State Licensure and the Speech-Language-Hearing Interstate Compact [2024 Update]
You are a Speech-Language Pathologist with a master’s degree.
You have your ASHA CCC-SLP certification.
You are licensed in your state of residence.
Congratulations! You have worked hard and achieved some pretty big goals. Becoming an SLP is not an easy task, and there are definitely rewards to be had for achieving those goals.
So, now you’re considering giving teletherapy a try?
You’ve heard about it and done some research. It sounds great to be able to work from home and still be able to provide excellent services to students or adults all over the country. And it is! I have done telepractice for the last 12 years! I love it! I honestly don’t ever see myself working outside of my home office ever again.
But, you ask, don’t I have to be licensed in other states to do that? And the answer is a resounding yes! I currently hold 7 state licenses and have 2 additional teaching certificates in Speech-Language Pathology where it is required to provide services to the schools in those state. Over the last 29 years, I have been licensed in 13 different states. Current laws require you be licensed both in your home state and the students’/patients’ state to provide services legally.
Finding Help with Licensure
One great thing about our profession is that there is help and guidance to be found. ASHA has a state advocacy team. They keep up to date on all the issues related to our profession and offer assistance and resources to ASHA members. Here is the link. A word of caution when looking at this information, be sure to confirm that the information is up to date. ASHA only updates each state on this site annually.
The National Council of State Boards of Examiners (NCSB) also has great information about States with Telepractice Laws and States with CEU Requirements specific to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. To explore their information, you can use this link.
The best news I can give you regarding licensure and wading through the piles of paperwork, is the Audiology & Speech-Language-Hearing Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC) that is currently in the works. According to ASLP-IC’s website, “The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (ASLP-IC) is an interstate agreement that provides a pathway by which audiologists and speech-language pathologists can obtain the authorization to practice in states where they do not hold a license. To join the compact, a state must enact the compact model legislation via its legislative process.”
ASLP-IC states the compact has been enacted into law in 30 states. For a list of states
categorized by legislation: not introduced, pending, enacted, and not enacted, you can find a map here.
I know this has been a long time coming. I first wrote this article in January, 2019. I remember information stating that the compact should be complete in 2022, then it was 2023, and now we are hearing 2024. At least we are getting closer…
So, what is the state of the compact as of today?
The ASLP-IC Commission had their first meeting in January 2022 according to their website. “The ASLP-IC Commission is the interstate administrative body created by the Compact. The Commission is composed of two Delegates from each member state’s licensing board/agency and is tasked with implementing the Compact’s provisions for interstate practice of audiology and SLP.” This web page goes on to say activation will take up to a year or longer. Since I am writing this in March, 2024, unfortunately we can definitely say longer. The commissions website also stated, “We currently anticipate that applications for compact privileges will open in early 2024.”
The ASLP-IC Commission is currently conducting an RFP for a compact data system, which will be used to facilitate the interstate practice by licensed Audiologist and Speech-Language Pathologists. The RFP closed November 20, 2023. I am hopeful that we will see significant movement in 2024 towards a functional compact.
Another piece of the ASLP-IC to consider is what is considered your “home state license”. Your home state must be an active member of the compact. On the compact’s FAQ page, I was able to dig a little deeper to determine who will qualify for the compact. To be able to apply for compact privilege, you must hold an active license your home state, “i.e., where you live, pay taxes and have your driver’s license.” Once you apply, the commission will grant the applicant a privilege to practice (AKA compact privilege). This then “…gives a practitioner the authorization to practice in other compact member states.”
To put this in other words,
You as a licensed therapist must live in a state with enacted legislation that is active in the compact, and the state you wish work in must have the same enacted legislation in the compact. For myself, I live in the state of Texas, which has NOT passed legislation. Therefore, I cannot apply for the compact until the legislation is passed AND enacted with the commission. However, as I indicated above, there are 30 states that have enacted legislation, so there is hope for many in our profession.
Although the ASLP-IC is not currently available, it is encouraging to know that it is being worked on and hopefully coming in the next year. In the meantime, many therapy companies will provide you with assistance and guidance in obtaining the licensure you need to be legally compliant to provide services in the states you are working in or potentially could work in at a future time. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to know the law and protect your professional licensure that you worked so hard to achieve.
