Arkansas Administrative Code

17 CAR § 175-104. Methods of licensure. (a) Licensure by reciprocity. (1) Required qualifications. An applicant applying for reciprocal licensure shall meet the following requirements: (A)(i) The applicant shall hold a substantially similar license in another United States jurisd…

17 CAR § 175-105. Foreign-educated physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. (a)(1) The foreign-educated physical therapist or physical therapist assistant is required to be eligible for licensure or authorized to practice without limitation in their home country. (2…

17 CAR § 175-106. Renewals and reinstatement. (a)(1) Licenses must be renewed annually by March 1. (2) Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who have not paid annual renewal fees by March 1 are in violation of the Arkansas Physical Therapy Act, Arkansas Code § 17-…

17 CAR § 175-107. Fees. (a) The fees for various services of the Arkansas State Board of Physical Therapy are as follows: (1) Physical therapists: (A) Application fee, fifty dollars ($50.00); (B) Endorsement (reciprocity), one hundred dollars ($100); (C) Annual renewals, seventy …

17 CAR § 175-108. Disciplinary action. (a)(1) The Arkansas State Board of Physical Therapy may refuse to license, refuse to renew a license, revoke a license, and/or take other disciplinary action as provided by law regarding any physical therapist or physical therapist assistant…

17 CAR § 175-109. Physical therapist assistant supervision. (a) The practice of the physical therapist assistant shall be performed only under the supervision of the licensed physical therapist who retains moral, ethical, and legal responsibility for patient care. (b) The supervi…

17 CAR § 175-110. Physical therapy aide functions. (a)(1) The functions of the physical therapy aide may be performed under the direct supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. (2) However, the physical therapist shall retain moral, ethical, and legal r…

17 CAR § 175-111. Continuing education requirements. (a)(1) The licensed physical therapist must complete, by December 31 in each biennium, two (2) CEUs. (2) CEUs are required to be submitted prior to odd-numbered year renewals. (3) Beginning January 1, 2023, for each odd-numbere…

17 CAR § 175-112. Declaratory orders. (a) Purpose and use of declaratory orders. (1) A declaratory order is a means of resolving a controversy or answering questions or doubts concerning the applicability of statutory provisions, rules, or orders over which the agency has authori…

17 CAR § 175-113. Amendments. (a) Amendments to this part may be proposed by presenting the amendments in writing at any meeting of the Arkansas State Board of Physical Therapy. (b) If the proposed amendment receives a majority vote of the board, then the procedures for adoption …

17 CAR § 176-101. Applicability. Pursuant to the Arkansas Telemedicine Act, Arkansas Code § 17-80-401 et seq., this rule applies to the provision of services via telehealth by physical therapists and physical therapist assistants when acting within their respective scopes of prac…

17 CAR § 176-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “Distant site” means the location of the licensee delivering services through telemedicine at the time the services are provided; (2) “Healthcare professional” has the same meaning as in Arkansas Code § 17-80-402(2) of the …

17 CAR § 176-103. Establishment of professional relationship. (a)(1) A licensee at a distant site shall not utilize telehealth with respect to a patient located in Arkansas unless a professional relationship exists between the licensee and the patient or the licensee otherwise me…

17 CAR § 176-104. Requirement for all services provided by licensees using telehealth. (a) A professional relationship shall be established in compliance with this part to provide physical therapy services through telehealth. (b) Once a professional relationship is established, a…

17 CAR § 180-1001. Facility and equipment. (a) The facility shall include either: (1) A sound room of appropriate size that meets or exceeds ANSI standards of ambient noise levels for test environments; or (2) Instruments for the measurement of hearing aid performance on the ear …

17 CAR § 180-1002. Prior to hearing aid fitting. (a)(1) All patients under the age of twelve (12) months who have failed two (2) screenings in the absence of indicators of external and/or middle ear abnormalities should receive a battery of audiological tests to minimally include…

17 CAR § 180-1003. Evaluation. (a)(1) Evaluation of hearing aids must be performed with the hearing aids on the patient. (2) This shall be accomplished either: (A) In sound field; or (B) With instruments that objectively measure hearing aid performance with appropriate prescripti…

17 CAR § 180-1004. Educational counseling. (a) Appropriate educational counseling relative to use, care, and maintenance of the amplification device will be provided at the time the device is fitted. (b) Rehabilitation and management, including appropriate referrals, should be pr…

17 CAR § 180-1005. Satisfaction agreement. (a) The patient must be given a minimum of thirty (30) days to achieve user satisfaction. (b) If satisfaction is unattainable during this period and the device is returned in satisfactory condition, moneys paid for the device shall be re…

17 CAR § 180-1006. Fitting outside of facility. Fitting outside of the dispensing facility is considered acceptable when the testing protocol outlined in 17 CAR §§ 180-1001 – 180-1003 is met.

17 CAR § 180-1007. Documentation. The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology may periodically request written documentation regarding adherence to this part from the dispensing audiologists.

17 CAR § 180-101. Officers. (a) The officers of the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall consist of a: (1) Chair; (2) Vice chair; and (3) Treasurer. (b) Officers shall be elected by members, with elections to be held annually during the first sixty …

17 CAR § 180-102. Committees. Committees shall be appointed by the Chair of the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology when such appointments are necessary.

17 CAR § 180-103. Meetings. (a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall hold at least four (4) meetings annually, one (1) within sixty (60) days of the beginning of the fiscal year and one (1) before the end of the calendar year, at a time and plac…

17 CAR § 180-104. Per diem. Each Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology member shall receive per diem and travel allowance as permitted by applicable state law to: (1) Attend board meetings; and (2) Conduct the official business of the board.…

17 CAR § 180-105. Applicable law. The Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq., shall govern the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in all matters in which it is applicable.

17 CAR § 180-106. Communications with board. All communications directed to the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology must be in written form, as a matter of record, before official consideration will be given to any issue, request, or submission to the bo…

17 CAR § 180-107. Forms. The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall have such forms as are required for the discharge of its responsibilities.

17 CAR § 180-108. Publication of names of speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Following July 1 each year the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall publish complete lists of the names of all board-licensed speech-language pathologists and a…

17 CAR § 180-109. Applicants. All applicants shall have access to the statutes and rules concerning ethical standards of practice and procedures established by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

17 CAR § 180-1101. Scope of Practice — Preamble. The purpose of this statement is to define the scope of practice of speech-language pathology and audiology in order to (1) inform persons of activities for which licensure in the appropriate area is required, and (2) to educate he…

17 CAR § 180-1102. Practice of speech-language pathology. The practice of speech-language pathology includes: (1) Providing prevention, screening, consultation, assessment and diagnosis, treatment, intervention, management, counseling, and follow-up services for disorders of: (A)…

17 CAR § 180-1103. Practice of audiology. The practice of audiology includes: (1) Facilitating the conservation of auditory system function and developing and implementing environmental and occupational hearing conservation programs; (2) Screening, identifying, assessing and inte…

17 CAR § 180-1201. Definitions. As used in this subpart: (1) “Distant site” means the location of the licensee delivering services through telepractice at the time the services are provided; (2)(A) “Originating site” means a site at which a patient is located at the time healthca…

17 CAR § 180-1202. Appropriate use of telepractice. (a) A professional relationship must be established in accordance with this subpart before the delivery of services via telepractice. (b) If a decision is made to provide healthcare services through telepractice, the licensee ac…

17 CAR § 180-1203. Delivery of services via telepractice. (a) The licensee must obtain a detailed explanation of the patient's condition from the patient or the patient's treating healthcare professional. (b) If follow-up care is indicated, the licensee must agree to provide or a…

17 CAR § 180-1204. Supervision. (a) Supervision of SLPAs may be done through telepractice as long as client confidentiality can be maintained. (b) Supervision rules shall remain the same as those stated for SLPAs.

17 CAR § 180-1301. Purpose. The purpose of this subpart is to set minimum qualifications for the registration and supervision of speech-language pathology assistants by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology as specified in Arkansas Code §§ 17-100-103 a…

17 CAR § 180-1302. Applicability. The provisions of this subpart shall not apply to any student, intern, or trainee performing speech-language pathology services while completing supervised clinical experience as part of an accredited college or university training program.…

17 CAR § 180-1303. Definitions. As used in this subpart: (1)(A) “Direct supervision” means on-site, in-view observation and guidance by a speech-language pathologist while an assigned activity is performed by support personnel. (B) Direct supervision performed by the SLP may incl…

17 CAR § 180-1304. Regulation by Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. (a) This subpart also provides for the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, in accordance with its statutory general supervision authority over public agencies that provide educational ser…

17 CAR § 180-1305. Prohibitions. The utilization of speech-language pathology aides in other practice settings is prohibited unless specifically approved by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology for study purposes.

17 CAR § 180-1306. Nonclinical duties. Nothing in this subpart prohibits other individuals from performing nonclinical duties such as: (1) Patient transport or positioning; (2) Room preparation; (3) Construction, preparation, or repair of treatment materials; or (4) Clerical acti…

17 CAR § 180-1307. Direct care staff — Paraprofessionals. Nothing in this subpart shall be construed as preventing or restricting a person who provides parenting and daily living skills for enrichment purposes from performing as: (1) Direct care staff at residential programs, suc…

17 CAR § 180-1308. Board’s regulatory authority. (a) For all purposes, the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology retains regulatory authority for speech-language pathology services, unless specifically exempted by statute. (b) The board may at any time, fo…

17 CAR § 180-1309. Registration of speech-language pathology assistants. (a)(1) To register as an SLPA under Arkansas Code § 17-100-202(b)(2), an individual shall submit an application for registration to the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. (2)(A) A…

17 CAR § 180-1310. Requirements for a speech-language pathology assistant. (a) An SLPA shall: (1) Complete a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from a regionally or nationally accredited institution and twenty-five (25) hours of observation, which is descri…

17 CAR § 180-1311. Requirements for a supervising speech-language pathologist. (a) A supervising speech-language pathologist: (1)(A) Must be licensed as a speech-language pathologist in the state of Arkansas and have two (2) years of full-time professional speech-language patholo…

17 CAR § 180-1312. Supervision guidelines for a speech-language pathology assistant. (a)(1)(A) A total of at least thirty percent (30%) direct and indirect supervision is required and must be documented for the first forty-five (45) work days. (B) For thirty (30) hours of direct …

17 CAR § 180-1313. Annual audit. (a) On or before January 30 of each calendar year, at least ten percent (10%) of the assistants currently registered will be audited by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. (b) The SLPAs audited will be chosen in a ra…