental Affairs activities to report; though none to act on at present.
     S.1111: This bill was introduced in the Senate as a culmination of work by the Governor's Commission on Teacher Quality. The commission, chaired by Senator Nikki Setzler, who is also chair of the Senate Education Committee, had spent countless hours on this very good piece of legislation. Senator Setzler and other Senate Education members felt that they had a good bill.
     SCSHA discovered section 59-26-85 of the bill and realized that it could be amended to include benefits to SLPs who had the CCC from ASHA. We notified the membership, asked you to contact Legislators and provided you with a list of Senate Education members' names and addresses. You flooded the legislature with calls and e-mails. Job well done! We got the attention of Senators, and they were surprised to learn that school-based SLPs were not able to receive the benefits of national certification from NBPTS. That brought up other questions. Who else is not certified through NBPTS? Who are they and how many are there? How much will this cost? Where will this money come from?
     Our lobbyists, Jane Senn and I worked hard to answer those questions and more through many visits, calls, and e-mails. Many others of you such as Wendy Wingard-Gay, Jennifer Mungo, Carol Black, Bonnie Carter Journey, Mary Cooper and other members of the NBPTS Ad Hoc committee met personally with Senators and House Members. Ina Gottlieb and I represented us at the South Carolina School Administrators Conference to make our issue known to Superintendents and Personnel Directors. Kathy Meeks helped us write a booklet that describes speech-language services in the schools. It includes great pictures of kids working with SLPs in many situations. It also has a wonderful testimony by Brenda Sechrist that tells the success story of the SCSHA Year 2000 Ambassador (poster child), Chase Crowder. His pictures would warm the heart of the crustiest legislator. We also gave copies of and referred to the South Carolina Curriculum Standards in Language Arts and explained how SLPs use these standards as objectives in IEPs. ASHA sent Past President Nancy Swigert, to testify at a Senate Education subcommittee meeting on our behalf. The results:
1.Senators acknowledged that SLPs are in the same category as classroom teachers. We have classrooms, we provide direct instruction, and we advance student progress.
2.Some senators acknowledge that we should receive the same benefits as National Board Certified (NBC) teachers.
3.Some senators have a real problem with the CCC. They don't believe that it is equivalent to NBC. To them, our master's degree doesn't figure in because some NBC teachers have master's or doctorate's. Our CFY doesn't seem to stack up against the NBC portfolio. Our Praxis Exam doesn't seem to stack up against the daylong Assessment Center exams of the NBC. ASHA does not require continuing education. We merely "pay a fee" to continue our CCC.
4.There is not enough consensus to amend S. 1111 in the way that SCSHA (& you) asked.
5.There may be a way for the legislature to ask the State Dept of Ed. (SDE) to evaluate/accept other groups who seek recognition for their national certification. The SDE does not have that power unless given by the legislature.
     If you are outraged, disappointed, etc. at this point, join those of us who attended hearings and met with senators, but PLEASE, do not express your outrage to a single senator. We have carefully developed relationships with several key people who are on our side and it would slap them in the face to be attacked at this point. The SCSHA Board, elected by you, has worked with the lobbyists and senators to find an acceptable end to this issue. We asked for your opinion on compromises and offered none because that was the wish of the membership. We represent you and you have trusted us to work on your behalf. The SCSHA Board asks that individuals refrain from taking charge of this issue at this stage of the game. The Board will be happy to listen to your ideas and talk to you. Please refer to the SCSHA website and your directory for a list of officers, phone numbers, etc. The story continues, so keep reading...
     S.1222: Because of Senators' concerns about other groups that are not under NBPTS, Sen. William Mescher introduced a separate bill for us, S.1222, that is worded similarly to the amendment that we suggested for S.1111. He said, "Let each group stand on its own merits." and also introduced separate bills for Guidance (S.1259) and for School Psychologists (S.1260). He did not introduce one for School Nurses, Social Workers, or Audiologists because these groups will no longer be certified by the SDE as of July 1, 2000. At that time they will be licensed by their respective boards at LLR.
     The confusion over 18 months for guidance counselors comes because NBPTS expects to have a category for guidance within 18 months. At that time, a guidance counselor - even one already certified by his/her own national association - would have to go through NBPTS in order to receive state recognized status/benefits. At present, NBPTS has no plans to develop a category for SLP.
     Status of S.1222:
On April 19^th several SCSHA officers and members attended the Senate Education Committee meeting on S.1222. The public is not allowed to testify during committee meetings but may be available to answer questions. None were asked. The bill was put forward from the subcommittee with a recommendation that came from the March 15 hearing. The subcommittee asked to drop Section C of the original bill and to put another section in its place. Section C originally indicated that the State Department of Education (SDE) would be asked to study the ASHA CCC and to rule on its comparability to the NBPTS NBC. The subcommittee asked that the organizations for guidance counselors and school psychologists be studied at the same time. Senator Setzler had privately indicated to us that he would also attach that amendment to S.1111 which he has done (see exact wording below under SECTION 13 of S.1111).
     Update received 4/20/00 (added to bill) "SECTION 13. The Department of Education is directed to review the purposes and certification standards of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and examine the purposes and certification standards of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC), and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) to determine comparability and make recommendations regarding recertification cycles, initial certification requirements for these personnel certified out-of-state and incentives for these national certifications. The State Department of Education shall report its findings to the Senate Education Committee and the House Education and Public Works Committee no later than December 1, 2000."
     The good news is that S.1222 was passed out of committee and is now on the Senate schedule. If it passes there and in the House, it will go on to the SDE. It is also good that the SDE will evaluate the CCC because we had met opposition in the subcommittee, and we believe we can work well with the SDE and achieve a favorable report.
     The bad news is that the SDE has until Dec 1, 2000 to report back which means no final action will be taken by the legislature until the report is received. The earliest that this could reach closure is by next legislative session in 2001. That will be after elections and we may not have as many legislators looking to please their constituents. So.....We need to:
1.Take heart that we have S.1222 on the floor.
2.Contact members of the Senate Education Committee and thank them for their favorable report on S.1222. We are not always whiners.  We can be gracious and appreciative!
3.Contact all other senators and let them know that S.1222 is on the schedule and we would appreciate their support.
4.Be grateful that S.1111 has also been amended to include study of CCC as a back-up to S.1222 should anything go wrong.
5.Plan for May 3 Legislative Day. Tentatively assemble around 10:00 a.m. and be ready to help give speech-language-voice consultations and hearing screenings. There will be more but its still in the works.
6.Stay tuned to the listserv!

May 3, 2000 Legislative Day
Our purpose in doing this is:
1.To officially announce May is Better Hearing and Speech Month.
2.To increase awareness of our profession in the Legislature.
3.To have the opportunity to meet individual legislators so that they can get a sense of who we are. Basically, we want to make friends.

Thanks to everyone for your contacts. A few senators acknowledged that they had really heard fom us. Again, we want to be brief and positive in our contacts and we want to make friends. See you on May 3!

SDE Meeting on IDEA
I can't speak for other meetings in the state that took place, but I will report on the April 4th meeting in Columbia. Those in attendance were told that comments were welcomed but that the SDE would not be able to answer any questions other than those dealing with procedures. The period of public comment ends April 7th and the final report will be issued April 14th. All comments will be reviewed. SLPs in attendance and making comments were

1. Hiram McDade, Tina Smith, and Jane Honaker from USC. Hiram gave a compelling statement about how hard USC has tried to work with the SDE. USC developed the Distance Ed program in an effort to assist the state of SC in upgrading BA to Master's level SLPs. Now is not the time to push the date back to 2020.
2. Martha McDade from Board of Examiners in SLP- SC Dept. of Labor Licensing, and Regulation. Martha spoke of the highest entry level for personnel actually being licensure and how the school children of SC are entitled to the same quality of services that are available in the private sector. In order to receive private services, the SLP would have to be licensed. Maintain the 2015 date.
3. June Maranville and Debbie Brady from SCSHA. June said that SC is one of only 7 states in the US that allows BA level therapists to practice in the schools without some provision that they work toward a master's. She also provided information on numbers of CCC school practitioners in SC (est. 200), and that a shortage of masters level SLPs is no longer a major issue. She advocated for increased SLP expertise, particularly in light of more significant problems in children. Maintain the 2015 date.

Conference 2001 Update
By: Association Management Headquarters

We are very excited about the SCSHA conference being held in Charleston, South Carolina February 8 - 11, 2001. The conference will be at the BRAND NEW Embassy Suites Charleston Convention Center/Coliseum located in North Charleston. The format for the conference will be a little different this time. We will have a Thursday –Sunday format vs. the Wednesday – Saturday format as in the recent past. Many things were taken into consideration prior to making the shift in format. SCSHA members have consistently stated a preference for beach locations for their conferences, and beach location hotels rely on tourists on weekends. Therefore, the hotel loses business when groups do not commit to staying over the entire weekend. Striving to keep expenses as minimal as possible for our members, the Thursday – Sunday format saves $20.00 per guestroom / per night as well as saves the general membership of SCSHA $3,000.00 in meeting room rental. In addition, since SCSHA members are often limited in time they can take from their work sites, the format this year (Thursday – Sunday) will allow more members to attend the conference without an employment related penalty.

Be sure to secure your reservations early because with the 2001 conference being located on conference chair Trish Szypulski’s home turf, it guarantees to be the best conference yet! Watch for conference materials coming this fall. For you early birds unable to wait until this fall the Embassy Suites Charleston Convention Center phone number is (843) 747-1882. Be sure to mention you are with the South Carolina Speech Language-Hearing Association.

Conference Chair Update

     SCSHA Conference 2001 is only 8 months away!! Start planning now to attend! The Conference will be held in Charleston at the Charleston Area Convention Center. Sharon Schroder has agreed to Co-Chair with me this year, and will bring her leadership skills from the Piedmont Consortium into conference planning. She will be a real asset to the conference team!
     The Conference days will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is new to all of us, so put on a good attitude for accepting change since there will undoubtedly be many changes!! Speakers are not finalized at this time – so if you have someone that you are "dying" to have at our conference – please call me with their name and I'll see what I can do!!! Trish Szypulski - 843-813-3456.

Success at the Legislature

     Legislative Day was held on May 3rd. SLPs from Richland, Lexington, Orangeburg, Sumter, York, and Oconee counties participated. USC SLP, Jane Honaker organized the students and USC Audiologist Katie Peter brought the audiometers and tympanometers. USC students examined ears, conducted screenings, and offered counseling and referral. Many legislators and staff members took advantage of the free service and more than 100 people were seen. USC students did a fabulous job as did Columbia College students. Katie Peter's expertise made it the most professional and impressive event imaginable. Super Duper Company donated a multitude of items for treats for staff and goodie bags for legislators. SLPs delivered goodie bags to every legislator plus the Governor and Lt. Governor (175 total) along with personal notes and ASHA and SCSHA brochures. More than a few legislators were caught later in the day playing with their set of "clacking teeth". Hooray for Sharon Webber! SCSHA officers and members were introduced from the floor of the Senate and the House. Senators Setzler, Bryan, Hayes and Mescher all made introductions and/or comments which resulted in several rounds of applause from the Senate. SLPs had many informal conversations with legislators and more formal ones with Representatives by calling them off the floor of the House. In all cases, we educated about S.1222 as well as S.1111 and asked them to support our efforts to gain recognition for national certification.

Legislative Update

     The July 5th issue of the ASHA Leader reported that South Carolina Senate Bill 1111 would have directed the State Department of Education to examine the purposes and certification standards of the ASHA CCC as well as national certification for guidance counselors and school pyschologists as compared to certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. "This language, however, was removed from the bill."
     ASHA has been informed that the previous statement is erroneous. Near the close of the legislative session, the House approved their own version of S.1111 which did not include our section related to study of the CCC. Following adjournment, conference committees met to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of bills. Our section, found in the Senate version, was included in the final legislation. Once again, members of the Senate Education committee and chairman, Sen. Nikki Setzler, made sure that our legislation was not removed. We continue to owe them our gratitude.
     The State Department of Education (SDE) will study the ASHA CCC and other certifications and will report to the Legislature by December 1, 2000. SCSHA has contacted the SDE and has asked to be included in the study process. SCSHA is also negotiating with our lobbyists, The Grant Group, to determine if they can help us work with the SDE and the Governor's office. A favorable report will assist us in getting our legislation passed during the 2001 session. An unfavorable report will require more strategic planning prior to the 2001 session and more work during the session in order to meet our goal.

OUTPATIENT PPS DELAYED

The effective date of the new outpatient PPS program has been delayed until August 1st, 2000. HCFA felt that it would take the additional time to make sure all aspects of this new program were up and functional. HCFA will be ensuring that the new system will be effective and online by Aug 1st. HCFA has stated "To assure beneficiaries get charged the correct co-insurance amount, they have asked the hospital associations to urge their members to not collect deductibles or co-insurance from Medicare beneficiaries beginning Aug 1 until HCFA can notify the beneficiaries of the correct amount." It will take the better part of July to work with hospitals and beneficiaries to make sure that all parties understand the new changes taking place. This ruling will be posted soon on their site.

ASHA STANDARDS COUNCIL UP-DATE

     The Standards Council of ASHA has developed proposed new standards for certification in Speech-Language Pathology. These proposed standards include changes in academic and clinical preparation, changes in the clinical fellowship process and mandatory continued professional development (30 CEUs/3 year recertification cycle) The proposed standards, call for comment, and peer review form are posted on the ASHA website (www.asha.org). Anyone who wishes to receive a printed copy may contact the ASHA Action Center by phone 1-800-498-2071 or by email at actioncenter@asha.org. The Standards Council will carefully consider all responses before it promulgates the final standards later this year or early in 2001.

SCSHA MEMBER RECEIVES GRANT

     Ella T. Broadus-Gilbert was awarded a Career Development Grant from the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation for the 1999-2000 school year. Of the 1061 applicants, the foundation awarded 61 grants nationwide. Each recipient is profiled in the 1999-2000 AAUW Directory of Fellowship and Grant Recipients. Ella is completing her second year in the distance education program for the Master of Communication Disorders Degree at the University of South Carolina. A graduate of South Carolina State University , she is presently employed with Spartanburg School District #5 in Duncan, South Carolina. Congratulations Ella!

EXECUTIVE BOARD MINUTES
Friday, June 2, 2000

South Carolina Professionals Receive Award for Continuing Education (ACE)

To meet the requirements for the ACE individuals must meet one of the following requirements: 1) The Accrual of seven Continuing Education Units, 2) The completion of six semester hours of academic credit 3) A combination of academic credit and CEU’s 4) The successful retake of the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. The following professionals earned an ACE from the Continuing Education Board of ASHA for October 1999 through March 2000.