RBT requirements in South Dakota

The rules that affect RBTs

• South Dakota has no state license or registration for behavior technicians.
• SDCL 36-38-5(6) exempts an assistant behavior analyst or paraprofessional who delivers ABA under the extended authority and direction of a behavior analyst, provided the services are supervised in accordance with BACB requirements.
• The paraprofessional must use a title indicating paraprofessional status, such as ABA technician, behavior technician, tutor or line therapist.
• Every paraprofessional delivering ABA under a behavior analyst must submit to a fingerprint criminal background check through the Division of Criminal Investigation; the supervising behavior analyst pays the fees (SDCL 36-38-25).
• The board may use the background check records only to decide whether the person is eligible to be supervised.
• No paraprofessional convicted of a felony, or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, in the past five years may deliver ABA services under a behavior analyst (SDCL 36-38-26).
• Behavior analysts are licensed by the South Dakota Board of Social Work Examiners, with an Applied Behavior Analyst Advisory Committee.

BACB requirements apply everywhere

Whatever the state adds, RBT certification itself is the same in every state: the 40-hour training, the Initial Competency Assessment, the BACB exam, and ongoing supervision of at least 5% of your service hours each month. In South Dakota, your supervising BCBA must also hold the state license. Your employer and the programs that pay for services, such as Medicaid or insurers, can have their own requirements too. See how to become an RBT.