New to School-Based Occupational Therapy?
Build the practical knowledge and confidence you need to begin working in schools.
School-based occupational therapy is a unique area of practice. It is not simply pediatric occupational therapy delivered inside a school building. The school setting requires a different lens – one of access, participation, and educational relevance. School-based OT has a distinct purpose that impacts the assessments we perform, the decisions we make, and the interventions that we deliver.
As such, Apply EBP offers new school-based OT CEU opportunities specifically designed for occupational therapists and occupational therapist assistants who are new or are transitioning from outpatient, hospital, home, or other clinical settings.
Additionally, Apply EBP provides free articles, resources, infographics, and videos you can use for your own learning or share with your team to support collaboration and build a common understanding.
Table of Contents
Start Here: Free New School-based OT Resources
Read practical, evidence-informed resources for school-based practice. This collection includes Ask Apply EBP articles, which answer common questions from our live CEU courses; Apply EBP’s Top 3 features, such as our favorite assessment tools and treatment ideas; Research Roundup, compilations of peer-reviewed papers on commonly-discussed topics; plus videos, handouts, infographics, and other free resources. Here are some recommended readings and resources for new school-based OTs and OTAs.
School-Based OT Training for New OTs and OTAs
Starting a school-based position can feel overwhelming. You may understand pediatric occupational therapy, but educational practice comes with different expectations, systems, terminology, and decision-making responsibilities.
School-based OTs and OTAs must connect services to a student’s access, participation, and progress in the educational environment. That means understanding more than diagnosis or impairment. It also means learning how to make educationally relevant decisions, contribute to the IEP process, collaborate with teachers and families, and select services that support meaningful school participation.
Apply EBP courses help turn those responsibilities into practical steps you can use in your everyday work.
Build the Foundation: School-based OT Essentials
School-based OT Essentials: On-Demand Symposium for New Practitioners
School-Based OT Essentials: On-Demand Symposium for New Practitioners
This new school-based OT CEU opportunity is composed of foundational school-based OT courses designed to build skills and confidence for practitioners preparing for their school-based position. Learn directly from leading experts in school-based and pediatric occupational therapy as they explain the knowledge, systems, and practical skills needed to work effectively in schools.
Topics address key areas of school-based practice, including:
- The role of occupational therapy in educational settings
- Differences between medical and school-based practice
- Laws and regulations
- The IEP process, eligibility, and collaborative decision-making
- Evidence-informed assessment and interventions
- Documentation, goal setting, and progress monitoring
- Sensory processing and handwriting
- Collaboration with teachers, families, other team members
Best for: New graduates, early-career, and clinicians transitioning into school setting.
Next Step: Grow Your Knowledge and Skills
School-based OT Next Steps: On-Demand Symposium for Growing Practitioners
School-Based OT Next Steps:
On-Demand Symposium for Growing Practitioners
Now you have the essential foundations, expand your knowledge with practical training in assessment, targeted intervention approaches, and common childhood health conditions encountered in schools. This symposium is designed for OTs and OTAs who are ready to broaden their skills and grow more confident in practice.
Topics expands your skills in various school-based practice areas, including:
- Assessing school participation
- Collaborative goal writing
- MTSS and various service delivery models from direct to indirect
- Motor learning for school practitioners
- Coaching
- Handwriting and Dysgraphia
- Childhood health conditions: ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder
Best for: OTs and OTAs who understand the school-based basics and are ready for the next stage of professional growth.
Explore Our 3 Formats for School-based OT Courses
Earn OT and OTA CE Hours Live or at Your Own Pace
Apply EBP is an approved provider of continuing education for OTs and OTAs by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). NBCOT accepts our courses as an AOTA approved provider – please click here for info on calculating PDUs.
More Featured School-based OT and OTA Courses
Live Workshops for OTs and OTAs
Live Workshops for OTs and OTAs
Positioning Strategies to Promote Participation and Prevent Asymmetry
- November 18, 2026, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Eastern Time
- Online via Zoom
- OTs, OTAs, PTs, PTAs & Educators
- $199-249
Deciding Need & Amount of School-based OT/PT
- December 3, 2026, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Eastern Time
- Online via Zoom
- OTs, OTAs, PTs and PTAs
- $199-279
Creating Goals that Are Easy to Monitor
- October 30, 2026, 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Eastern Time
- Online via Zoom
On-demand Webinars for OTs and OTAs
On-demand Webinars for OTs and OTAs
UDL as a Therapy Tool
EBP for Direct & Indirect Services
3 Steps to Successful Embedding of OT Services in Pre-K and Kindergarten
FAQs about Our New School-based OT CEU Opportunities
Explore answers to most frequently asked questions.
I have pediatric OT experience. Do I still need to take your new school-based OT courses?
Often, yes. Pediatric experience is valuable, but school-based occupational therapy uses a different decision-making lens. In schools, OT services must connect to the student’s access, participation, and progress in the educational setting. School-based OT training can help you shift from a clinic-based or medical-based model to an educational model of practice. Consider completing the School-Based OT Essentials On-Demand Symposium, and/or the School-Based OT Next Steps: On-Demand Symposium.
Should I choose an on-demand webinar, live workshop, or symposium?
Choose based on how you learn best and what you need right now. On-demand courses are helpful when you want to learn at your own pace. Live workshops are helpful when you want scheduled learning and the opportunity to engage with the topic, the speaker, and other practitioners in real time. Finally our annual live online School-based OT, PT, and SLP Symposium is a fun, dynamic, multi-session course that is usually held in early Spring, typically in March or April. Subscribe here or join Apply EBP’s Facebook Group to be among the first to hear about the next live symposium.
Are your new school-based OT CEU opportunities approved by AOTA?
Yes. Apply EBP, LLC is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Our new school-based OT CEU opportunities listed above will earn you AOTA CEUs. For any of our courses, you can review the course page for AOTA approval, number of AOTA CEUs, and completion requirements. Click here if you want to learn more about AOTA CEUs and NBCOT PDUs.
Are your Apply EBP Free resources listed above really free to use and share?
Yes! Our Ask Apply EBP, Top 3, and Research Roundup articles, infographics, videos, and resources are free to use for your own learning and to share with colleagues, families, educators, administrators, and other school team members.
These resources are designed to help school-based OT practitioners better understand evidence-based practices, educational relevance, IEP decision-making, assessment, interventions, and other hot topics in school-based OT practice. They can also be helpful when you want to start a team discussion, clarify a common misconception, or support more consistent carryover across school routines.
How do I know when new Ask Apply EBP articles and resources are published?
The best way to find out about new Apply EBP articles, infographics, videos, and free resources is to join our email list by clicking here and to follow Apply EBP on social media:
We regularly share new resources, course updates, and practical tips for school-based OT, PT, and SLP practitioners.
You can also visit our Free Resources and Treatment Ideas page to explore previously published articles and resources that you can use for your own learning or share with your team.