Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 5-86 - Licensing of Applied Behavior Analysts
Section 5-86-21. - Persons and practices exempt.

§ 5-86-21. Persons and practices exempt.
(a) No provision of this chapter shall be construed to prevent members of other recognized professions who are licensed, certified, or regulated for independent practice of that profession under the laws of this state from rendering services consistent with their professional training and code of ethics and scope of practice as defined in the relevant licensure act, provided that they do not represent themselves to be licensed applied behavior analysts, licensed applied behavior assistant analysts, or psychologists with equivalent experience. Recognized members of the clergy shall not be restricted from functioning in their ministerial capacity, provided that they do not represent themselves to be applied behavior analysts, licensed applied behavior assistant analysts, or psychologists with equivalent experience.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit teachers, guidance personnel, social workers, and school psychologists in public or private schools from full performance of their duties, nor to prohibit the use of applied behavior analytic techniques by business or industrial organizations or companies for employment, placement, evaluation, promotion, or job adjustment of their own officers or employees.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the use of consultants who are defined as qualified intellectual disability professionals under the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) 42 C.F.R. § 483.430 by facilities licensed as intermediate-care facilities for people who are developmentally disabled by the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as permitting licensed applied behavior analysts, licensed applied behavior assistant analysts, or psychologists with equivalent experience to practice medicine as defined by the laws of this state.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as permitting those persons identified in subsections (b) and (f) of this section to offer their services to any persons or organizations other than those listed in subsection (f) of this section as consultants or to accept remuneration for any behavior analytic services other than that of their institutional salaries or fees unless they have been licensed under this chapter or exempted under subsection (a) of this section.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting those persons who are implementing applied behavior analysis services to an immediate family member or as a paid or volunteer caregiver, if the individual or caregiver does not represent himself or herself as a licensed applied behavior analyst, licensed applied behavior assistant analyst, or psychologist with equivalent experience.
(g) An applied behavior analyst licensed or certified in another state or United States territory may perform applied behavior analysis services in this state without obtaining a license for up to ten (10) calendar days per calendar year with no more than five (5) days of this activity occurring consecutively. The calendar day limit shall not apply to services as an expert witness in a legal proceeding.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any person pursuing a supervised course of study leading to a degree or certificate in applied behavior analysis at an accredited or approved educational program if the person is designated by a title that clearly indicates his or her status as a student or trainee.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any persons fulfilling the supervised fieldwork experience requirement of this section.
History of Section.P.L. 2012, ch. 318, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 338, § 1.

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