§ 63-11-310 — Compliance with ethical standards - Reporting of disciplinary sanctions - Grounds for forfeiture or nonrenewal of license - Notifications to committee

(a) All licensees shall comply with their respective certifying entity's Guidelines for Responsible Conduct and Professional Disciplinary and Ethical Standards. (b) Any person licensed under this part who receives disciplinary sanctions from the person's certifying entity shall report such sanctions to the committee within five (5) business days after the disciplinary sanctions have been imposed. Such sanctions may include, but not be limited to, the denial of initial or renewal certification, revocation, suspension, or any other limitation of certification or combination of sanctions. Any licensee who loses certification for any reason shall immediately forfeit their license issued by the committee and shall stop providing ABA services in this state. (c) Other grounds for forfeiture or nonrenewal of a license issued in accordance with this part include: (1) Obtaining or attempting to obtain a license by making a false or misleading statement, failing to make a required statement, or engaging in fraud or deceit in any communication to the committee; (2) Gross or repeated negligence, incompetence, misconduct, or malpractice in professional work including, but not limited to: (A) Any physical or mental condition that currently impairs a licensee's competent professional performance or that poses a substantial risk to the recipient of behavior analysis services; (B) Professional conduct that constitutes an extreme and unjustified deviation from the customary standard of practice accepted in the applied behavior analytic community that creates a serious risk of harm to, or deception of, service recipients; (C) Abandonment of a service recipient resulting in the termination of imminently needed care without adequate notice or provision for transition; (D) Professional record keeping or data collection that constitutes an extreme and unjustified deviation from the customary standard of practice for the field, or deceptively altering a service recipient's records or data; (E) Engaging in blatant fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or pretense, intimidation in the practice of applied behavior analysis, or in solicitation of service recipients; (F) The unauthorized material disclosure of confidential service recipient information; (G) Limitation, sanction, revocation, or suspension by a health care organization, professional organization, or other private or governmental body, relating to behavior analysis practice, public health or safety, or behavior analysis certification or licensure; or (H) Any conviction of a felony or misdemeanor directly relating to behavior analysis practice or public health or safety. (d) Applicants and licensees shall notify the committee of the following within thirty (30) days of their occurrence: (1) A change of name, address, or other vital information; (2) The filing of any criminal charge or civil action against the applicant or licensee; (3) The initiation of any disciplinary charges, investigations, or findings or sanctions by a health care organization, federal or state agency, or other professional association against the licensee; and (4) Any other change in information provided by the applicant or licensee to the committee. (e) An action taken under this section shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the Fresh Start Act that are compiled in chapter 1, part 1 of this title.

Legislative History

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 745, s 28, eff. 7/1/2018. Acts 2014 , ch. 918, § 2.