Chairman Erickson opened the hearing on HB 2761.

Nick Myers, Assistant Revisor, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill.(Attachment 1)

Susie Ternes, AuD, CCC-A, Executive Director, Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association, supports this bill as school districts and special education cooperatives are facing shortages of speech-language pathologists across the state, especially in rural areas. A simple solution is to hire licensed speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs). Licensing SLPAs would standardize the education and training requirements for SLPSs, raising the bar for services provided to students with speech/language needs. Licensing SLPAs will relieve the burden of overworked SLPs, alleviate the shortage of providers of speech/language services in schools, and save the school districts money by hiring SLPAs rather than costly contract SLPs and/or teletherapy providers. (Attachment 2)

Ashly Elliott, M.A., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist/Interdisciplinary Therapies Manager, Heartspring, explained high caseloads and workforce shortages continue to be significant challenges for speech-language pathologists, particularly in school and rural settings. The use of SLPAs helps reduce excessive caseloads for SLPs, allowing services to be delivered more efficiently and to more students in need. (Attachment 3)

Proponent Written:

Jessie Caceres, Speech-Language Pathologist (Attachment 4)

Kelley Cox, MA CCC SLP/L, Program Specialist of Related Services, Wichita Public Schools (Attachment 5)

Rebecca Fusaro, Speech-Language Pathologist, Topeka Public Schools USD 501 (Attachment 6)

Allison Gatewood, M.A. CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist (Attachment 7)

Susan Koerner, PhD, CCC-SLP, University of Kansas Medical Center (Attachment 8)

Amber Lalicker, Kansas Citizen (Attachment 9)

Tara Marshall, M.S., CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist, Vice President of Professional Practice, Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Attachment 10)

Karmen L. Porter PhD, CCC-SLP, Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Fort Hays State University AND Kaylan Willis Evans, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, SLPA Program Coordinator & Instructor, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Fort Hays State University(Attachment 11)

Angela Proffitt, MA, CCC-SLP (Attachment 12)

Hannah M. Robinson SLPD, CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist, ACE Speech Therapy, LLC (Attachment 13)

USD 308 Hutchinson Public Schools, SLPs (Attachment 14)

Neutral:

Lacey Hunter, Commissioner of Survey, Certification and Credentialing, Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS), explained that licenses would be valid for two years but could be renewed by submitting verification that the applicant has met continuing education requirement. This bill delineates activities a speech-language pathology assistant may or may not perform with and without supervision including diagnosis, developing or modifying a treatment plan, making referrals, or signing documents without the signature of the supervising speech-language pathologist. 

The bill also creates by definition two unlicensed categories which includes a certified speech-language pathology assistant (C-SLPA) and a speech para, and outlines the tasks that each category are allowed to perform. (Attachment 15)

Discussion followed.

Chairman Erickson closed the hearing on HB2761.