N.Y. Education Law § 7128: Mandatory continuing education

§ 7128. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed

ophthalmic dispenser required under this article to register triennially

with the department to practice in the state shall comply with the

provisions of the mandatory continuing education requirements prescribed

in subdivision two of this section except as set forth in paragraphs (b)

and (c) of this subdivision. Ophthalmic dispensers who do not satisfy

the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not practice until

they have met such requirements, and they have been issued a

registration certificate, except that an ophthalmic dispenser may

practice without having met such requirements if he or she is issued a

conditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of

this section.

(b) Ophthalmic dispensers shall be exempt from the mandatory

continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period

during which they are first licensed. In accord with the intent of this

section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing education requirement

may be granted by the department for reasons of health certified by an

appropriate health care professional, 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 ophthalmic dispenser not engaged in practice, as

determined by the department, 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 ophthalmic dispensing during the triennial registration

period shall notify the department prior to reentering the profession

and shall meet such mandatory education requirements as shall be

prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for

registration as an ophthalmic dispenser shall complete a minimum of

eighteen hours of acceptable formal continuing education, as specified

in subdivision four of this section; provided that three hours may be in

recognized areas of study pertinent to the dispensing and fitting of

contact lenses. During each triennial registration period an applicant

for registration as an ophthalmic dispenser and certified to fit contact

lenses shall complete twenty hours of acceptable formal continuing

education, as specified in subdivision four of this section; provided

that ten hours shall be in recognized areas of study pertinent to the

dispensing and fitting of contact lenses. Any ophthalmic dispenser 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-nine, shall complete continuing

education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one-half hour per

month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred

ninety-eight 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 for in subdivision three

of this section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium

may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.

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 complete 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 but shall not exceed one year. Any

licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to

submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing

education and who practices without such registration, may be subject to

disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of

this chapter.

4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "Acceptable Formal

Education" shall mean formal courses of learning which contribute to

professional practice in ophthalmic dispensing and which meet the

standards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Such formal

courses of learning shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate

level credit and non-credit courses. Professional development programs

and technical sessions offered by national, state and local professional

associations and other organizations acceptable to the department, and

any other organized educational and technical programs acceptable to the

department. The department may, in its discretion and as needed to

contribute to the health and welfare of the public, require the

completion of continuing education courses in specific subjects to

fulfill this mandatory continuing education requirement. Courses must be

taken from a sponsor approved by the department, pursuant to the

regulations of the commissioner.

5. Ophthalmic dispensers shall maintain adequate documentation of

completion of acceptable formal continuing education and shall provide

such documentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide

such documentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of

misconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section

sixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.

6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five 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 seventy-one hundred twenty-four of

this article.