Pros and Cons: District Employee vs. Contracted Therapist

If you are looking into school-based occupational therapy (OT) jobs, WELCOME! As a pediatric therapist, I can firmly say that I love working in the schools! However, I also recognize that there is a lot to think about when you are applying for positions. As an overview, there are two main employment routes for therapists: working directly for a school district (as a district employee sometimes under the teacher contract) vs. working as a contracted therapist (through an agency, intermediate unit, or independently). Not all jobs are created equal. I hope this blog gets the wheels turning for questions you should ask as you are looking for school-based OT jobs.

For reference, I am a district employee working on the teacher contract in a suburban school district in Pennsylvania. Learn more about a “day in the life” in this blog. See an example of one of my classrooms in this OT room tour blog or this sensory room tour blog! I will be the first to say that I am blessed with my own spaces and materials that have been district-funded. This is an uncommon situation for school-based OTs. We will cover all of those things below!

Therapist as a District Employee

Pros

Increased likelihood of therapist job security/consistency 

• These jobs may be more stable. Tenured staff [at my district after 3 years of satisfactory performance] have additional protections. With contracted jobs [especially through agencies/intermediate units], therapists may service multiple districts and these assignments are likely to change from year to year.

Therapist will have [probably pretty good] benefits

• Things like health insurance, retirement plans (like teacher pensions), sick days, holidays and paid time off are all part of being a district employee.
• Depending on your state, you may have the opportunity to take you salary in a 12 month pay [instead of 9 or 10 month] which allows you to be paid while being off in the summer. It may not be required that you work extended school year [ESY], but could choose to do so for extra pay.

Feeling part of the community; a sense of belonging

• While district employees may travel between schools within the same district, they are still typically “known”. You are able to participate in district-wide events, trainings, meetings, etc. After several years in the same district [and some intentionality on your part!] you can really feel part of the school community. This can be harder as a contractor. You may feel more isolated.

Typically less need for extensive travel

• Working within the same district [depending on the size] typically limits the distance and frequency in which you need to travel. This can allow the therapist more time in the schools, working with students and collaborating with teachers/staff.

If you opt in, you may have access to union representation

• The teacher’s union will provide advocacy, support you in disputes/grievances/lawsuits, and can represent you in collective bargaining for salary and working conditions. My physical therapist (PT) coworker and I joined the negotiations committee as part of our union to ensure that our most recent contract included things specific to related service providers as there were many more of us included on this contract than when the previous one was written.

Therapist may be provided with funding for professional development

• In my experience, I have had opportunities funded by the district such as access to occupationaltherapy.com, funding to attend national, state and local conferences and annual funding allotments for additional coursework [I pursued my clinical doctorate – OTD degree – with this funding].
• There are typically “professional development days” required for teachers. After some advocacy, we were able to adjust this time so that we were afforded opportunities to earn credit towards CEUs that are required to uphold our therapy licenses [as compared to the trainings the teachers were completing to uphold theirs].

Therapist may have their own space

• While not guaranteed, I feel as though being a therapist hired by the district increases the likelihood that you will have a treatment and/or office space.

More opportunities for MTSS and general education supports exist

• Services that may not be traditionally “billable” are easily to complete when you are salaried through the district. Need to meet with a teacher to chat about a student? Need to observed in PE to understand how to modify things for your autism support classroom? Want to co-teach with a kindergarten teacher to build early fine motor skills with incoming students? If it fits in your schedule, no problem! I find that I need to be less creative in “justifying the time” for these types of non-direct services as a district therapist because I don’t need to submit a timesheet at the end of each month.

Cons

Potential for a lack of variety

• While the job may be more stable/secure, you know [for the most part!] the students you will have from year to year as you are always servicing students within the same district. Depending on the size of the district, this may be a bit monotonous. The diversity of your experience may be limited.

There may be a lower pay

• When comparing to contracts, also consider the cost of benefits. If you have to pay for your own insurance and don’t have paid time off as a contractor, that could be why your pay is higher. However, especially if you are new to schools and have years of experience, there is the potential that you may start lower on the pay scale. Public schools do not always honor years of service outside of public schools.
• Public school salary schedules are posted publicly, so check that out as you are looking for jobs. If you are an OTR, you will likely start the “masters” column. However, also inquire about starting higher as your masters degree may have been more credits than a traditional teaching masters!

There may be less flexibility or room for negotiation

• Typically, when working on a teacher contract, you are locked into those fixed hours. You have a set caseload, and obligation to attend all meetings. The salary and benefits come directly from the collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the union [who may be unfamiliar with the therapist roles]. There is likely not a lot of room to customize your schedule nor negotiate salary or benefits upon hire.

Additional responsibilities may be expected of you on the teacher contract

• While you also *should* be guaranteed a lunch and planning period, teachers are expected to have recess and/or door duties. They run stations at field day and attend faculty meetings/professional development on curriculum topics, etc. Depending on your district, these things may also be part of your requirements.

Make sure you consider all of the above before making a decision on a school-based OT job! Things like pay, stability, variety, community, mentorship, etc. are all important things to consider! However, I am a firm believer that a job is what you make of it! Give it your all and advocate for the role of OT in the schools [with fair/reasonable workloads]. Collaborate with other OTs and do what’s best for kids! You got this!