Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 433 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas As Engrossed: S3/18/25 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1254 3
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By: Representative L. Johnson 5
By: Senator Irvin 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSED PSYCHOLOGICAL 9
PRACTITIONER TO PRACTICE INDEPENDENTLY IN THIS STATE; 10
TO REMOVE THE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE PRIVILEGES FROM 11
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINERS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 12
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Subtitle 15
TO AUTHORIZE A LICENSED PSYCHOLOGICAL 16
PRACTITIONER TO PRACTICE INDEPENDENTLY 17
IN THIS STATE; AND TO REMOVE THE 18
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE PRIVILEGES FROM 19
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINERS. 20
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 17 -97-102(a)(3), concerning the definition 24
of "psychological examiner" relating to the practice of psychology, is 25
amended to read as follows: 26
(3) “Psychological examiner” means a person who holds himself or 27
herself out to be a psychological examiner or renders to individuals or to 28
the public for remuneration of any service involving the practice of 29
psychology either: 30
(A) Independently interviewing or administering and 31
interpreting tests of mental abilities, aptitudes, interests, and personality 32
characteristics for the purposes of psychological evaluation to assist in the 33
determination of diagnosis of mental health disorders or educational or 34
vocational selection, guidance, or placement; or 35
(B) Only only under the supervision of a qualified 36 As Engrossed: S3/18/25 HB1254
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psychologist if the service is not listed in subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this 1
section; and 2
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 17 -97-102(a), concerning definitions 4
relating to the practice of psychology, is amended to add an additional 5
subdivision to read as follows: 6
(5) "Licensed psychological practitioner" means a person who: 7
(A) Holds himself or herself out to be a licensed 8
psychological practitioner; or 9
(B) Renders to individuals or to the public for 10
remuneration of any service involving the practice of psychology 11
independently interviewing or administering and interpreting tests of mental 12
abilities, aptitudes, interests, and personality characteristics for the 13
purposes of psychological evaluation to assist in the determination of: 14
(i) Diagnosis of mental health disorders; or 15
(ii) Educational or vocational selection, guidance, 16
or placement. 17
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 17 -97-303 is amended to read as follows: 19
17-97-303. Psychological examiners — Application — Qualifications. 20
(a) Any A person wishing to obtain the right to practice as a 21
psychological examiner who has not heretofore been licensed to do so shall 22
make application to the Arkansas Psychology Board through the Chair of the 23
Arkansas Psychology Board upon a form and in the manner as shall be adopted 24
and prescribed by the board and shall obtain from the board a license to do 25
so. 26
(b)(1) A candidate for a license shall furnish the board with 27
satisfactory evidence that he or she: 28
(A) Has a master's degree in psychology or a closely 29
related field from an accredited educational institution recognized by the 30
board as maintaining satisfactory standards; 31
(B) Is competent as a psychological examiner as shown by 32
passing examinations, written or oral, or both, as the board deems necessary; 33
(C) Is not considered by the board to be engaged in 34
unethical practice; 35
(D) Has applied for a criminal background check and has 36 As Engrossed: S3/18/25 HB1254
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not been found guilty of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to any of the 1
offenses listed in § 17 -3-102; and 2
(E) Has not failed an examination given by the board 3
within the preceding six (6) months. 4
(2) At its discretion, the board may accept satisfactory 5
substitute training and experience in lieu of that prescribed in subdivision 6
(b)(1) of this section. 7
(c) The board shall apply through its rules the qualifications of 8
supervising psychologists and the restrictions and reporting requirements of 9
supervision so as to implement the intent of this chapter without restricting 10
the professional integrity of the psychological examiner and psychologist or 11
the ultimate responsibility of the supervising psychologist. 12
(d)(1)(A) A psychological examiner licensed before December 31, 1997, 13
shall be granted independent practice except in neuropsychological 14
assessment, forensic psychological assessment, and projective personality 15
assessment upon the board's receiving a letter requesting independent 16
practice and a revised statement of intent. 17
(B) No additional hours of clinical supervision shall be 18
required for a license granted under subdivision (d)(1)(A) of this section. 19
(2) A psychological examiner licensed after December 31, 1997, 20
shall be privileged to practice independently except in neuropsychological 21
assessment, forensic psychological assessment, and projective personality 22
assessment, if the person: 23
(A) Has completed a master's degree program in psychology; 24
(B) Has completed three thousand (3,000) hours of approved 25
clinical supervised training after making application for independent 26
practice; and 27
(C) Has filed a revised statement of intent with the board 28
and has provided documentation of having received appropriate training and 29
experience in those areas requested for independent practice. 30
(3) A psychological examiner licensed after December 31, 2024, 31
shall not be granted independent practice status if he or she submits an 32
application to the board for independent practice. 33
(d) After December 31, 2026, a new psychological examiner license 34
shall not be issued. 35
36 As Engrossed: S3/18/25 HB1254
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 97, Subchapter 3, is 1
amended to add an additional section to read as follows: 2
17-97-313. Licensed psychological practitioner — Application — 3
Qualifications — Compensation. 4
(a) A person wishing to practice as a licensed psychological 5
practitioner shall apply to the Arkansas Psychology Board through the Chair 6
of the Arkansas Psychology Board upon a form and in the manner as determined 7
by the board. 8
(b)(1) A candidate for a license shall furnish the board with 9
satisfactory evidence that he or she: 10
(A) Has completed: 11
(i) A sixty-hour master's degree in health services 12
psychology that is approved by the board and includes the following 13
coursework and training in: 14
(a) Discipline-specific knowledge such as 15
affective psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, 16
developmental psychology, social aspects of behavior psychology, 17
psychometrics, and research methods; 18
(b) Profession-wide competencies such as 19
integration of science and practice, ethical and legal standards, individual 20
and cultural diversity, professional values and behavior, communication and 21
interpersonal skills, assessment, intervention, supervision, and consultation 22
and interprofessional skills; 23
(c) Eight hundred (800) hours of a practicum 24
or internship with a total of four hundred (400) direct client services; and 25
(d) At least one (1) year in a residence 26
program; and 27
(ii) Three thousand (3,000) hours of post -degree 28
clinical supervision approved by the board that includes: 29
(a) Two thousand two hundred (2,200) hours of 30
direct client service in the intended scope of practice; 31
(b) One (1) hour of supervision per ten (10) 32
hours of direct client service for the first one thousand (1,000) hours; 33
(c) One (1) hour of supervision per twenty 34
(20) hours of direct client service for the remaining hours; and 35
(d) One hundred (100) hours of didactic 36 As Engrossed: S3/18/25 HB1254
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learning in the intended scope of practice per year; 1
(B) Is competent as a licensed psychological practitioner 2
as shown by passing examinations, written or oral, or both, as the board 3
deems necessary; 4
(C) Is not considered by the board to be engaged in 5
unethical practice; 6
(D) Has applied for a criminal background check and has 7
not been found guilty of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to any of the 8
offenses listed in § 17 -3-102; and 9
(E) Has not failed an examination given by the board 10
within the preceding six (6) months. 11
(2) At the board's discretion, the board may accept satisfactory 12
substitute training and experience in lieu of that prescribed in subdivision 13
(b)(1) of this section. 14
(3) A person who was previously licensed as a psychological 15
examiner and granted the privilege to practice independently by the board on 16
or before December 31, 2024, is not required to fulfill the requirements 17
under subdivision (b)(1) of this section to be licensed under this section. 18
(c)(1) A licensed psychological practitioner may practice 19
independently except in neuropsychological assessment, forensic psychological 20
assessment, and projective personality assessment. 21
(2) A licensed psychological practitioner may practice 22
independently in the following areas, consistent with his or her coursework, 23
training, and supervised experience during internship and post -degree 24
supervision: 25
(A) Providing evidence -based therapeutic interventions for 26
individuals, families, or groups to improve mental health and wellness; 27
(B) Diagnosing, treating, and managing mental and 28
emotional disorders or developmental and intellectual disabilities; 29
(C) Conducting evidence -based screening, interviewing, 30
testing, and assessment consistent with training of psychoeducational, 31
cognitive, personality characteristics, intelligence, achievement, 32
vocational, aptitude, and outcome management; 33
(D) Providing psychoeducational evaluation, planning, 34
therapy, and remediation services; 35
(E) Consulting and collaborating with other healthcare 36 As Engrossed: S3/18/25 HB1254
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professionals in which the focus is on patient or family diagnoses and 1
treatment planning; and 2
(F) Supervising provisionally licensed master’s level 3
clinicians in the areas listed in subdivisions (c)(2)(A) - (E) of this 4
section. 5
(d) The board may issue a provisional license to a person who has 6
completed the requirements in subdivisions (b)(1)(A)(i) and (b)(1)(B) -(E) of 7
this section to ensure that the person obtains the appropriate approved post -8
degree clinical supervised training as required under subdivision 9
(b)(1)(A)(ii) of this section. 10
(e) For services provided, a licensed psychological practitioner shall 11
receive compensation from: 12
(1) Medicare; 13
(2) The Arkansas Medicaid Program; 14
(3) A private insurance policy or plan; 15
(4) A health benefit plan; or 16
(5) A healthcare provider or healthcare professional. 17
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/s/L. Johnson 19
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APPROVED: 4/3/25 22
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