Florida Senate - 2026 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 902
Ì224164!Î224164
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
02/18/2026 .
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The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services
(Burton) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Between lines 313 and 314
4 insert:
5 Section 6. Paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of section
6 491.005, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 491.005 Licensure by examination.—
8 (3) MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY.—Upon verification of
9 documentation and payment of a fee not to exceed $200, as set by
10 board rule, the department shall issue a license as a marriage
11 and family therapist to an applicant whom the board certifies
12 has met all of the following criteria:
13 (c)1. Attained one of the following:
14 a. A minimum of a master’s degree in marriage and family
15 therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on
16 Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education.
17 b. A minimum of a master’s degree with a major emphasis in
18 marriage and family therapy or a closely related field from a
19 university program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of
20 Counseling and Related Educational Programs and graduate courses
21 approved by the board.
22 c. A minimum of a master’s degree with an emphasis in
23 marriage and family therapy or a closely related field, with a
24 degree conferred before September 1, 2032 2027, from an
25 institutionally accredited college or university and graduate
26 courses approved by the board.
27 2. If the course title that appears on the applicant’s
28 transcript does not clearly identify the content of the
29 coursework, the applicant provided additional documentation,
30 including, but not limited to, a syllabus or catalog description
31 published for the course. The required master’s degree must have
32 been received in an institution of higher education that, at the
33 time the applicant graduated, was fully accredited by an
34 institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for
35 Higher Education Accreditation or its successor organization or
36 was a member in good standing with Universities Canada, or an
37 institution of higher education located outside the United
38 States and Canada which, at the time the applicant was enrolled
39 and at the time the applicant graduated, maintained a standard
40 of training substantially equivalent to the standards of
41 training of those institutions in the United States which are
42 accredited by an institutional accrediting body recognized by
43 the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or its successor
44 organization. Such foreign education and training must have been
45 received in an institution or program of higher education
46 officially recognized by the government of the country in which
47 it is located as an institution or program to train students to
48 practice as professional marriage and family therapists or
49 psychotherapists. The applicant has the burden of establishing
50 that the requirements of this provision have been met, and the
51 board shall require documentation, such as an evaluation by a
52 foreign equivalency determination service, as evidence that the
53 applicant’s graduate degree program and education were
54 equivalent to an accredited program in this country. An
55 applicant with a master’s degree from a program that did not
56 emphasize marriage and family therapy may complete the
57 coursework requirement in a training institution fully
58 accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and
59 Family Therapy Education recognized by the United States
60 Department of Education.
61
62 For the purposes of dual licensure, the department shall license
63 as a marriage and family therapist any person who meets the
64 requirements of s. 491.0057. Fees for dual licensure may not
65 exceed those stated in this subsection.
66
67 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
68 And the title is amended as follows:
69 Between lines 39 and 40
70 insert:
71 491.005, F.S.; revising licensure requirements for
72 marriage and family therapists; amending s.