Purpose

• The bill aims to modify education requirements for licensure and continuing education (CE) topics in several health-related professions. It updates multiple Minnesota Statutes to add more focus on domestic violence education and cultural/diversity topics, and it strengthens CE requirements for ongoing professional practice.

Main Provisions (overview by occupation)

• Licensed Psychologist (section changes to 148.907 and 148.911)

  • Licensure requirements:
  • Doctoral degree with at least three graduate credit hours of domestic violence coursework, from a regionally accredited institution.
  • Postgraduate supervised psychological employment: at least one year (12 months) up to 60 months (five years); if the period goes beyond 60 months, the board may grant a variance.
  • Continuing education (CE) for renewal:
  • The board will set yearly CE hours and approved topics.
  • At least four CE hours per year must address increasing knowledge, understanding, self-awareness, and practice skills to work with people from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Topics include culture, cultural differences, social diversity and oppression, cultural humility, and human diversity (including race, ethnicity, origin, religion, language, age, gender, gender identity, physical and mental abilities, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status).
  • At least two CE hours must cover domestic violence.

• Marriage and Family Therapists (sections 148B.31 and 148B.33)

  • The board must develop and enforce licensing rules and ethics standards, and ensure licensees meet qualifications.
  • CE requirements:
  • Of the 40 required CE hours, at least four must focus on increasing knowledge and skills related to serving clients from diverse backgrounds (diversity, cultural humility, etc.).
  • At least two CE hours must be on domestic violence.

• Licensed Professional Counselor (section 148B.53 and 148B.54)

  • Licensure prerequisites:
  • Master’s or doctoral degree in counseling or a related field, with:
    • Minimum 48 semester credit hours (or 72 quarter hours) and at least 700 hours of supervised counseling field experience.
    • A plan for supervision during the first 2,000 hours of professional practice, or proof of supervised practice acceptable to the board.
    • Passage of a national or board-approved exam.
    • Agreement to practice under a code of ethics for professional counselors.
  • Note: If the applicant is already a licensed psychologist in Minnesota, they may show evidence of psychology licensure and are not required to meet some of the standard counselor-specific paragraphs.
  • Core academic content:
  • The master’s program must include coursework in 11 areas, including the helping relationship, human growth and development, counseling methods, assessment, multicultural foundations, ethics, and domestic violence among others.
  • CE requirements (ongoing):
  • The board will require CE hours (40 total over two years, with specific hour distributions and allowances for transfer of graduate credits), including at least four hours on serving diverse populations and two hours on domestic violence.

• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) (section 148E.055)

  • Licensure by examination:
  • Requires a graduate degree in social work from an appropriately accredited program (CSWE, CACREP-equivalent, or other recognized accreditor) or a related field with equivalent coursework.
  • Specific clinical clock hours breakdown for licensure, including:
    • 360 total clinical clock hours across defined knowledge areas, including differential diagnosis/biopsychosocial assessment, treatment planning, and clinical intervention methods.
    • 108 hours in assessment/diagnosis and in intervention/standards-based practice.
    • 72 hours in social work values and ethics, including diversity and social policy (with at least 30 hours in domestic violence-related courses) and 18 hours in culturally specific assessment and intervention.
  • Supervised practice requirements and a qualifying examination (ASWB or equivalent) are specified.
  • Criminal background checks and license fees are required, and adherence to a professional code of ethics is mandated.
  • Pathways and substitutions:
  • The bill allows alternatives such as accredited graduate coursework or up to 120 continuing education hours (including independent learning) to meet the knowledge-hour requirements, with verification of hours and clinical clock hours as specified.

Significant changes to existing law

• Adds explicit domestic violence coursework requirements across multiple licensure tracks (psychologist, counselor, LICSW) and requires substantial coverage of domestic violence within CE and core curriculum.
• Strengthens CE content to emphasize cultural diversity, cultural humility, social diversity, oppression, and ethical practice.
• Establishes detailed, topic-specific CE hour distributions (especially for diversity-related topics and domestic violence) and ties them to licensure renewal and ongoing practice.
• Introduces more granular requirements for licensure pathways and supervised practice, including potential variances and cross-licensing provisions (e.g., psychologist-to-counselor pathway).
• Calls for ongoing board rulemaking to implement, enforce, and update these requirements, including ethical codes and enforcement procedures.

Implementation and administration

• The state Board of Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work (and related boards) would adopt rules to implement these changes.
• Boards would issue licenses, enforce CE requirements, and monitor compliance with ethics codes, examinations, and supervised practice requirements.
• The bill references standard accrediting bodies (e.g., CACREP, CSWE) and national exams (e.g., NBCC, ASWB) as acceptable pathways for licensure.

Summary of impact

• Professionals seeking licensure in psychology, marriage and family therapy, professional counseling, or social work will face updated education and CE requirements.
• There will be a stronger emphasis on domestic violence education and cultural/diversity training across licensure tracks.
• The changes aim to improve public safety and service quality by ensuring practitioners are trained in recognizing and addressing domestic violence and working effectively with diverse communities.

Relevant Terms - domestic violence - cultural diversity - cultural humility - diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds - continuing education (CE) - clock hours / semester hours / quarter hours - supervised practice / postdoctoral supervision - licensure / license renewal - examinations (e.g., NCE, ASWB) - ethics / code of ethics - CACREP / CSWE / CHEA accreditation - cultural foundations / multicultural issues - assessment / diagnosis / treatment planning - intervention methods - ethics and professional standards - differential diagnosis / biopsychosocial assessment - clinical knowledge areas - independent learning (CE)