New Mexico Support Personnel Laws and Regulations

The following information includes laws and regulations for speech-language pathology and audiology support personnel in educational and other practice settings. The information is reviewed on an annual basis. Please be advised that regulations and policy may change at any time, so always check with your state for the most up-to-date information.

School Setting Requirements

Speech-Language Pathology

Speech-language pathologist apprentices may work in schools under the supervision of a fully licensed speech-language pathologist. To be licensed as a speech-language pathology apprentice an individual must:

1. Have a bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology or communicative disorders or equivalent degree or a baccalaureate degree in another field with 30 semester hours of credit in speech-language pathology or communicative disorders;
2. Be enrolled in a master's degree program in speech-language pathology or communication disorders (within 2 years of initial licensing) and complete a minimum rate of nine (9) semester hours per year of graduate courses in communication disorders per year; or
   • If not accepted into a master's degree program in speech-language pathology or communication disorders complete nine (9) semester hours of graduate courses per year with at least three (3) hours in communication disorders, six (6) hours may be taken in a related field;
   • If the educational institution does not permit students who are not matriculated into a graduate program to take graduate courses in communication disorders, the student may substitute three (3) hours in a related field for the three (3) hours in communication disorders, in addition to the other six (6) hours in a related field.
3. Maintain a 3.0 in master's degree coursework;
4. Be supervised by a licensed speech-language pathologist with a minimum of 2 years of experience;
   and
5. Must receive, as an apprentice, a minimum of 10% direct supervision and 10% indirect supervision.

Statutory and Regulatory Requirements

Speech-Language Pathology

For a temporary paraprofessional license a speech-language pathology apprentice must:

1. Have a bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology or communicative disorders or equivalent degree or a baccalaureate degree in another field with 30 semester hours of credit in speech-language pathology or communicative disorders.
2. Completes graduate classes at a rate of 9 semester hours per year and is accepted in a master's level program within 2 years of initial licensing.
3. Maintain a 3.0 in master's degree coursework.
4. Be supervised by a licensed speech-language pathologist with a minimum of 2 years of experience with a direct caseload of no more than 40 clients; supervise a maximum of 3 apprentices at one time.
5. Must receive, as an apprentice, a minimum of 10% direct supervision and 10% indirect supervision.

Resources

For further information on laws and regulations for speech-language pathology and audiology support personnel in educational and other practice settings, please visit this website:

Laws and Regulations for Paraprofessionals (apprentice in Speech-Language Pathology)

To see where your state stands on support personnel licensure trends, please view the trend chart which is updated at the end of each calendar year:

Support Personnel [PDF]

Questions regarding this information? Call ASHA at 800-498-2071 and ask for the State Advocacy Team.