Washington May Bar Relatives From Supervising a CBT. Comments Close September 22.

Washington's Department of Health has proposed that a clinical supervisor may not be “related to, subordinate to, or employed by” the certified behavior technician or licensed assistant behavior analyst they supervise. The public hearing is September 22 at 10:00 a.m., written comments close the same day at 11:59 p.m., and DOH's intended adoption date is September 29.

The proposal, WSR 26-16-014, was filed July 24. It adds the identical clause to WAC 246-805-240 (LABAs) and WAC 246-805-330 (CBTs). Neither rule contains it today.

Written about individuals, felt by the business

DOH exempted the proposal from small-business analysis on the grounds that it regulates “only individual professional standards and do[es] not impose requirements on business operations, staffing, equipment, or reporting.”

That's true of the text. It isn't how the rule lands. A supervisor-supervisee pair that fails the new test can only be fixed by reassigning one of them, and reassignment is a staffing decision the practice makes, not the clinician.

The three relationships aren't equally likely:

• Related to is the broad one, and the rule doesn't define it. In small and family-run practices, a spouse, parent or sibling supervising a technician isn't unusual.
• Subordinate to and employed by run in the opposite direction from the usual org chart. They bar a supervisor who reports to, or is paid by, the person being supervised — for example, a CBT who owns or manages the practice that employs their own supervising analyst.

DOH's September 2025 preproposal said the current rules don't address “supervisors having multiple conflicting types of relationships (e.g., both supervisor and employee)” and “do not clarify how much experience the supervisor should have.” The experience question didn't make it into the proposal.

What stays the same

• CBT supervision remains at least five percent of the CBT's hours each month, with at least two face-to-face contacts a month, an observation at least monthly, and an observation with each client at least every three months.
• LABA supervision remains one face-to-face contact a month and a quarterly observation.
• A supervision agreement is still required before the supervisee performs any behavior analytic tasks.

The same filing lets LABA applicants qualify with a degree from “a similar accrediting institution approved by the department,” which opens licensure to applicants educated abroad.

The limits

This is a proposal. The notice gives no effective date and the text has no transition provision, so it doesn't say whether pairs already in place get time to reassign. “Related to” isn't defined. And the professional-licensing rule isn't the only supervision clock in the state: HCA's Medicaid rule (WAC 182-531A-0700) separately requires technician supervision of at least five percent of total direct care per week.

What you must know or do

• Owners: list every CBT and LABA next to their named clinical supervisor this week. Flag any pair who are family, and any where the supervisor reports to or is paid by the supervisee.
• If a flagged pair would have to be split, comment by September 22. The two questions worth putting to DOH are what “related to” covers and whether existing pairs get a transition period. Email ABA@doh.wa.gov, use fortress.wa.gov/doh/policyreview, or register for the 10:00 a.m. Zoom hearing.
• Plan the reassignment paperwork now. A new supervisor means a new signed supervision agreement before the technician continues delivering services.
• Supervisors: check your agreements name you, not a colleague or a practice. The rule attaches to the individual clinical supervisor.