Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The first sentence of section 88 of chapter 13 of the General Laws, as amended by section 1 of chapter 720 of the acts of 1989, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "be", in line 2, the words:- within the division of registration.

SECTION 2. The first sentence of subparagraph (A) of the first paragraph of section 89 of said chapter 13, as amended by section 2 of said chapter 720, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "be", in line 6, the word:- clinical.

SECTION 3. Section 90 of said chapter 13, as amended by section 3 of said chapter 720, is hereby further amended by striking out the seventh, eighth, and ninth paragraphs.

SECTION 4. The fourteenth paragraph of said section 90 of said chapter 13, as appearing in the 1988 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 77, the word "licenses" and inserting in place thereof the word:- licensees.

SECTION 5. Section 165 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as amended by section 7 of chapter 720 of the acts of 1989, is hereby further amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The board may issue a license to an applicant as a marriage and family therapist, a rehabilitation counselor and a mental health counselor; provided, however, that each such applicant shall provide satisfactory evidence to the board that such applicant: (1) is of good moral character; (2) has not engaged or is not engaging in any practice or conduct which would be grounds for refusing to issue a license under section one hundred and sixty-nine; (3) demonstrates to the board, the successful completion of a masters degree in a relevant field from an educational institution licensed by the state in which it is located and meets national standards for granting of a masters degree with a subspecialization in marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, counseling, or a relevant subspecialization approved by the board.

SECTION 6. Said section 165 of said chapter 112 is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "institute", in line 17, as appearing in the 1988 Official Edition, the words:- or under the direction of a supervisor.

SECTION 7. Said section 165 of said chapter 112 is hereby further amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- For purposes of this clause, "Supervision" shall be defined as no less than two hundred hours of supervised clinical experience, at least one hundred hours of which shall consist of individual supervision with a clinician who has expertise in marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, educational psychology, or counseling and who holds a masters degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, educational psychology, counseling or an equivalent field or holds a doctorate degree in psychology, or a medical degree with a subspecialization in psychiatry; (4) successfully passes a written or oral examination administered by the board to determine the applicant's qualifications for licensure for each profession licensed pursuant to this section; and (5) individuals licensed under the provisions of this section will not be eligible to renew licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of section three of chapter eight hundred and eighteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-seven unless such individuals satisfy the requirements of section one hundred and thirty-one of chapter one hundred and twelve, except for successful completion of an examination.

SECTION 8. Said section 165 of said chapter 112 is hereby further amended by adding the following two paragraphs:-

The board shall promulgate rules and regulations specifying the required qualifications of the supervising clinician.

The board may issue a license to an applicant as an educational psychologist; provided, however, that each such applicant, in addition to complying with clauses (1), (2) and (5) of the first paragraph shall provide satisfactory evidence to the board that such applicant:

(1) has successfully completed a relevant masters degree in psychology from an educational institution licensed by the state in which it is located;

(2) has successfully completed the equivalent of two full time academic years of post masters degree experience in school psychological services supervised by a licensed educational psychologist or a person eligible for licensing under this section; provided however, that such supervisor has been regularly involved for at least thirty contact hours per year;

(3) has been certified as a school psychologist by the department of education or holds a comparable certification from another state; and

(4) has successfully passed an oral or written examination administered by the board to determine the applicant's qualifications as an educational psychologist.

SECTION 9. The first paragraph of section 3 of chapter 521 of the acts of 1987 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the word "eighty-nine" and inserting in place thereof the word:- ninety-two.

SECTION 10. The second paragraph of said section 3 of said chapter 521 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the word "eighty-nine" and inserting in place thereof the word:- ninety-two.

SECTION 11. Said section 3 of said chapter 521 is hereby further amended by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

Individuals licensed under the provisions of this section shall not be eligible to renew licenses issued pursuant to the provisions of section three of chapter eight hundred and eighteen of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-seven, unless such individuals satisfy the requirements of section one hundred and thirty-one of chapter one hundred and twelve of the General Laws, except for successful completion of an examination.