Committee passes measure to add QABA to voluntary applied‑behavior‑analysis registry

Representative Andrews presented House Bill 19-54, a technical amendment to the Voluntary Registration Act for behavior analysts that adds the Qualified Applied Behavior Analysis (QABA) Credentialing Board as an entity eligible for parity with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

Karen Duvaughn, representing QABA, told the committee QABA is ‘‘a conservative merit based organization and a certifying entity for behavior analysts’’ and noted QABA works with military families; she said including QABA in the voluntary registration ensures practitioners have certification choices and prevents a single certifying entity from having a de facto monopoly.

There was no public opposition. The committee took a motion to pass and the chair announced the bill passed.

What it means: The bill expands the list of credentialing entities recognized under Arkansas’ voluntary registration for behavior analysts, which affects how practitioners can demonstrate qualifications for certain roles; it is a technical statutory parity change and does not create a new licensing board or mandate new funding.