Eligibility for Licensure in Texas

1. Possess a master’s degree or higher in at least one of the fields of communicative sciences or disorders. The national accrediting organization should accredit the program and the United States secretary of education should recognize it under the Higher Education Act of 1965, and the commission or department should approve it.
2. Submit a transcript from a public or private university demonstrating successful completion of the following courses:
   ● Normal development and the use of speech, language, and hearing.
   ● The Evaluation, habilitation, and rehabilitation of speech, language, and hearing disorders.
   ● Speech-language pathology clinical practitioners’ work is supported by related professions.
3. Have successfully completed at least 36 semester hours in courses that the college or university where the courses are taken accepts as credit toward a graduate degree, with at least 24 of those hours having to be in the profession for which the license is sought.
4. Have accrued the minimum number of hours of supervised clinical practice. Individuals should present a range of communication impairments, as set forth by the commission by rule.
5. Have finished the required full-time supervised professional experience, as outlined by commission rule, during which clinical practice in the primary profession for which the license is sought has been completed.

Examination Requirements

● To get a license, an applicant must:
(1) Pass an examination that has been authorized by the commission.
(2) Remit fees in accordance with the commission’s guidelines.
● At least twice a year, the department conducts an examination. By regulation, the commission will establish what constitutes acceptable exam performance.
● By rule, the commission may:
(1) Set up the testing administration methods.
(2) Require either an oral or written test, or both.
● A candidate may be required by regulation to take an examination in any academic or practical area of speech-language pathology that the commission deems acceptable. The implementation of speech-language pathology treatments or approaches may be subject to a professional skills and judgement examination as required by regulation by the commission.

Licensure by Endorsement

For internships that were done outside of the state, the supervisor’s master’s degree in the field of communication sciences and disorders must be submitted, as well as a copy of their current license to practice medicine in that state.

Temporary License

● The department may issue a provisional license to a candidate who holds a valid license as a speech-language pathologist in another state with licensing standards that are roughly equal to those of this chapter.
● Has passed a speech-language pathology or audiology-related national or other exam accepted by the department.
●A temporary license is valid until the department decides whether to grant or reject the holder’s request for a license.
● A provisional license holder’s application for a license must be processed by the department no later than 180 days after the date the provisional license was issued.
● If an applicant has the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Certificate of Clinical Competence, they will be granted a license. They will not be required to take the examination.

Continuing Education

A license that has been issued for a two-year term must be renewed after 20 clock hours. For a license with a two-year duration, dual licensees must accrue 30 clock hours. Each renewal term, licensees must fulfil a minimum of two clock hours in ethics as part of their continuing education requirements. After September 1, 2020, a human trafficking prevention training course will be necessary for license renewals.

References

● https://www.asha.org/advocacy/state/info/tx/licensure/
● https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.401.htm