PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN SPEECH-LANGUAGE
AND HEARING
[ 49 PA. CODE CH. 45 ]
Continuing Education
[43 Pa.B. 5828]
[Saturday, October 5, 2013]The State Board of Examiners in Speech-Language and Hearing (Board) proposes to amend §§ 45.1, 45.501—45.505 and 45.507 to read as set forth in Annex A.
Effective Date
The proposed rulemaking would become effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Statutory Authority
Section 5(2) of the Speech-Language and Hearing Licensure Act (act) (63 P. S. § 1705(2)) authorizes the Board to adopt and revise rules and regulations consistent with the act as may be necessary to implement the provisions of the act. Section 5(7) of the act specifically authorizes the Board to establish standards of eligibility for license renewal, which include demonstration of satisfactory completion of continuing education.
Background and Need for the Proposed Rulemaking
In 2006, the Board promulgated initial regulations concerning continuing education. Having now applied the continuing education requirements during two subsequent renewal cycles, the Board has identified areas of the regulations where clarity or completeness could be improved.
Description of Proposed Amendments
Under § 45.501(a) (relating to credit hour requirements), each speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired is required to complete 20 clock hours of continuing education during each biennial renewal period. However, because some individuals are licensed in more than a single profession regulated by the Board, the question was raised whether a licensee is required to complete 20 clock hours of continuing education for each license or only a total of 20 clock hours. The Board proposes to amend § 45.501(a) to make clear that 20 clock hours of continuing education are required during each biennium for each license held. Also, the current regulations do not address carry-over of excess credit from one biennium to the next or repeating continuing education activities. The Board proposes to amend § 45.501(a) to prohibit the carry-over of credit to a subsequent biennium and to add § 45.501(d) to prohibit a licensee from receiving credit for participation in substantially the same program more than once during a single renewal cycle.
Under § 45.501(b), a licensee who serves as a lecturer or speaker or who publishes an article or book relating to the practice may receive up to 10 clock hours of approved continuing education per biennial renewal period. Because the regulations do not currently address the method for determining the amount of credit, the Board proposes to amend § 45.501(b) to provide that an instructor of an approved or preapproved program will receive credit to the same extent as an attendee will receive credit. The proposed amendment would also clarify that the instructor is not required to apply separate from the provider's application for course approval to obtain teaching credit. A licensee seeking credit for instruction, presentation or publication is required to submit a written request for approval along with supporting documentation. Although the current regulations do not clearly specify a fee to be charged for review of the request, the Board has charged for review of continuing education credit for speaking or publication the same fee that it charges a provider for review of a course or program of continuing education. The Board proposes to amend § 45.501(b) to clearly require that the fee specified in § 45.1 (relating to fees) be paid. Under § 45.1(a)(5), the Board charges an application fee of $40 for ''continuing education course approval.'' To include speaker and publication credit and to make clear that this fee is not charged to preapproved providers, the Board proposes to amend this description as ''continuing education approval (other than preapproved provider).'' Additionally, the Board proposes to delete as obsolete § 45.1(b), which addresses payment of an initial fee by an individual licensed before 1988.
Current § 45.502(a) (relating to exemption and waiver) exempts ''an individual applying for initial licen- sure . . . from the continuing education requirement for biennial renewal in the period following that in which the license is granted.'' This language could be interpreted to mean that a new licensee could receive a license, renew it as much as 20 or more months later and then not be required to complete continuing education during the following 24-month renewal period. The Board's intent in promulgating this subsection was that a new licensee would not be required to complete continuing education during the balance of that first biennium to renew the license for a full biennial renewal period. To fully effectuate this intent, the Board is proposing to rewrite § 45.502(a) to provide that ''a licensee is not required to complete continuing education during the biennial renewal period in which the licensee was first licensed to renew for the next biennium.''
Section 5(7) of the act authorizes the Board to waive all or part of the continuing education requirement for a licensee who shows to the satisfaction of the Board that the licensee was unable to complete the requirement due to illness, emergency or hardship and requires the licensee to make the request in writing, with appropriate documentation, describing the circumstances sufficient to show why the licensee is unable to comply with the requirement. Current § 45.502(b) addresses this process. Because the Board has received requests so late in the biennial renewal period that it has not been able to rule before the beginning of the new biennium, the Board is proposing to amend § 45.502(b) to require that the request be submitted at least 60 days prior the license's expiration date, except for good cause shown. In addition to the circumstances that cause the licensee's hardship, the Board typically considers the extent to which the licensee has already completed continuing education in deciding whether to waive the requirement or grant an extension for a temporary hardship. Also, because oftentimes the circumstances result from unexpected events at the last minute that keep a licensee from participating in continuing education as planned, the Board will sometimes grant a limited extension of time in which to complete continuing education rather than waive the requirement entirely. To obtain this necessary information up front, the Board also proposes amending § 45.502(b) to require the request for waiver to include a statement of how much continuing education has been completed already and, if seeking only an extension of time, the licensee's plan to complete the continuing education requirement.
Under § 45.503 (relating to continuing education requirement for reactivation of inactive and lapsed licenses), a licensee seeking to reinstate an inactive or lapsed license is required to provide proof of compliance with the continuing education requirement for the preceding biennium. Because the purpose of continuing education is to ensure the licensee's continued competence, a licensee who is seeking to reactivate late in the current biennium should not be able to rely upon continuing education completed early in the prior cycle, as much as 48 months earlier, to show current competence. Accordingly, the Board proposes to add a provision to this section to require a licensee seeking to reactivate a license to show a cycle's worth of continuing education in the 24-month period immediately preceding the application for reactivation. However, consistent with the proposed prohibition in § 45.501(a) against carry-over of credit, it would also prohibit the licensee from satisfying the subsequent renewal requirement with any of the continuing education completed for reactivation. Also, because the appropriate action is to reactivate, rather than renew, a license that is inactive or lapsed, the Board proposes to amend § 45.503 and to use ''reactivate'' or ''reactivation'' rather than ''renew'' or ''renewal.''
Current § 45.504(a) (relating to reporting completion of continuing education) requires ''applicants at the time of license renewal'' to certify completion of required continuing education. To clarify that this requirement is for existing licensees seeking renewal and not applicants seeking licensure coincidentally at the change in renewal periods, the Board proposes to amend § 45.504(a) to refer to ''licensees applying for biennial license renewal.''
The Board has set up in § 45.505 (relating to approval of continuing education programs) a process for the Board to review and approve continuing education programs. Under § 45.505(c)(4), the provider's application must contain a schedule of the program, including the title and description of each subject and the name of the lecturers. However, because the title and description of each subject are not always sufficient for the Board to determine the appropriateness of the program content, the Board proposes to amend § 45.505(c)(4) to require the application to include the course content. The Board also proposes to amend this paragraph to require the application to include with the name of lecturers a brief synopsis of the lecturer's qualifications, because the reviewing Board members cannot be expected to be familiar with every possible lecturer. This is not duplicative of the requirement of § 45.505(b)(3) for faculty names and credentials, as the lecturer and the course planner may be different individuals. Moreover, this synopsis is not a full curriculum vitae that the Board might request under § 45.505(b)(3).
Under § 45.505(d)(3), the Board has provided that courses and programs offered by academic programs in speech-language pathology, audiology or teaching of the hearing impaired associated with accredited institutions are preapproved. This provision was intended to apply to courses that are part of the academic training and not the ''not-for-credit'' courses that an institution might provide. Accordingly, the Board proposes to amend this paragraph to limit preapproved status to courses and programs offered for credit by academic programs. In considering this point, the Board further reviewed the documentation of successful completion of such a program, typically a transcript rather than a traditional continuing education certificate. Licensees are required under § 45.504(b) to maintain a certified continuing education record in the event of an audit. Although concluding that a transcript would satisfy the requirements in § 45.506(b) as a continuing education record, the Board proposes to add § 45.504(d) to make clear that an official transcript of a for-credit course in an accredited institution is adequate proof of successful completion.
Current § 45.507 (relating to disciplinary action authorized) provides for disciplinary action for licensees who submit fraudulent continuing education records to the Board or who fail to complete the required continuing education requirement within a particular biennial renewal period. Through the Commissioner of Professional and Occupational Affairs, the Board previously established a schedule of civil penalties for continuing education violations in § 43b.16a (relating to schedule of civil penalties—audiologists, speech-language pathologists and teachers of the hearing impaired) to make use of the more streamlined ''citation'' process for continuing education violations. The Board has determined that there is a need to codify the Board's practice of requiring individuals disciplined for failure to complete continuing education to make up all deficiencies within 6 months of receiving notice of the deficiency, especially in citation proceedings. To that end, the Board proposes to add subsection (c), which imposes a duty to make up deficient continuing education hours, notwithstanding any disciplinary taken for the violation. The Board also proposes to add subsection (d) to provide notice that failure to make up the deficient continuing education as required may subject the licensee to further disciplinary action.
Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed rulemaking would not have a fiscal impact on, or create additional paperwork for, the regulated community, the general public or the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions.
Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, a sunset date has not been assigned.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on September 25, 2013, the Board submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking and a copy of a Regulatory Analysis Form to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee and the House Professional Licensure Committee. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey comments, recommendations or objections to the proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final publication of the rulemaking, by the Board, the General Assembly and the Governor of comments, recommendations or objections raised.
Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, recommendations or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to the Regulatory Unit Counsel, Department of State, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, st-speech@pa.gov within 30 days of publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Reference No. 16A-6807 (continuing education) when submitting comments.
JAMES L. SHAFER, Au.D.,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-6807. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 45. STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS IN SPEECH-LANGUAGE AND HEARING
Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS § 45.1. Fees.
[(a)] The following are the fees set by the State Board of Examiners in Speech-Language and Hearing:
* * * * * (5) Application for continuing education [course] approval (other than preapproved provider)
$40[(b) The Board will require payment of the initial license fee by individuals who were issued licenses without fee prior to July 30, 1988.]
Subchapter G. CONTINUING EDUCATION § 45.501. Credit hour requirements.
(a) Each speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired shall have completed 20 clock hours of continuing education per license during each preceding biennial renewal period, beginning with the renewal period commencing August 1, 2008. Excess clock hours may not be carried over to the next biennium.
(b) Up to 10 clock hours of approved continuing education credit per biennial renewal period may be granted on a case-by-case basis for services as a lecturer or speaker, and for publication of articles, books and research relating to the practice of speech-language pathology, audiology or teaching of the hearing impaired. A licensee seeking continuing education credit under this subsection shall submit a written request with a copy of the lecture, presentation, article, book or research and a fee for continuing education approval as required under § 45.1 (relating to fees). The request shall be submitted 180 days prior to the expiration of the biennial renewal period for which the licensee is seeking credit. An instructor of a program approved under § 45.505 (relating to approval of continuing education programs) will receive credit to the same extent that an attendee will receive credit and is not required to apply for approval under this subsection.
(c) Unless granted a waiver under § 45.502 (relating to exemption and waiver), the Board will not renew or reactivate any speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired license until the continuing education requirement for the current biennial renewal period has been completed.
(d) A licensee may not receive credit for participation in substantially the same program more than once during a single renewal cycle.
§ 45.502. Exemption and waiver.
(a) [An individual applying for initial licensure shall be exempt from the continuing education requirement for biennial renewal in the period following that in which the license is granted.] A licensee is not required to complete continuing education during the biennial renewal period in which the licensee was first licensed to renew for the next biennium.
(b) The Board may waive all or part of the continuing education requirement for a biennial renewal period upon request of a licensee. The request must be made in writing, with supporting documentation, and include a statement of how much continuing education the licensee has completed and a description of circumstances sufficient to show why compliance is impossible. Except for good cause shown, a licensee seeking a waiver shall submit the request to the Board at least 60 days before the current expiration date of the license for the Board to evaluate the request prior to expiration of the license. Waiver requests will be evaluated by the Board on a case-by-case basis. Waivers may be granted for serious illness, military service or other demonstrated hardship. A waiver request seeking an extension of time to complete required continuing education shall include the licensee's plan to complete the required continuing education. The Board will send written notification of its approval or denial of a waiver request.
§ 45.503. Continuing education requirement for [biennial renewal] reactivation of inactive and lapsed licenses.
A licensee seeking to [reinstate] reactivate an inactive or lapsed license shall show proof of compliance with the continuing education requirement for the preceding biennial period. Only continuing education obtained during the 24-month period immediately preceding application for reactivation may be used to justify reactivation. This continuing education is in addition to continuing education required to subsequently renew the license under § 45.501(c) (relating to credit hour requirements).
§ 45.504. Reporting completion of continuing education.
(a) [Applicants at the time of] Licensees applying for biennial license renewal shall provide, on forms provided by the Board, a signed statement certifying that the continuing education requirement has been met and information to support the certification which includes the following:
* * * * * (c) Individuals shall retain the certified continuing education records for courses completed for a minimum of 4 years.
(d) Instead of the continuing education record required under subsection (b), a licensee who successfully completed a program preapproved under § 45.505(d)(3) (relating to approval of continuing education programs) may document completion by means of an official transcript of the institution.
§ 45.505. Approval of continuing education programs.
* * * * * (c) An application must contain:
* * * * * (4) A schedule of the program, including the title and description of each subject, the course content, the name and brief synopsis of qualifications of the lecturers and the time allotted.
* * * * * (d) The following programs are deemed approved for continuing education credit:
* * * * * (3) Courses and programs offered for credit by academic programs in speech-language pathology, audiology or teaching of the hearing impaired associated with institutions accredited by any state's department of education or a regional commission on institutions of higher education.
* * * * * § 45.507. Disciplinary action authorized.
* * * * * (b) A licensed speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired who fails to complete the required continuing education requirement within any biennial renewal period may be subject to discipline unless the licensee is exempt or has been granted a waiver under § 45.502 (relating to exemption and waiver).
(c) Notwithstanding discipline imposed by the Board under subsection (b), whether by formal disciplinary proceedings or by issuance of a citation as set forth in § 43b.16a (relating to schedule of civil penalties—audiologists, speech-language pathologists and teachers of the hearing impaired), a licensed speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired who has been found to be deficient in continuing education hours shall make up deficiencies within 6 months of receiving notice of the deficiency.
(d) Failure to make up deficient continuing education hours as required under subsection (c) may subject the licensed speech-language pathologist, audiologist or teacher of the hearing impaired to further discipline under section 10 of the act.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 13-1855. Filed for public inspection October 4, 2013, 9:00 a.m.]
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
