N.Y. Education Law § 6609-a: Mandatory continuing education for dental hygienists

§ 6609-a. Mandatory continuing education for dental hygienists. 1.

(A) Each dental hygienist, licensed pursuant to this article and

required to register triennially with the department to practice in this

state shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing

education requirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (B) and (C) of

this subdivision. Dental hygienists who do not satisfy the mandatory

continuing education requirements shall not practice until they have met

such requirements and have been issued a registration or conditional

registration certificate.

(B) Dental hygienists shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing

education requirement for the triennial registration period during which

they are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section,

adjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be

granted by the department for reasons of health, certified by a

physician, for extended active duty with the Armed Forces of the United

States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may

prevent compliance.

(C) A licensed dental hygienist not engaged in the practice of dental

hygiene shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education

requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring

such status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of dental hygiene

during the triennial registration period shall notify the department

prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory

continuing education requirements as shall be prescribed by regulation

of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for

registration shall complete a minimum of twenty-four hours of acceptable

formal continuing education including currently mandated child abuse

reporting instruction and infection control training as approved by the

department. Of these twenty-four hours a maximum of ten hours may be

self-instructional coursework as approved by the department. Any dental

hygienist whose first registration date following the effective date of

this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but

on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete

continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and

one-quarter hours per month for the period beginning January first,

nineteen hundred ninety-seven up to the first registration date

thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing

education requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration

certificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a

conditional registration certificate is issued as provided in

subdivision three of this section. The individual licensee shall

determine the selection of courses or programs of study pursuant to

subdivision four of this section.

3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional

registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education

requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who

agrees to make up any deficiencies and take any additional education

which the department may require. The fee for such a conditional

registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the

triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration

shall be determined by the department. Any licensee who is notified of

the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence, satisfactory

to the department, of completion of required continuing education and

who practices dental hygiene without such registration, may be subject

to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten

of this title.

4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education"

shall mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional

practice and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations of the

commissioner. To fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement,

programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the department,

pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.

5. The mandatory continuing education fee of thirty dollars shall be

payable on or before the first day of each triennial registration

period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial registration fee

required by section sixty-six hundred nine of this article.