Question #1:  Are you a OT/COTA or a PT/PTA?
Question #2: Are you a direct employee of the school district?
  • Yes ( I am directly employed and paid by the school district where I provide therapy services)
  • No (I am an independent contractor or I work for an agency who provides therapy services to the school district).
For OT/COTA’s:
  • 89% of respondents are employees of the school district
  • 11% of respondents are not a direct employee of the school district

For PT/PTA’s:

  • 71% of respondents are employees of the school district
  • 29% of respondents are not a direct employee of the school district

OVERALL PT/PTA and OT/COTA:

  • 81% of respondents are employees
  • 19% of respondents are not employees
Commentary:  Once again, I found these results interesting based on my personal experience.  I have only worked as a pediatric therapist in the state of New York so obviously my commentary is based on that experience.  In the area that I live now, most school based therapists are employed through an agency and not directly by the school district.  Therefore, the results to this poll question was the exact opposite of what I would have expected.  I have worked as a school based therapist as an employee of a school district, as an independent contractor and as a employee of an agency.  Each has its positives and negatives but in general I always preferred working directly for the school district.  The positives are that you are treated like a team member rather than an outsider who may be replaced next school year.  In addition, I always felt a higher level of job security when working as a direct employee of the district.  The only negative I experienced was the pay – I was paid at a lower rate as a direct employee of the school district.
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