NOTICES
FISH AND BOAT COMMISSION
Criteria for Courses of Instruction in Boating Safety Education
[54 Pa.B. 8222]
[Saturday, December 14, 2024]Under 58 Pa. Code § 91.7 (relating to criteria for courses of instruction in boating safety education), the Executive Director of the Fish and Boat Commission (Commission) shall establish criteria for courses of instruction in boating safety education, and the Executive Director shall publish the criteria in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The Executive Director therefore has established the following Criteria for Internet, Correspondence and Classroom Boating Safety Education Courses, effective January 1, 2025, and supersedes any previous Criteria for Internet, Correspondence and Classroom Boating and Safety Education Courses.
By separate notice, the Executive Director approved boating safety education courses that meet these criteria and published a list of approved boating safety education courses at 54 Pa.B. 8221 (December 14, 2024), effective January 1, 2025.
TIMOTHY D. SCHAEFFER,
Executive Director58 Pa. Code § 91.7. Criteria for Internet Boating Safety Education Courses.
The Commission will use the following criteria to approve Internet boating safety education courses. The Commission will only issue Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificates to Commonwealth residents who have successfully completed an approved course.
A. Overview.
The Internet boating safety education course allows students to study boating and boating safety information and take a certification examination online in a secure Internet environment. The Internet course will consist of a complete educational curriculum covering the basics of boating safety, regulations and accepted best practices. The course will be presented in lesson format with in-depth coverage of the various topics listed in following sections. The information will be presented in a narrative fashion followed by review questions and discussion points. Courses that consist solely of questions with a correct answer description will not be deemed to meet the criteria contained in this document.
B. Providers.
Approved Internet courses shall be offered by providers that meet the requirements of the Commission. Individuals or organizations that desire to provide an Internet boating safety education course that is approved for Pennsylvania boaters shall be willing to enter into an agreement with the Commission containing the Commonwealth's standard terms and conditions and the additional terms set forth in Exhibit A. Prior to entering into an agreement with the Commission, providers shall submit a request in writing to the Commission's Director of Boating or designee and shall demonstrate to the Commission's satisfaction that the provider is capable of performing its obligations under the agreement. Providers shall demonstrate their capability by submitting the following documentation along with their request to the Commission:
(A) A description of the provider and its capabilities, including a description of type and number of staff and their responsibilities.
(B) Proof of ability to manage certification data securely and digitally. This will be demonstrated by providing either:
(1) An existing computer-based database management system designed to manage certification data, or
(2) Detailed specifications and a project plan to deliver such a computer-based system.
(C) Copies of certification by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) to demonstrate provider's secure handling of students' credit card data.
(D) Proof that provider's course(s) have been approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).
(E) The web address (URL) of the Internet course.
C. Course Content.
(A) The course must be approved by NASBLA. Information on NASBLA approval is available on the NASBLA website at http://www.nasbla.org/ or by calling the NASBLA office at 859-225-9487.
(B) In addition to NASBLA requirements, course content will include:
(1) A description of boating in Pennsylvania.
(2) Commission regulatory responsibilities.
(3) Types of boats, boat motors, and boat hulls.
(4) Boat terminology including, but not limited, to: hull, bow, forward, aft, stern, port, starboard, transom, keel, freeboard, draft, beam, gunwale, bilge, waterline.
(5) Long distance communication on the water.
(6) Boat handling.
(7) Process for passage through river locks.
D. Organization.
(A) Internet course contents will be organized in chapters or lessons.
(B) Internet course will include chapter/lesson review exercises.
(C) Internet course will have a comprehensive final examination.
E. Animation quality.
(A) Internet course will include animations or video clips where appropriate to illustrate concepts.
(B) Animations will be developed using vector-based graphics for viewing on a variety of screen resolutions.
(C) Animations and/or video clips will be of reasonable file size for quick download and delivery on a wide variety of user platforms and connection speeds.
(D) Animations and/or video clips will allow student-paced instruction, where the student controls the pacing of the instructional segment and can re-play the instructional segment.
(E) Animations and/or video clips will be created in a contemporary design to engage all age groups, particularly the youth segment of the boating education market.
F. Internet course design quality.
(A) Internet course web page design will have an attractive, easy-to-read, and contemporary look and feel.
(B) Internet course web page design will support all common user environments (various operating systems, web browsers, and connection speeds).
(C) Boating terms used in the Internet course will be hyperlinked to their definitions the first time they appear in the course material.
(D) Internet course will include hyperlinks to locations within the Commission's website from all appropriate locations within the Internet course.
G. ADA version of Internet course design quality.
(A) Standard Internet course design will be developed so that it complies with all Priority 1 checkpoints within the current established Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
(B) Internet course design will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and/or Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Course provider will schedule annual reviews of its course material to verify continuing ADA-compliance and implement any changes needed as a result in its development of new course material.
H. Internet Course Chapter Review Quiz, Pre-Test and Online Certification Examination.
(1) The Internet course must be organized into at least six chapters with a chapter review quiz at the end of each chapter.
(2) The Internet course must be designed so that the student actively participates.
(3) Students will not be able to access the certification examination without first successfully completing the chapter review quiz for each chapter.
(4) Students will not be permitted to take the chapter review quiz without spending the minimum study time assigned to that chapter. The minimum study time assigned to each chapter must be approved by the Commission. The minimum time for the Internet course to be completed by the student, not including the certification examination, is three hours.
(5) There must be at least ten review questions for each chapter.
(6) Students must successfully complete each chapter review quiz before progressing to the next chapter. Students may proceed once they have achieved at least a seventy percent on the chapter review quiz.
(7) Students failing the chapter review quiz will be directed to study the material again and may not retake the quiz until they have again spent the minimum study time assigned to that chapter.
(8) The testing portion of the Internet course will include a Pennsylvania-specific pre-test and certification examinations. The Commission will review and approve all questions that are included in the examination question pool.
(9) Internet course will have a testing algorithm for the pre-test and certification examinations.
(10) The pre-test and final examination will contain at least 50 questions randomly drawn from a pool of questions written to current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards.
(11) The pre-test and final examination will also include, at least, an additional 10 Pennsylvania-specific questions drawn from the pool of at least 30 such questions developed by course provider and written to current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards.
(12) The randomization algorithm for online testing will create examinations that meet current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards.
(13) Examination presentation will allow for the questions to be presented with color graphics or photos in order to test knowledge of aids-to-navigation, navigation rules, boating at night, and other subjects.
(14) Testing questions will be grouped into the number of categories requested or approved by the Commission. Each category will be defined by the Commission in terms of the category description and the number of questions from that category that should appear on each randomly generated pre-test or examination.
(15) Each occurrence of the pre-test or certification examinations will be generated individually and uniquely for every student. The questions on each pre-test or examination will be chosen randomly from each of the defined categories according to the number of questions specified for that category included in current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards to ensure that each important topic is tested. The course certification examination process and design will not provide for or promote the use of reference materials during the examination process.
(16) The pool of examination questions and associated graphics, the number and description of categories, the number of questions per category and the total number of questions on the pre-test and certification examination will be changed at any time upon request of the Commission.
(17) The pre-test and certification examinations will be graded automatically, and the student given their score online.
(18) A test critique will be generated and presented to the student each time a chapter/lesson review exercise, pre-test or certification examination is completed.
(19) Students completing the pre-test will be presented with only the topics (categories) of questions for which they gave incorrect answers. The pre-test will not show students specifically which questions they missed.
(20) Students completing the certification examination will be presented with the questions, the correct answers for those questions, explanations of the correct answers, and hyperlinks back to the relevant course material where those questions are covered.
(21) The passing grade for the final examination will be 80%.
I. Certification.
(A) The course certification examination registration process will contain Commission defined personal data fields to be collected from student applicants.
(B) The online registration process will validate the data fields to ensure data integrity.
(C) The registration process will check that all required data fields have been supplied by the student, and the process will allow data for fields such as hair color or race to be selected from a Commission-specified list of allowed values.
(D) Students passing the course certification examination with a minimum grade of 80% will be issued a temporary boating safety education certificate. Provider will not allow the downloading of the form to the student's computer in a form that can be edited by the recipient. This will be accomplished by a locked PDF file or other secure method. The provider will arrange for resolution of any printing problems and provide for the mailing of the original or duplicate temporary certificate. The temporary boating safety education certificate will display a code (character string) that is tied uniquely to that student's personal data, so that the Commission can decode it easily to determine if the temporary certificate was generated fraudulently.
(E) The temporary boating safety certificate expires 60 days after the date of issue. The temporary boating safety certificate used by the provider must be approved by the Commission and will contain the following information: date of issue, date of expiration, name and address, type of course, hair color, eye color, sex, date of birth, NASBLA approval, electronic signature of instructor and date, signature of student and date, instructions on how to obtain a permanent boating safety education certificate at a later date.
Exhibit A A. Internet course promotion and advertising.
(1) All promotion of the Internet course will be done ethically and honestly and will not mislead the public in any way. Promotions will not include contests or give-away promotions. Course provider will not advertise the Internet course from within other websites where the other websites are designed in a way that misleads the public.
(2) Course provider will not collect names or E-mail addresses of other potential students from the online students. Any direct solicitation of potential students via E-mail, mail, or telephone is prohibited unless approved in advance in writing by the Commission.
(3) Course provider will not provide an advertisement or link to another website from within the Internet course unless approved in advance in writing by the Commission.
B. General Course Provider Tasks and Qualifications.
The course provider will:
(1) Employ sufficient staff to develop, maintain, operate and manage the course.
(2) Secure an Internet Domain (URL address) to host the course and publish the course on the Internet.
(3) Issue temporary boating safety education certificates approved by the Commission to students successfully completing the Internet course.
(4) Generate any reports on the student data and financial transactions that are requested by the Commission including, but not limited to, year to date and monthly reports showing student demographics and fees collected.
(5) Handle the purchase of Commission boating safety education certificates by successful students as part of the course certification process and transfer the associated fees and certificate-purchaser data to the Commission, electronically or in any agreed upon format by the course provider and the Commission, on at least a monthly basis.
(6) Pay Commission fees by check or electronic fund transfer.
(7) Update the Internet course to reflect changes in Federal or State regulations or laws and make any other changes or corrections to the Internet course that are requested by the Commission at any time.
(8) Provide an email link that allows users to contact the course provider and respond to all inquiries within 48 hours. (Automated responses merely stating that the user's E-mail has been received will not satisfy this requirement.)
(9) Respond to Commission queries promptly.
(10) Provide daily (including weekend) service for the Internet course.
(11) Answer all technical questions related to using the Internet course, and also any questions related to boating safety, laws, etc. that can be answered from the course material.
(12) Forward any questions that cannot be answered with confidence to a designated Commission contact.
(13) Maintain a secure and complete backup of the student data for a period of five (5) years and make available to the Commission, upon request, a complete copy of the digital files of the student data.
(14) Provide a bond in the amount of $20,000 in the form approved by the Commission to indemnify the Commission against any loss or damage of monies that course provider collects on behalf of the Commission (for example, fees collected for purchases of the Commission-required boating safety education certificates) upon execution of the agreement between the course provider and the Commission.
(15) Collect all student data fields required by the Commission.
(16) Adhere strictly to a privacy policy that ensures that student data will not be transferred to any party other than the Commission and will not be used by course provider for any purpose except to issue students' certification cards. In the event course provider fails to adhere to this privacy policy, course provider agrees to pay the Commission the sum of $100 for each name or other piece of student data transferred or used in violation hereof. The course provider will state this privacy policy clearly on its web page that is accessible from every web page in the Internet course material and examination.
B. Adherence to Payment Card Industry Security Standards.
Course provider will obtain and maintain certification by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) to ensure course provider's secure handling of students' credit card data. Course provider will provide the Commission with a copy of the PCI certification upon request. The PCI audits will cover course provider's web server, data management system, and associated networks. Additionally, course provider will meet those same payment card security standards with respect to course provider's handling of students' personal data. Detailed requirements are found in the document titled ''Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard'' and can be downloaded from www.pcisecuritystandards.org.
C. Course Fees.
Course providers may charge users a reasonable fee not to exceed $60.00 to take the Internet course and online certification examination.
D. Boating Safety Education Certification Fee.
The course provider will disclose to students who take the Internet boating safety education course that they will be required to pay for the Pennsylvania boating safety education certification. Students will not have the option to opt out of receiving the Pennsylvania boating safety education certification. The course provider will collect the $10 fee from the student in addition to the charge (if any) for the Internet boating education course examination and will remit the fee to the Commission.
E. Administrative Fee to Commission.
The course providers will pay the Commission an administrative fee of $5 for each boating safety education certification examination.
F. Transfer of Data, Fees and Reports.
The course provider will:
(1) Pay all certification fees and administrative fees by check or electronic fund transfer on a monthly basis or other term as required by the Commission.
(2) Transfer student data to the Commission digitally and securely in the form and format established by the Commission.
(3) Generate any reports on the student data and financial transactions that are requested by the Commission including, but not limited to, year to date and monthly reports showing student demographics and fees collected.
58 Pa. Code § 91.7. Criteria for Classroom Boating Safety Education Courses.
The Commission will use the following criteria to approve classroom boating safety education courses. The Commission will only issue Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificates to Commonwealth residents who have successfully completed an approved course.
A. Overview.
The boating education classroom course (classroom course) is an instructor-based course that allows students to study boating and boating safety and take a certification examination. The classroom course will consist of a complete educational curriculum covering the basics of boating safety, regulations and accepted best practices. The course will be presented in lesson format with in-depth coverage of the various topics listed in following sections. The classroom course is supported by video(s) and is taught by one or more instructors to one or more students. Once instruction of the course is complete, students take a proctored certification examination in a classroom environment.
The classroom course includes:
(1) A lesson plan for instructors
(2) A printed boating education student manual.
(3) Boating education video(s) that support the lecture parts of the course.
(4) A proctored certification examination to take at the course location or at another monitored location.
B. Providers.
Approved classroom courses shall be offered by providers that meet the requirements of the Commission. Individuals or organizations that desire to provide a classroom course that is approved for Pennsylvania boaters shall be willing to enter into an agreement with the Commission containing the Commonwealth's standard terms and conditions and the additional terms set forth in Exhibit A. This does not apply to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or to the U.S. Power Squadrons who are excluded from this requirement. Prior to entering into an agreement with the Commission, providers shall submit a request in writing to the Commission's Director of Boating or designee and shall demonstrate to the Commission's satisfaction that the provider is capable of performing its obligations under the agreement. Providers shall demonstrate their capability by submitting the following documentation along with their request to the Commission:
(1) A description of the company and its capabilities including a description of type and number of staff and their responsibilities.
(2) Proof that its course(s) have been approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).
(3) The web address (if any) for their classroom course.
(4) A complete copy of the lesson plan, including the certification examination for teaching the classroom course.
(5) A sample of the video(s) or PowerPoint presentation used to support the course.
(6) A sample of the student manual or textbook used to teach the course.
C. Course Content.
(A) The course must be approved by NASBLA. Information on NASBLA approval is available on the NASBLA website at http://www.nasbla.org/ or by calling the NASBLA office at 859-225-9487.
(B) In addition to NASBLA requirements, course content will include:
(1) A description of boating in Pennsylvania.
(2) Commission regulatory responsibilities.
(3) Types of boats, boat motors, and boat hulls.
(4) Boat terminology including, but not limited, to: hull, bow, forward, aft, stern, port, starboard, transom, keel, freeboard, draft, beam, gunwale, bilge, waterline.
(5) Long distance communication on the water.
(6) Boat handling.
(7) Process for passage through river locks.
D. Student Manual.
(A) Overview.
The printed student manual will be a four-color student text, tailored to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, covering all of the Pennsylvania state-specific boating laws and regulations, navigational rules and aids, risk management, and responsibilities of boat operators. Pennsylvania state-specific information may, as an option, be provided in a separate text such as the PA Boating Handbook.
Course provider will:
(1) Write all text used in the student manual.
(2) Provide all graphics used in the student manual.
(3) Procure any photographs needed for the student manual.
(4) Design the cover and page layout of the student manual.
(5) Make any and all revisions requested by the Commission to any state-specific pages (if applicable) of the student manual.
(6) Provide a complete color proof of the student manual to the Commission for approval prior to teaching the classroom course.
(7) Update the student manual to reflect changes in Federal and Pennsylvania laws and information.
E. Text quality and content.
(A) Text will be written in a clear, reader-friendly, and consistent style.
(B) Boating terms will be defined.
(C) The student manual will include chapter review exercises to aid students in retention of the material.
F. Graphics quality.
(A) The student manual will contain graphics to illustrate important information. All graphics will be full-color and realistic.
(B) The student manual will, in addition, contain photographs to illustrate important information. All photographs will be high-resolution color photographs showing only current model boats.
(C) All graphics and photographs illustrating persons in boats will show the persons properly wearing U.S. Coast Guard approved PFDs, unless the graphic or photograph is marked clearly as a prohibited situation.
G. Page layout quality.
Layout of the student manual's text pages will be consistent throughout and have an attractive, easy-to-read, and contemporary look.
H. Boating Education Video.
(A) Overview. The boating education video(s) must support the information being taught in the classroom course and may not conflict with the information being taught by the course instructors from the lesson plan, or the content of the student manual.
(B) Video quality.
(1) Will be contemporary and professionally presented.
(2) Audio and video tracks on the boater education video will be of good quality.
I. Certification Examination.
(A) The classroom course will include a comprehensive certification examination written to current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards. The Commission may choose 10 state-specific questions from the pool of at least 20 such questions developed by course provider and written to current NASBLA Education and Testing Standards.
(B) Classroom course examination will be designed to meet NASBLA requirements for examination security.
(C) Course provider will provide grading of the certification examination and notify students of their scores.
(D) All answers to the examination will be written on the Application for Boating Safety Certificate (available on written request from the Commission).
(E) Students with reading problems may have the test read to them at their request. This option should be explained well in advance of starting the testing procedure to allow for preparation.
(F) The classroom course provider is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the certification examination. The course provider must take special care to prevent examination fraud or cheating.
(G) Upon completion of the exam, each student's Application for Boating Safety Certificate is collected and graded by the course provider. Students are advised by the instructor of their grade.
(H) Students passing the course certification exam with a minimum grade of 80% are eligible to apply for a permanent boating safety education certificate.
J. Application for Boating Safety Education Certification.
(A) After grading the answer sheet part of the application, the course provider prints their name, instructor number (assigned by the Commission in Harrisburg), signs each sheet of the application form, and returns the application to the students. The course provider must not allow the student to retain the completed answer sheet of the application form or any blank Application for Boating Safety Education Certificate forms.
(B) The course provider is responsible to make certain that Applications for Boating Safety Certificate forms are properly completed and legible before students submit them via mail to the Commission using the provided envelope. Course providers should never collect the certificate fee from the student.
(C) Students should be advised to mail the completed applications immediately after the completion of the course to avoid a delay in receiving their certificates.
(D) The applications are data entered at the Commission in Harrisburg. Students will receive a Boating Safety Education Certificate in the mail (within 60 days after receipt in Harrisburg).
(E) Students passing the course certification examination with a minimum grade of 80% may be issued a temporary boating safety education certificate (available on written request from the Commission) by the course provider.
(F) The temporary boating safety certificate expires 60 days after the date of issue. The temporary boating safety certificate used by the provider must be approved by the Commission and will contain the following information: date of issue, date of expiration, name and address, type of course, hair color, eye color, sex, date of birth, NASBLA approval, signature of instructor and date, signature of student and date, and instructions on how to obtain a permanent boating safety education certificate at a later date.
K. Boating Education Course Summary Sheet.
(A) Classroom courses must be documented to the Commission using a boating education course summary sheet form (available on written request from the Commission). Both sides (A and B) must be completed by the course provider.
(B) At the completion of the course, the summary sheet must be mailed by the course provider to the Commission in Harrisburg. The summary sheet documents the course to the Commission and is used to cross-reference applications received by students.
(C) The answer sheet part of the Application for Boating Safety Education Certification is not mailed to the Commission. It is to be retained as part of the course provider's record and must not be returned to the student.
(D) The instructor number for the course provider must be listed.
(E) Student names must be listed in the spaces provided on the back of the form. Additional copies of the form may be used for large classes.
Exhibit A A. Classroom Course Promotion and Advertising.
All promotion of the classroom course will be done ethically and honestly and will not mislead the public in any way.
B. General Course Provider Tasks and Qualifications.
The course provider will:
(1) Be responsible for the ethical conduct of the classroom course instructor(s).
(2) Be responsible for all development required for the classroom course.
(3) Update the classroom course to reflect changes in Federal or State boating regulations or laws.
(4) Upon request, issue temporary boating safety education certificates approved by the Commission to students successfully completing the classroom course.
(5) Respond to Commission and public queries promptly.
(6) Answer all technical questions related to using the classroom course, and any questions related to boating safety, laws, or other information that can be answered from the course material.
(7) Forward any questions that cannot be answered with confidence to a designated Commission contact.
(8) Document to the Commission using a boating education course summary sheet form.
C. Course Fees.
Course providers may charge users a reasonable fee (not to exceed $60.00) to take the classroom course.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 24-1798. Filed for public inspection December 13, 2024, 9:00 a.m.]
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