Licensing Rules Block Recent Speech Therapy Grads From Working in N.C. | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Lindsay Marchello, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

South Carolina lets bachelor's recipients work in schools immediately; N.C. forces them to jump through more timely, costly hoops

    Alicia Moran is a junior at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, studying to get her bachelor's degree in communications disorders. She wants to return to her home state of North Carolina to work, but the licensing scheme here may keep her away.

    In North Carolina, a licensed speech-language pathology assistant requires earning a bachelor's degree and completing six additional courses. Getting licensed as a speech pathologist or an audiologist in North Carolina requires even more schooling for a master's degree or a doctorate.

    In South Carolina, Moran could graduate and go right to work.

    "As soon as you get your bachelor's degree, you can be placed in a school system in South Carolina," Moran said. "If I wanted to drive a few hours north to North Carolina, I wouldn't be able to get any type of job because it requires you to go back to school after you get a bachelor's degree."

    Moran isn't alone. Some of her classmates studying communications disorders are also N.C. natives, but they plan to stay in South Carolina to work.

    To get licensed in North Carolina, Moran would have to spend more time and money for additional schooling. Reciprocity agreements between states for speech-language pathology assistants don't exist.

    The N.C. Board of Examiners for speech-language pathologists and audiologists is responsible for licensing. Not only does it require applicants to have a master's or doctorate, but also to pass the national certification exam, participate in continuing education activities, and log hundreds of hours of supervised experience.

    The N.C. Board of Examiners for SLPA on its website explains the purpose of licensing. It says licensing is important to protect consumers and ensure high quality speech-language pathologists and audiologists.

    The board didn't immediately respond to questions about the differences between work requirements in the two Carolinas.

    Research has been fairly consistent on the negative effects of occupational licensing.

    The Institute for Justice ranked North Carolina 17th for the most broadly and onerously licensed state in the country. IJ has long argued occupational licensing can be a barrier to work and prohibits certain industries from facing competition.

    Research from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found states with more burdensome licensing requirements had significantly lower employment in 10 professions. The study suggests North Carolina would likely see a 5.2 percent increase in employment if licensing requirements were reduced.

    Another study from the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests occupational licensing rules may be keeping people from moving across state lines for job opportunities.

    "I want to come back to North Carolina. I'll just have to see when I graduate what kind of job I can get and if it would pay as much," Moran said. "If not, I'll have to stay in South Carolina."