School Speech-Language Pathologist - Travel & Local | Washington | 2026-2027 SY
Travel Pay Packages: $2,700 - $3,200 gross weekly. Each package is a blend of a taxable hourly wage plus non-taxable housing and meal stipends, which nets out comparable to an $85 - $105 per hour fully taxed salaried role. Stipend eligibility depends on maintaining a qualifying tax home under IRS rules, and we confirm your eligibility in writing before you sign.
Local Pay Packages: $60 - $85 per hour, for clinicians living within 50 miles of the assignment.
Sevn Workforce Solutions is hiring in-person School SLPs for Washington districts for the 2026-2027 school year. Washington has 295 school districts spread across nine Educational Service Districts, and the ones furthest from Seattle are the ones struggling hardest to staff. That demand is your leverage. We help you use it.
Where We Place SLPs in Washington
- Puget Sound (ESD 121) - Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent, Federal Way, and the King and Pierce County suburbs.
- Spokane and Northeast Washington (ESD 101) - Spokane proper plus a wide rural footprint across Stevens, Whitman, Lincoln, and Pend Oreille counties.
- Olympic Peninsula (ESD 114) - Bremerton, Port Angeles, Port Townsend. Small coastal districts, gorgeous, and chronically hard to staff.
- Yakima Valley and the Tri-Cities (ESD 105 and ESD 123) - agricultural communities with large bilingual and multilingual caseloads. Spanish-speaking SLPs are especially valued here.
- North Sound, Southwest Washington, and North Central - Bellingham, Vancouver, Wenatchee, and the districts in between.
Why Washington Districts Are Paying a Premium
Special education is the second-largest educator shortage area in Washington on the Professional Educator Standards Board statewide shortage list, and the state auditor has documented that the strain concentrates in rural and high-poverty districts. Those are exactly the districts that pay above scale for a clinician willing to come to them.
Why SLPs Are Choosing Travel Contracts
- 40-65% more take-home pay than a traditional fully taxed W-2 school role. Same work, same students, much bigger paycheck.
- Non-taxable housing and meal stipends lower your taxable income and raise your net pay. This is the engine behind the numbers above.
- A built-in adventure. Spend a school year somewhere you have been curious about. Test drive a new place for nine months before you ever commit to moving there.
- Students who truly need you. Many of these districts have gone months without an SLP. Your impact is immediate and visible.
- A stronger resume. New districts, caseloads, and populations add real range to your skill set.
- Real balance. Monday-Friday schedule, school holidays, summers off, and time between assignments to recharge.
Washington Credentialing - Read This Part, It Is Different Here
Washington does not credential school SLPs the way most states do, and this trips up a lot of experienced clinicians. School-based practice runs through OSPI, not the Department of Health.
- What you need: the Educational Staff Associate (ESA) Certificate in the School Speech Language Pathologist or Audiologist role, issued by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). A Department of Health SLP license is not required to work in a Washington public school. That exemption is written into RCW 18.35.195.
- How out-of-state SLPs qualify: a master's degree from an accredited program, a qualifying Praxis score or your ASHA CCC-SLP, fingerprint clearance, and then one of three routes - completion of any state's approved preparation program for the role, or three years of documented out-of-state experience as a school SLP, or a short PESB-approved ESA course.
- If your paperwork is still in process: OSPI issues a one-year temporary permit, and districts can initiate a Conditional ESA valid for up to two years. Neither one has to stop you from starting on time.
- Note if you also want outside hours: the school exemption only covers school work. If you plan to pick up clinic, home health, or SNF hours in Washington, you will also want the Department of Health license. We can file both.
We handle ESA applications routinely and we cover the fees. If you are looking at this and thinking "that sounds like a lot," that is precisely what your recruiter is for.
Requirements
- Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from an accredited program
- OSPI ESA Certificate in the School SLP role, or eligibility for one including a temporary permit or Conditional ESA. We assist with the application.
- CCC-SLP preferred, not required
- School or pediatric experience preferred
- In-person service delivery required
The 50-Mile Rule (You May Already Qualify)
You do not have to cross state lines to earn travel pay. If an assignment is more than 50 miles from your permanent residence, you may qualify as a traveler and become eligible for the non-taxable stipends that make these packages so strong. That could mean three states away, or two hours from home inside Washington. Plenty of our SLPs travel in-state and come home on weekends.
Within 50 miles of the assignment? You would work it as a local contract at a strong hourly rate instead. We will walk you through which path fits you, and confirm your stipend eligibility before you sign anything.
Do Not See Your Ideal District? We Build It.
Most agencies only offer what is already posted. Through our Reverse Marketing Program we work as your personal agent at no cost to you, contacting school districts and Educational Service Districts in your preferred part of Washington to build an opportunity around you.
- You are the only clinician presented. No competing against a stack of resumes.
- Interviews turn into offers fast. These districts need someone now.
- Pay is often higher than standard postings because the need is urgent.
Benefits and Other Compensation
- Weekly direct deposit
- 40+ Medical insurance options to choose from
- Non-taxable housing and meal stipends when eligible
- Paid sick leave in accordance with state and local law
- Licensing and certification assistance, including application fees for new states
- Referral bonuses and assignment completion bonuses on select contracts
- 9-month school year contracts
- Dedicated recruiter from your first call through your last day
- Contract continuity planning so your next assignment is lined up before this one ends
Ready to See Your Numbers?
A travel contract is more than a job change. It is a school year that pays you well, takes you somewhere new, and puts you in front of students who genuinely need what you do. Financially rewarding and personally enriching.
Apply through Indeed with your resume and a recruiter will walk you through the assignments open in Washington, what your package would actually net, and exactly what your credentialing timeline looks like. Questions before you apply are welcome at [email protected].
Sevn Workforce Solutions | 20+ years of education and therapy staffing | Direct district partnerships, no vendor layers | Transparent pay packages
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Job Types: Full-time, Contract
Pay: $2,700.00 - $3,200.00 per week
Benefits:
Work Location: On the road
