The Attorney General of Texas
September 19, 1978
JOHN L. HILL
Attorney General
President Duane M. Leach Opinion No. H- 1245
Texas A & I University
Kingsville, Texas 78383 Re: Authority of Texas State
Board of Examiners of
Psychologists to require that
applicants for certification have
taken coursework from faculty
members who are Board-
certified psychologists.
Dear President Leach:
You inform us that the Texas State Board of Examiners of
Psychologists, which administers the Psychologist’s Certification and
Licensing Act, article 4512c, V.T.C.S., has issued a rule requiring applicants
for certification to take coursework from professors who are Boardqertified
psychologists. General Ruling 400.02.00.010. The rule affects applicants for
qualification as “sub-doctoral personnel,” who must have a master’s degree.
V.T.C.S. art. 4512c, S 19. After certification, these persons use titles such as
psychological assistant or psychological technician. Id. If the applicant’s
coursework does not comply with the Board’s rule, he is&eligible to take the
certification examination. You ask whether the Board may require that
professors of psychology at state colleges and universities be certified in
order to teach in the program which prepares students for Board-administered
certification examinations.
Article 4512c, V.T.C.S., prohibits anyone from representing himself to
be a psychologist within the state unless he is certified or licensed by the
Board or exempted by the statute. Sec. 25. We determined in Attorney
General Opinion H-879 (1976) that the employees of state colleges and
universities were exempted by section 22(a) from any licensing requirement
imposed by the Act. The Board has submitted a brief stating that it does not
require any university faculty member to be certified or licensed as a
psychologist, and that it does not have statutory authority to promulgate such
a requirement. It asserts, however, that the rule merely establishes a
standard for the qualification of sub-doctoral personnel as authorized by
section 19 of article 4512~.
P. 4952
President Duane M. Leach - Page 2 (H-1245)
Although section 19 of article 4512~ authorizes the Board to set standards for
qualification of such personnel, it also states that they must have a master’s degree
in a program primarily psychological in nature from “an accredited university or
college.” Accreditation is done by a private professional or educational body, not
by the Board. -See Ex parte State Board of Law Examiners of Florida, 193 So. 753
(Fla. 1940) (law school); Louisiana Board of Pharmacy v. Smith, 65 So.2d 654 (La.
Ct. of App. 19531, aff’d, 76 So.2d 722 (La. 1954) (college of pharmacy). We believe
the Legislature chose to rely on the judgment of the accrediting body as to the
qualifications of faculty members and did not authorize the Board to reject degrees
from accredited institutions on the ground that faculty members were not Board-
certified.
In contrast, section 21, which provides for the licensing of a person who offers
psychological services for compensation, requires that
(2) he has had at least two year’s experience in the field of
psychological services, at least . . . one year of which was
under the supervision of a psychologist licensed under the
provisions of this Act.
‘When the Legislature intended the applicant’s preparation to include work with a
Board-qualified psychologist, it said so expressly. We believe, therefore, the
Board’s rule constitutes the imposition on subdoctoral personnel of a requirement
not contemplated by the statute. -Cf. Bloom v. Texas State Board of Examiners of
Psychologists, 492 S.W.2d 460 (Tex. 1973) (Board may not impose additional
requirements for applicant under the grandfather clause).
SUMMARY
The Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists may
not require that applicants for certification as subdoctoral
personnel have taken coursework from Board-certified
psychologists.
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
p. 4953
c .
President Duane M. Leach - Page 3 (H-1245)
a
Opinion Committee
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P. 4954