It is declared to be a policy of this state that it is necessary to provide regulatory authority over persons offering speech-language pathology and audiology services to the public in order to:
(1) Safeguard the public health, safety and welfare;
(2) Protect the public from being misled by incompetent, unscrupulous and unauthorized persons;
(3) Protect the public from unprofessional conduct by qualified speech-language pathologists and audiologists; and
(4) Help ensure the availability of the highest possible quality speech-language pathology and audiology services to people of this state who have communication disabilities.