SECTION 1.  Chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 144A, the following section:- 

Section 144B. (a) The board shall issue a provisional license as a speech-language pathologist to each applicant who meets the requirements set forth in this section.  It shall issue the provisional license to each person so licensed, which shall be conclusive evidence of the right of such person to practice for a period of supervised professional practice in the area in which a license under section 144 is being sought and required by the national certifying body for speech-language pathology. The provisional license shall be valid for no longer than the period of supervised professional practice. 

(b) To be eligible for license by the board as a speech-language pathologist, an applicant shall:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

(1) be of good moral character; and

(2) possess at a minimum (A) a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent and (B) a master’s degree or its equivalent in the area of speech-language pathology granted by an educational institution which incorporates academic course work and the minimum hours of supervised training required by the national certifying body for speech-language pathology.

(c) The applicant for the provisional license as a speech-language pathologist shall apply to the board in writing on an application form prescribed and furnished by the board. At the time of filing the application, an applicant for a provisional license shall pay to the board a fee which shall be set by the secretary of administration and finance.  

SECTION 2.  Section 146 of said chapter 112 is hereby amended by inserting in line 3, after the words “ section 144”, the following words:- or section 144B,.

SECTION 3.  Said section 146 of said chapter 112 is hereby further amended by inserting in line 11, after the words “section 144” the following words:- or section 144B,.

SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding any general or special law, or rule or regulation to the contrary, insurance companies shall accept the provisional license of a speech-language pathologist as a full license for the purpose of credentialing clinicians.