Train-the-Trainer Institute: SLPs, When and When Not to Dismiss Students from the Caseload (Grades PK-12) Presented by Courtney Seidel, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist, Author, and National Presenter

Specifically Designed for Speech-Language Pathologists Serving Grades PreK-12

Practical Ideas and Strategies

Send one of more staff members or a team to this training program and they will return to your school(s) with professional development strategies and resources to address the challenges of speech-language dismissal decisions.

Challenges and barriers to dismissal include uncertainty or resistance from teams and families, absence of clear state criteria, lack of vested interest, and student noncompliance. This can result in students remaining in speech and language services far longer than necessary.

This two-day Train-the-Trainer Institute is designed to change that! You'll learn current best practices for dismissal and how to confidently explain when and why a student should be dismissed. We'll explore structured approaches supported by national guidance. You'll receive practical tools to track readiness and tackle barriers.

Leave with a comprehensive dismissal portfolio, flowcharts, rubrics, report templates, meeting scripts, graduation certificates, and a generalization toolkit. You'll also gain access to an extensive digital resource handbook and special online materials to make your processes systematic and evidence based.

Most importantly, you'll return to your school(s) equipped to train and empower your colleagues, ensuring consistency and alignment with your district's frameworks. Together, we'll reframe dismissal as a positive outcome – celebrating students' independence and success.

Improve Dismissal Practices – You Will Leave this Institute Ready to Train Other SLPs To:

• Confidently Explain When and Why a Student Should Be Dismissed
  Teach colleagues current dismissal best practices and how to use an easy-to-implement portfolio to evidence readiness for discontinuation
• Follow a Structured Approach to Dismissal
  Guide SLPs through a systematic process using flowcharts, rubrics, report templates, and meeting scripts to ensure consistency and clarity
• Tackle Common Barriers to Dismissal
  Equip staff to problem-solve challenges such as lack of vested interest or noncompliance, and back decisions with national and federal guidance
• Track Readiness for Dismissal
  Train others to monitor multiple indicators of readiness and use progress-monitoring tools to document movement toward dismissal
• Clarify Goals Using a Basic Skills or Strategies Approach
  Help SLPs determine whether the dismissal goal is remediation or strategy-based, setting clear criteria for discontinuation
• Bridge Generalization and Carryover
  Show colleagues how to move students from structured practice to real-life application using a generalization toolkit
• Document Lack of Educational Impact
  Teach staff to confidently evidence whether a disability continues to impact educational performance and lead dismissal discussions
• Promote Inclusive Practices and Least Restrictive Environment
  Support teams in demonstrating skill transfer to classroom settings and transitioning from direct instruction to carryover
• Reframe Dismissal as a Positive Outcome
  Create a school culture that celebrates independence and views dismissal as success
• Utilize Comprehensive Resources
  Provide colleagues access to a detailed dismissal digital resource handbook and online tools for systematic, evidence-based implementation

 

This Two-Day Train-the-Trainer Program is Cost Effective

If you are looking to provide high-quality, consistent dismissal training across your school or district, this is the perfect opportunity. Send one SLP, a leader, or a small team, and they will return equipped to train others – saving time and resources while ensuring alignment with best practices.
Participants will leave with:

• An extensive digital resource training handbook filled with ready-to-use tools for leading their own training sessions
• Access to a resource link packed with additional materials and downloads
• A customizable PowerPoint template to adapt for your school or district training needs

The focus of this two-day institute is on how to confidently train other SLPs to implement systematic, evidence-based dismissal practices. Attendees will learn to overlay these practices onto a variety of frameworks, tackle common barriers, and provide their teams with the tools needed to make dismissal decisions clear, consistent, and student-centered.

Outstanding Strategies You Can Use Immediately

Here's what you'll learn:

• Dismissal frameworks that align with your district, creating consistent practices across buildings
• Training materials such as turnkey slide decks, facilitation guides, and agendas resulting in confident delivery of high-impact PD to colleagues
• Implementation plans to use immediately for an organized roll out in your school(s)
• Flowcharts and structured steps for a stepwise pathway to discontinuation for predictable, replicable dismissal decisions
• Dismissal portfolios that compile work samples, data, and artifacts leading to clear documentation to support readiness for dismissal
• Rubrics and scoring criteria that are objective and support defensible determinations
• Report templates and verbal scripts that produce efficient meetings and transparent communication
• Compliant, defensible practices rooted in national and federal guidance that anchor decisions in IDEA, FAPE, and LRE
• Problem-solving protocols that address lack of vested interest and noncompliance to promote improved engagement or timely discontinuation
• Progress-monitoring tools that track multiple indicators of readiness
• Basic skills vs. strategies approaches that distinguish remediation from compensation, producing clear endpoints and criteria for dismissal
• Generalization and carryover toolkits to move from therapy to real-life use and encourage classroom transfer and functional communication
• Educational impact documentation to show whether disability affects performance so you can confidently lead dismissal discussions
• Inclusive practices and LRE supports that demonstrate skill transfer in class
• Caregiver communication that is parent/guardian-friendly to establish trust, clarity, and increased agreement regarding dismissal readiness
• Fidelity checks and implementation cycles to coach peers and monitor implementation
• Data dashboards you can set up to simply track caseload dismissal and create transparency in carryover
• Digital resource access to the comprehensive handbook, templates, and a Google Drive to start training speech-language colleagues, beginning tomorrow

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

For years, I encountered uncertainty, resistance, and hurdles when attempting to dismiss students from school-based speech-language services. The lack of dismissal criteria in most states leaves SLPs uncertain as to when a child is ready for dismissal. Misunderstandings regarding the purpose of school-based services versus other external supports can result in resistance from parents. Ending established and long-term relationships with children can pose a hurdle for some clinicians. However, the challenge most frequently reported is pressure from team members to offer students "all the help they can get" – despite readiness for dismissal.

This two-day institute will help you address these challenges head on. I will provide you with all the practical tips, tools, and approaches you need to successfully lead dismissal training in your school or district. I will provide you with a structured approach to dismissal and a wealth of practical tools to overlay these practices onto a variety of dismissal frameworks, ensuring alignment with your administrative processes and available resources.

The absence of clear, state-based dismissal criteria often leaves decisions open to interpretation. As a result, individual staff approaches vary widely, leading to inconsistencies that can keep students in speech and language services far longer than necessary – sometimes months beyond readiness for dismissal.

Rather than dismissal being an afterthought, this approach embeds progress toward dismissal into treatment planning. Together, we'll explore long-term visions for student communication, discontinuation best practices, and treatment scaffolds to chart a clear path toward dismissal, addressing challenges with noncompliance, tracking indicators of readiness, and providing teams with a plan for departure. Then, we'll take it a step further – developing strategies, materials, and an implementation plan so you can confidently lead professional development for your speech-language colleagues.

My goal is to ensure you leave with the tools, resources, and confidence to guide your team through dismissal discussions and processes – and to empower your colleagues to do the same. I hope you'll join me for this informative and highly practical institute!

Sincerely,
Courtney Seidel, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL

P.S. You'll leave with complete training materials to teach dismissal best practices to your colleagues. From flowcharts and portfolios to rubrics, templates, and generalization toolkits, everything is designed so you can start training – and they can start doing the work – tomorrow.

Who Should Attend

Speech-Language Pathologists Serving Grades PreK-12

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Dismissal Train-the-Trainer Digital Resource Handbook
You will receive an extensive digital resource handbook specifically designed for this institute. Included in the handbook are:

• Guidelines to determine a student's readiness for dismissal
• Materials that support monitoring a student's progress toward dismissal
• Evidence-based strategies and practical tools you can use immediately to create intentional dismissal plans for students
• Practical and effective strategies for successfully incorporating team members and leading discussions about dismissal
• Special online access to Courtney's Google Drive, brimming with additional, fillable digital resources and downloads

For in-person seminars, registrants will also receive a printed copy of the resource handbook as long as their registration is received in the BER office at least 15 calendar days before the event.

Share Ideas
This institute provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to share ideas with others interested in strengthening school-based SLPs' intentional practices around dismissal.

Consultation Available
Courtney Seidel will be available at the institute for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your own speech-language program.

ASHA - CEUs


You will be required to fully attend the program, actively participate, and complete a self-assessment and program evaluation.

ASHA-Required Disclosure Statement for Courtney Seidel:
Presenter for the Institute for Educational Development and receives honorarium compensation.
No relevant nonfinancial relationships exist.

You will be required to fully attend the program, actively participate, and complete a self-assessment and program evaluation.

On-Site Training Guarantee

BER is not a booking agency that just finds a presenter who presents on the topic you requested. Rather, we only recommend highly experienced BER presenters who have consistently received outstanding evaluations from educators attending their trainings.

Consequently, we provide a strong program guarantee.

We guarantee you'll be fully satisfied or you'll owe us nothing after your on-site training event.