661654 Clarification of the educational requirements for a psychology license, and to amend the guidelines for re-licensure for persons whose licenses have been expired for at least four (4) years
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the Department of Health, pursuant to the authority set forth under section 302(14) of the District of Columbia Health Occupations Revision Act of 1985, effective March 15, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-99; D.C Official Code § 3-1203.02(14)), and Mayor’s Order 98-140, dated August 20, 1998, hereby gives notice of his intent to take rulemaking action to adopt the following amendment to Chapter 69, “Psychology,” of Title 17, “Business, Occupations, and Professions,” of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
The purpose of these amendments is to clarify the educational requirements for licensure as a psychologist, establish guidelines for the re-licensure of a person whose license has been expired for at least four (4) years, to repeal the requirement for supervisees having to submit documentation of supervision, to clarify the persons authorized to practice under supervision, and to specify the penalty for failure to notify the Board of supervised practice within the two (2) week requirement.
Chapter 69, PSYCHOLOGY, of Title 17, BUSINESS, OCCUPATIONS, AND PROFESSIONS, of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations is amended as follows:
Section 6902 is amended by amending paragraph (b) of subsection 6902.1(b) to read as follows:
(b) That the applicant meets one (1) of the following requirements:
(1) That the applicant’s doctoral degree program is listed in the “Doctoral Psychology Program Meeting Designation Criteria” published annually by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards or the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (the National Register), applicable for the year in which the degree was conferred; or
(2) That the applicant’s doctoral degree program was accredited by the American Psychological Association at the time the degree was awarded, or
(3) That the applicant holds an active diploma awarded by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
A new section 6910 is added to read as follows:
6910 RE-LICENSURE AFTER FOUR OR MORE YEARS OF EXPIRATION
6910.1 A person seeking a license who was previously licensed in the District of Columbia and has not had a District of Columbia license for at least four (4) years and who does not have an active license in another
jurisdiction shall:
(a) Retake and pass the District jurisprudence examination and complete the number and type of continuing education credits required by the Board which shall be determined on a case-by-case basis;
(b) Submit proof of one (1) year of study completed within the past four (4) years in an approved education program in accordance with § 6902.1 of this chapter; or
(c ) Submit proof of six (6) months of full-time supervised experience as described in § 6911.
Section 6911 is repealed and replaced with:
6911 PRACTICE OF PSYCHOLOGY BY STUDENTS, GRADUATES, OR PERSONS SEEKING RE-LICENSURE
6911.1 A student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure shall practice only
under the general or immediate supervision of a psychologist, psychiatrist,
or independent clinical social worker licensed in the District under the Act
and in accordance with this section.
6911.2 Only the following persons shall be authorized to practice under this
section:
(a) Students whose practice fulfills educational requirement under § 103(c) of the Act, D.C. Official Code § 3-1201.03 (2001), and
§ 6902;
(b) Students whose practice is not in fulfillment of educational requirements, if the student arranges for submission to the Board of a letter from the student’s educational institution that certifies that the student is actively completing a doctoral program and that the institution has no objection to the student’s practice;
(c) Graduates fulfilling postdoctoral experience requirements under
§ 504(o)(2) of the Act, D.C. Official Code § 3-1205.04(o)(2) (2001), and § 6902 or during the pendency of the graduate’s
initial application for a license under this chapter; and
(d) A person seeking re-licensure pursuant to § 6906.14(c).
6911.3 A person who has been denied a license or disciplined in the District of Columbia or other jurisdiction in the United States may not practice pursuant to this section unless authorized by the Board in writing to do so.
6911.4 A supervisor shall, no later than two (2) weeks after supervising a student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure, inform the Board in writing of the following:
(a) The supervisor’s name and address;
(b) The name of the student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure;
(c) The expected period of supervision; and(d) The nature and location of the practice of the student,
graduate, or person seeking re-licensure.
6911.5 A student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure shall identify himself or herself as a student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure to a client
before practicing psychology with the client.
6911.6 At least five percent (5%) of supervised practice during any one (1) month period shall be under immediate supervision.
6911.7 A graduate may not practice under this section for more than three (3) years, or beyond the graduate’s completion of the postdoctoral experience requirement, whichever is less, unless the practice is during the pendency of an initial application by the graduate for a license under this chapter. The Board may, in its discretion, extend the three (3) year limit for good cause shown.
6911.8 A student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure shall not receive compensation of any nature, directly or indirectly, from a patient. The student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure may receive a salary or other form of compensation from his or her employer based on hours worked in the training program.
6911.9 A supervisor shall be fully responsible for all supervised practice by a student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure during the period of
supervision, and shall be subject to disciplinary action for any violation of the Act or this chapter by the student, graduate, or person seeking re- licensure.6911.10 A student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure shall be subject to
all applicable provisions of the Act and this chapter. The Board may deny
an application for a license by, or take other disciplinary action against, a
student, graduate, or person seeking re-licensure who is found to have violated the Act or this chapter, in accordance with chapter 41 of this
title.
6911.11 For the purposes of this section, the term “student” means an individual who is enrolled in a doctoral program which meets the requirements of § 6902.1 and, “graduate” means an individual who has completed a doctoral program of study from a program meeting the requirements of § 6902.1.
6911.12 The Board shall not recognize the supervised practice of a student,
graduate, or person seeking re-licensure whose supervisor fails to comply with the time requirement as specified in § 6911.4.
All persons desiring to comment on the subject of this proposed rulemaking should file comments, in writing, no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Comments should be sent to the Department of Health, Office of the General Counsel, 825 North Capitol Street, N.E., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20002. Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained from the Department at the same address during the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
