Published in the March 2024 issue of the ISHA Voice.

By Jim Morphew

Jim serves as ISHA's lobbyist.

On the SLPA bill, (SB 3467 and HB 5532), agreement has been reached with IDFPR. Late last week, the Illinois Education Association raised concerns, but they were unaware of the amendment. When provided the amendment, the IEA withdrew their concerns. SB 3467 was approved by the Senate Licensed Activities Committee with the understanding that the agreed amendment would be filed as a floor amendment. HB 5532 was passed out of the House Health Care Licenses Committee. The agreed amendment has been filed. ISHA now has identical bills and amendments pending in both the House and the Senate. We will most likely proceed with the bill that makes it to the opposite chamber first.

The agreed SLPA amendment does the following:

•  Amends the licensure exemption section of the law to clarify that graduates of an SLPA program or candidates for licensure can perform the duties of a SLPA under the supervision of a SLP without a license. This exemption currently exists for students studying to become SLP’s and audiologists.
• Section 8.5 of the Act deals with qualifications for licensure as a speech language pathology assistant. The amendment clarifies that the SLPA candidate must have received a bachelor’s degree in a program that meets the course requirements set forth in the Act. The amendment also requires completion of requirements for certification as a SLPA.
• A SLPA student must take thirty-six (36) semester credit hours in technical content areas designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for SLPA’s. Section 8.6 is amended to update the technical content areas required in a SLPA program.

ISHA will share further updates regarding the SLPA legislation as new information develops!