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 forfailure 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.