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293 Certification: Do I Need It? Over the years, MSLHA has received questions about the 293 certification for SLPs in Maine schools. For those who are unaware, the 293 certification is issued by Maine's Department of Education (DOE) and was designed to meet the standard for “qualified provider” in federal regulations under the Individuals With Disabilities Act (IDEA). For a period of time, SLPs in Maine, even if they were licensed, were required to also hold this certification. In 2011, MSLHA's executive council successfully helped lobby the Maine State Legislature to discontinue the practice of requiring dual certification and licensing of SLPs who work in schools. As a result, if you hold a license as an SLP in Maine, you do not need the 293 certification to work as a school-based therapist. To be clear, if you do not have a state license, you are required to hold this certification in order to work as a "speech and language clinician" in schools. Here is the official information to share with your administrators in case they ask you for it. LD 129 from the 125th Maine Legislature Public Law 2011, Chapter 49 (LD 129), “An Act to Eliminate Dual Certification Requirements for Speech-Language Pathologists” now allows professionals who are licensed by the State of Maine to be employed in Maine schools without needing to hold the Department of Education educational specialist certificate (293). Official summary of this document: "This bill requires the State Board of Education to accept a speech-language pathologist licensed by the Board of Speech-language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dealing and Fitting as meeting the education and professional requirements to work in schools as a speech and language clinician. It directs the State Board of Education to revise its rules establishing eligibility requirements for speech and language clinicians accordingly." You can also find the official document that enacted this change here. The State of Maine board for our license does not currently have an SLP. There are two vacancies! Personal AppointmentsPersonal appointments do not require a public hearing or approval of the State Legislature. Persons appointed to Personal Boards must be sworn in by a Dedimus Justice within 30 days of their appointment. If the appointee is not sworn in within 30 days, they may not serve until they are reappointed by the Governor. Licensing and Regulatory Boards: These boards are administered by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. Licensing boards exist to protect the public's health, safety and welfare through the regulation of various professions. Such protections are enforced through both the licensing of individuals who demonstrate a standard of competency in a regulated profession and also through licensure laws against fraudulent, incompetent and unethical practices. Each state licensing board is comprised primarily of members of the profession or occupation that it regulates. Every board also includes at least one public member. Public members are not expected to have a technical expertise or experience in the licensed professions of the boards on which they serve. The following fall under the category of Licensing and Regulatory Boards:
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The mission of the Maine Speech Language Hearing Association (MSLHA) is to serve speech-language pathologists, audiologists, students and other communication specialists by providing resources, information, advocacy, networking, educational programs, and public awareness to deliver the highest quality of care for the individuals they serve. MSLHA is a 501 (c) 6 non-profit.
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