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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/27/2024 10:52 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20130&cosponId=12833
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House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: May 20, 2013 03:08 PM
From: Representative Donna Oberlander
To: All House members
Subject: Speech Pathology and Auditory Bill
 
In the near future I plan to introduce legislation that would update Act 238 of 1984, the Speech-Language and Hearing Act. That Act licensed speech-language pathologists (SLPs), audiologists and teachers of the hearing impaired, and created a licensing board to regulate the professions.
It has been almost three decades since the Act was passed and much has changed in the delivery of health care services, including speech pathology, in that time. The goal of my bill is to update the licensure requirements and scope of practice for speech pathology to reflect and incorporate the changes that have taken place over the past 30 years.
The primary changes the bill will make are:
  • To add a definition of the “practice of speech-language pathology” that reflects the scope of practice in most states across the country.
  • To create a separate license for “school-based speech-language pathology” to deal with the provision of SLP services to students with communication disabilities in public schools
  • To require anyone practicing speech-language pathology in the state to be licensed. Please note that persons currently providing speech-language pathology services in the schools who have a certificate from the Department of Education but do not have a license will not be required to obtain the new school-based SLP license. The bill will not put anyone out of work.
  • To create a new provisional license for speech-language pathologists to allow them to practice while working under professional supervision during their clinical fellowship. This will help us keep SLPs trained in Pennsylvania from leaving for other states to fulfill their clinical requirements for licensure.
  • To update the Act to include provisions regarding impaired professionals.
The overall goal of the bill is to provide better treatment for individuals with communication disabilities or swallowing problems and to improve consumer protection in Pennsylvania by ensuring that all persons performing the functions of an SLP are properly licensed by the state.

Introduced as HB1561