Kansas BSRB professional‑counselor advisory committee reviews eBroker rollout, Compact implementation, AI guidance and supervision rules

The Professional Counselor Advisory Committee of the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board met remotely and spent the session reviewing operational updates and policy items that could affect licensure and practice in Kansas. Executive Director David Fye reported on the ongoing eBroker rollout to licensees, national developments on psychology licensing exams, Counseling Compact implementation, AI use in clinical documentation, and proposed supervision and continuing‑education rule changes.

Fye said the eBroker continuing‑education portal has been implemented for four professions so far and is optional for licensees, but the board encourages sign‑up because it should speed audits and streamline documentation for license renewal. "You can assign [CE] to categories such as ethics or diagnosis and treatment, and if you are audited we can log into the portal and approve your audit very quickly," Fye said.

On national licensing exams, Fye summarized concerns about the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards' (ASPPB) planned EPPP2 (a skills‑based assessment). He told the committee that ASPPB has paused mandatory implementation as of Jan. 1, 2026 and will create a task force to reconsider rollout, noting the fee structure (roughly $600 for the current EPPP and $450 for EPPP2) and worries that adding another required test could create additional barriers to licensure.

The committee discussed Counseling Compact implementation and fees. Fye explained the compact commission will assess privilege fees to individuals seeking multistate privileges rather than charging states a membership fee; Kansas likely will not assess an additional in‑state privilege fee on its licensees. "When someone applies for and receives a privilege in other states, the compact commission will collect fees and return the state portion to the states," Fye said. Members asked whether a compact privilege would be sufficient for employment in Kansas and how privileges would apply to in‑person practice; Fye said Kansas will continue verifying that providers have the appropriate authorization based on the client’s location and that the compact is intended to cover telehealth and, where permitted, in‑person practice.

Committee members raised concerns about artificial intelligence in clinical settings, particularly HIPAA and data‑security risks for using large‑language models to draft or store therapy notes. "At this point in time it's not really advised that we're using AI for this kind of work," said one member, citing guidance from national associations about data storage and business‑associate agreements. Members asked staff to circulate materials from the American Counseling Association task force and to prioritize AI ethics in upcoming conferences.

Several regulatory changes were reviewed: continuing‑education totals and ratios for certain professions are proposed to be reduced (for example, diagnosis‑and‑treatment CE for professional counselors drops from 6 to 3 hours every two years effective July 1, 2025, per a 2023 bill); the board also recommended that applicants from APA‑accredited psychology programs satisfy named coursework requirements without additional course documentation. Fye also summarized a supervision compromise the board recommended: at least 50% of clinical‑licensure supervision hours must be provided by a board‑approved clinical professional counselor or approved supervisor, while up to half of the hours could be provided by an approved supervisor from another profession.

On student supervision and jurisdiction, members questioned whether the current statutory carve‑out for students and interns creates cross‑state loopholes for telehealth practice and who would be responsible if students practiced remotely in states where supervisors lack authorization. Fye cited KSA 65‑5812 (the professional counselor statute carve‑out for students/interns) and said he would consult legal counsel and other states and return with analysis at a future meeting.

The meeting included a brief training segment on BSRB mission and operations, including investigative processes and common complaint types; Fye reported the board received 162 complaints in fiscal year 2024. The advisory committee approved the meeting agenda and previous meeting minutes and adjourned with no public comment taken.

The committee asked staff to circulate additional materials on AI and compact implementation and agreed to keep supervision and student‑jurisdiction issues on future agendas for more detailed analysis.