SLS 16RS-575 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 5
BY SENATOR CLAITOR
SPEECH/PATH/AUDIO. Directs the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology to evaluate and report on licensing requirements and procedures
that may need to be updated in current law.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To authorize and direct the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology
3 and Audiology to evaluate and report on licensing requirements and procedures that
4 may need to be updated in current law.
5 WHEREAS, hearing is one of the five senses that is a complex process of picking
6 up sound and attaching meaning to it, which is critical to understanding the world around us;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, the National Institute of Health reports that two to three out of every one
9 thousand children born in the Untied States are born with a detectable level of hearing loss
10 in one or both ears, and approximately fifteen percent of American adults (thirty-seven
11 million five hundred thousand) aged eighteen and over report some trouble hearing; and
12 WHEREAS, audiologists are healthcare professionals who provide patient-centered
13 care in the prevention, identification, diagnosis, and evidence-based treatment of hearing,
14 balance, and other auditory disorders for people of all ages; and
15 WHEREAS, speech is the verbal means of communicating that includes articulation
16 (how speech sounds are made), voice (using vocal folds and breathing to produce sound) and
17 fluency (the rhythm of speech); and
18 WHEREAS, the National Institute of Health reports that the prevalence of speech
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SLS 16RS-575 ORIGINAL
1 sound disorders in young children is eight to nine percent, and between six and eight million
2 people in the United States have some form of language impairment; and
3 WHEREAS, speech-language pathologists, sometimes called speech therapists,
4 assess, diagnose, treat and help to prevent disorders related to speech, language, cognitive
5 communication, voice, swallowing and fluency; and
6 WHEREAS, as technology and training advances, the practice of audiology and
7 speech-language pathology are constantly evolving and it is imperative that the laws
8 governing this practice stay current and applicable to the discipline; and
9 WHEREAS, the statutes governing speech-language and audiology have not been
10 updated since 1995; and
11 WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana wants to ensure that the practices of
12 audiology and speech-language pathology are modernized as necessary to ensure the best
13 outcomes for our citizens, which may or may not require statutory changes.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15 direct the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology to
16 evaluate and report on licensing requirements and procedures that may need to be updated
17 in current law.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the board shall submit a report of its findings
19 and recommendations, giving specific explanations of any proposed law changes, to the
20 legislature no later than October 1, 2016.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
22 executive director of the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and
23 Audiology.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SCR 5 Original 2016 Regular Session Claitor
Directs the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology
to evaluate and report on licensing requirements and procedures that may need to be updated
in current law.
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