Title 17 — Professions, Occupations, and Businesses

This chapter may be cited as the “Licensure Act of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists”.

It is declared to be a policy of the State of Arkansas that, in order to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare; to protect the public from being misled by incompetent, unscrupulous, and unauthorized persons and from unprofessional conduct on the part of qualified speec…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Audiologist” means an individual who practices audiology by any title or description of services incorporating the words “audiologist”, “hearing clinician”, “hearing therapist”, or any similar title or description of services;(2) (A) “Audiology” m…

(1) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as preventing or restricting:(1) A physician or surgeon from engaging in the practice of medicine in this state;(2) A hearing aid dealer from engaging in the business of fitting and selling hearing aids in this state in accordance wi…

Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or imprisoned in the county jail for a period not exceeding six (6) months, or both.

(a) Any person who, after notice and hearing, is found by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology to have violated any provision of this chapter or any rule of the board may be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each…

When any person not licensed by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, or any licensee, engages in the practice of speech-language pathology or audiology as defined in § 17-100-103 in violation of this chapter or the rules of the board, the board may g…

(a) Services provided by speech-language pathology support personnel which are prescribed, directed, and supervised by a speech-language pathologist licensed under this chapter may be billed to third parties as speech-language services or therapies. (b) The billings may be in the…

(a) There is established the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology within the Department of Health. (b) (1) (A) The board shall be composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Governor to three-year terms.(B) The members of the board shall be residents o…

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall administer, coordinate, and enforce the provisions of this chapter and evaluate the qualifications and supervise the examinations of applicants for licensure under this chapter. The board may issue subpoe…

(a) (1) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall meet during the first sixty (60) days of each fiscal year to select a chair and other officers for other appropriate purposes. At least one (1) additional meeting shall be held before the end of each …

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology may employ and discharge, in consultation with the Secretary for the State Board of Health, a Director of the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology as may be necessary to carry out the d…

A.C.A. § 17-100-205Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) All fees and other funds received by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall be deposited into a bank account in the name of the board in one (1) or more banks in this state and shall be used by the board exclusively for payment to the Departme…

(a) Notwithstanding § 17-84-101 et seq. or any other law to the contrary, a person who is licensed by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology under § 17-100-301 et seq. as an audiologist in this state shall not be required to be licensed by the Arkansas …

(a) (1) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall contract with an outside investigator as needed to perform investigations and conduct inspections of alleged wrongdoing.(2) An outside investigator contracted with under subdivision (a)(1) of this sec…

(a) No person shall practice or represent himself or herself as a speech-language pathologist or audiologist in this state unless he or she is licensed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. (b) A license shall be granted either in speech-language pathology or audiolo…

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall issue a license to a person who meets the requirements of this chapter and pays to the board the application for initial license fee prescribed in § 17-100-308. (b) To be eligible for licensure by the boa…

(a) (1) A person eligible for licensure under § 17-100-302 and desirous of licensure shall make application to the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology upon a form and in such a manner as the board shall prescribe.(2) Any application shall be accompanied …

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology may waive the examination and grant a license to any applicant who shall present proof of current licensure in another state, the District of Columbia, or territory of the United States which maintains professi…

(a) Licenses issued under this chapter expire and become invalid if not renewed each year. (b) To maintain a license, a person licensed under this chapter shall pay a fee for renewal of the license to the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology on or before …

The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall require the applicant for license renewal to present evidence of the satisfactory completion of continuing education requirements as determined and published by the board.

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology may refuse to issue or renew a license or may suspend or revoke a license when the licensee or applicant for license has been guilty of unprofessional conduct which has endangered or is likely to endanger the h…

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology shall prescribe and publish in a manner that it deems appropriate fees in amounts determined by the board for the following purposes:(1) Application for initial license;(2) Renewal of license;(3) Late penalty p…

(a) Each applicant or licensee for a license issued by the Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology under the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact is required to apply for a state and national criminal background check, to be conducted b…

The Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact is enacted into law and entered into by this state with all states legally joining therein and in the form substantially as follows: 1. Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate CompactSECTION 1: PURPOSEThe p…

(a) The Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology is the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact administrator for this state. (b) The board may adopt rules that are consistent with the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Comp…