The Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology (KYBEP) has withdrawn burdensome regulations that sought to restrict access to psychological instruments.
The Fair Access Coalition on Testing (FACT) joined state and local counseling organizations to oppose a Kentucky regulation that sought to limit mental health services in the state. The state psychology board proposed rules that would allow only licensed psychologists to administer psychological tests. The rule would have prohibited thousands of qualified health care professionals from providing these vital services.
ACA is an active member of FACT. Dr. David Kaplan, ACA’s Chief Professional Officer, represents ACA on the FACT Board. Dr. Kaplan and ACA’s Government Affairs team reached out to the Kentucky Counseling Association to ensure that local counselor advocates were aware of the proposed changes and available to attend the state psychology board hearing.
FACT submitted a letter to the KYBEP noting that the rules were unfair, unnecessary, and a violation of statute. FACT further referenced a recent U.S. Supreme Court case that removed state antitrust immunity for licensing board members who act in their own interests and not for the public good.
FACT’s opposition, along with strong opposition from state and local counselors, was sufficient to convince the KYBEP that the rule should not move forward.
“What was at stake here, was the ability for Kentuckians to access mental health care, and ACA is pleased that the combined efforts of the counseling organizations were able to persuade the psychology board of the unnecessary harm the proposed rules would cause,” said Dr. Kaplan. “The cooperation with the board of psychology is also a great demonstration of how all mental health care providers share a common interest -- helping those in need of mental health care -- and that together, we can improve access of care in this country.”
FACT is a multidisciplinary, nonprofit coalition of organizations that advocates for consumer access to psychological and behavioral assessments performed by qualified health and education professionals. FACT represents national and state organizations from health care and education professions including counseling, marriage and family therapy, school psychology, speech-language pathology, audiology, and test publishing.