N.Y. Education Law § 8412: Mandatory continuing education

§ 8412. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed mental

health counselor, marriage and family therapist, psychoanalyst, and

creative arts therapist required under this article to register

triennially with the department to practice in this state, shall comply

with the provisions of mandatory continuing education requirements

prescribed in subdivision two of this section, except as set forth in

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Licensed mental health

counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychoanalysts, and creative

arts therapists 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 a

licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist,

psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist 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) Each licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family

therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist shall be exempt

from the mandatory continuing education requirements for the triennial

registration period during which they are first licensed. In accordance

with the intent of this section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing

education requirement may be granted by the department for reasons of

health that are 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 mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist,

psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist 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 mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,

psychoanalysis, and creative arts therapy 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 a licensed mental health counselor, marriage and family

therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts therapist shall complete a

minimum of thirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, a

maximum of twelve hours of which may be self-instructional course work

acceptable to the department. Any licensed mental health counselor,

marriage and family therapist, psychoanalyst, and creative arts

therapist 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 seventeen, shall complete

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

per month for the period beginning January first, two thousand seventeen

up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not

satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirement 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 the

subsequent triennium.

3. (a) 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 title.

(b) For purposes of this section "acceptable formal education" shall

mean formal courses of learning which contribute to professional

practice in mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy,

psychoanalysis, or creative arts therapies 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. Continuing education courses must be taken from a provider

who has been approved by the department, based upon an application and

fee, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner. 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. Licensed mental health counselors, marriage and

family therapists, psychoanalysts, and creative arts therapists 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 title.

(c) The mandatory continuing education fee shall be determined by the

department. Such fee shall be payable on or before the first day of each

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

triennial registration fees required by paragraph (g) of subdivision

three of section eighty-four hundred two of this article and paragraph

(g) of subdivision three of section eighty-four hundred five of this

article.