N.Y. Education Law § 8209: Mandatory continuing competency

§ 8209. Mandatory continuing competency. (1)(a) Each licensed

speech-language pathologist and audiologist required under this article

to register triennially with the department to practice in the state

shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing competency

requirements prescribed in subdivision two of this section, except as

provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Speech-language

pathologists and audiologists who do not satisfy the mandatory

continuing competency requirements shall not be authorized to practice

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

registration certificate, except that a speech-language pathologist or

audiologist may practice without having met such requirements if he or

she is issued a conditional registration pursuant to subdivision three

of this section.

(b) Speech-language pathologists and audiologists shall be exempt from

the mandatory continuing competency requirement for the triennial

registration period during which they are first licensed. Adjustment to

the mandatory continuing competency requirements may be granted by the

department for reasons of health of the licensee where 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 speech-language pathologist or audiologist not engaged

in practice, as determined by the department, shall be exempt from the

mandatory continuing competency requirement upon the filing of a

statement with the department declaring such status. Any licensee who

returns to the practice of speech-language pathology or audiology during

the triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to

reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory continuing

competency requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the

commissioner.

(2) During each triennial registration period an applicant for

registration as either a speech-language pathologist or audiologist

shall complete a minimum of thirty hours of learning activities which

contribute to continuing competence, as specified in subdivision four of

this section, provided further that at least twenty hours shall be in

recognized areas of study pertinent to the licensee's professional scope

of practice of speech language pathology and/or audiology. Any

speech-language pathologist or audiologist 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, two

thousand one, shall complete continuing competency hours on a prorated

basis at the rate of one-half hour per month for the period beginning

January first, two thousand one up to the first registration date.

Thereafter, a licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing

competency 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 competency 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 competency

requirements established in subdivision two of this section, but who

agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional learning

activities 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 competency learning activities and who practices without such

registration, may be subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to

section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.

(4) As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable learning

activities" shall mean activities which contribute to professional

practice in speech-language pathology and/or audiology, and which meet

the standards prescribed in the regulations of the commissioner. Such

learning activities shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate

level credit and non-credit courses, self-study activities, independent

study, formal mentoring activities, publications in professional

journals, professional development programs and technical sessions; such

learning activities may be offered and sponsored by national, state and

local professional associations and other organizations or parties

acceptable to the department, and any other organized educational and

technical learning activities 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

competency learning activities in specific subjects to fulfill this

mandatory continuing competency requirement. For speech-language

pathologists who are employed in school settings as teachers of the

speech and hearing handicapped or as teachers of students with speech

and language disabilities, acceptable learning activities shall also

include professional development programs and technical sessions

specific to teaching students with speech and language disabilities

including those designed to improve methods for teaching such students,

aligned with professional development plans in accordance with

regulations of the commissioner and promoting the attainment of

standards for such students. Learning activities must be taken from a

sponsor approved by the department, pursuant to the regulations of the

commissioner.

(5) Speech-language pathologists and audiologists shall maintain

adequate documentation of completion of acceptable continuing competency

learning activities 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 title.

(6) The mandatory continuing competency fee shall be fifty 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 eighty-two hundred six of this

article.