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Senate committee backs bill letting speech‑language pathology assistants work outside schools
Summary
Senators approved House Bill 10‑75 unanimously and placed it on the consent calendar; sponsors and therapists said expanding SLPA practice settings will ease workforce shortages and reduce wait lists.
The Business, Labor and Technology Committee voted unanimously to advance House Bill 10‑75 as amended, a bill that would extend regulation of speech‑language pathology assistants (SLPAs) so they can practice outside K‑12 schools under the supervision of licensed speech‑language pathologists.
Sponsors told the committee Colorado faces a workforce shortage in speech‑language pathology that has left thousands of open positions and long wait lists for services. Senator Kurt Meyer said the bill follows recommendations from a Sunrise review and will allow SLPAs, who now are restricted to school settings, to work in private practice, early intervention, home health and hospitals under defined supervisory arrangements.
Jessie Hogan, president of the Colorado Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association, and Bonnie Westerman, an SLP, testified in support. Witnesses said 37 other states already permit SLPAs broader practice and that the proposal builds on existing school regulation rather than creating a separate certification process that would take longer to implement. They argued the change would increase access, help rural areas, and be cost‑effective for clinics and families.
Sponsors offered a technical clean‑up amendment recommended by the attorney general and the Department of Regulatory Agencies; the committee adopted that amendment (L003) and then approved the bill. The committee subsequently placed House Bill 10‑75 on the consent calendar.
The committee’s roll call on the motion to send the bill to the Committee of the Whole as amended recorded unanimous support.
