Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4770 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R9619 DNC-F
2	2	By: Phelan H.B. No. 4770
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to educational requirements for licensing as an
10	10	audiologist.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 401.304, Occupations Code, is amended by
13	13	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	(a) To be eligible for licensing as a speech-language
16	16	pathologist or audiologist, an applicant must:
17	17	(1) if the application is for a license in:
18	18	(A) speech-language pathology, possess at least
19	19	a master's degree with a major in at least one of the areas of
20	20	communicative sciences or disorders [from a program accredited by a
21	21	national accrediting organization that is approved by the
22	22	commission or department and recognized by the United States
23	23	secretary of education under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
24	24	U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.) in an accredited or approved college or
25	25	university]; or
26	26	(B) audiology, possess at least:
27	27	(i) a master's degree in audiology
28	28	conferred on or before December 31, 2007; or
29	29	(ii) a doctoral degree in audiology or a
30	30	related hearing science [from a program accredited by a national
31	31	accrediting organization that is approved by the commission or
32	32	department and recognized by the United States secretary of
33	33	education under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section
34	34	1001 et seq.) in an accredited or approved college or university];
35	35	(2) submit a transcript from a public or private
36	36	institution of higher learning showing successful completion of
37	37	course work in amounts set by the commission by rule in:
38	38	(A) normal development and use of speech,
39	39	language, and hearing;
40	40	(B) evaluation, habilitation, and rehabilitation
41	41	of speech, language, and hearing disorders; and
42	42	(C) related fields that augment the work of
43	43	clinical practitioners of speech-language pathology and audiology;
44	44	(3) have successfully completed at least 36 semester
45	45	hours in courses that are acceptable toward a graduate degree by the
46	46	college or university in which the courses are taken, at least 24 of
47	47	which must be in the professional area for which the license is
48	48	requested;
49	49	(4) have completed the minimum number of hours,
50	50	established by the commission by rule, of supervised clinical
51	51	experience with persons who present a variety of communication
52	52	disorders; and
53	53	(5) have completed the full-time supervised
54	54	professional experience, as defined by commission rule, in which
55	55	clinical work has been accomplished in the major professional area
56	56	for which the license is being sought.
57	57	(a-1) A degree required under Subsection (a)(1) must be
58	58	obtained from a program accredited by a national accrediting
59	59	organization that is approved by the commission or department and
60	60	recognized by the United States secretary of education under the
61	61	Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.) in an
62	62	accredited or approved college or university.
63	63	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.