BILL NUMBER: AB 1524 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 18, 2010
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 9, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hayashi
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Sections 1630 and 1632 of, to add Sections 1632.1
and 1632.6 to, and to repeal Section 1631 of, the Business and
Professions Code, relating to dentistry.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1524, Hayashi. Dentistry: examination requirements.
The Dental Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation
of dentists and associated professions by the Dental Board of
California within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law
requires an applicant for a license to practice dentistry to complete
various examinations, including the National Board Dental
Examination, an examination in California law and ethics developed by
the board, and a clinical and written examination administered
either by the board or the Western Regional Examining Board. Existing
law prescribes the maximum amount of fees to be charged for
examination, licensure, and renewal, for deposit into the State
Dentistry Fund.
This bill would abolish the clinical and written examination
administered by the board. The bill would instead replace that
examination with a portfolio examination of an applicant's competence
to enter the practice of dentistry, which would be conducted while
the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a
board-approved dental school. The bill would require this examination
to utilize uniform standards of clinical experiences and
competencies, as approved by the board. At the end of that dental
school program, the bill would then require the passage of a final
assessment of the applicant's portfolio, subject to certification by
his or her dean and payment of a $350 fee. Under the bill, the
portfolio examination would not be conducted until the board adopts
regulations to implement the portfolio examination. The bill would
require the board to provide specified notice on its Internet Web
site and to the Legislature and the Legislative Counsel when these
regulations have been adopted by the board. The bill would require
the board to oversee the portfolio examination and final assessment
process, and would require the board to biennially review each dental
school with regard to the standardization of the portfolio
examination. The bill would also set forth specified examination
standards.
The bill would also, as part of the ongoing implementation of the
portfolio examination, require the board, by December 1, 2016, to
review the examination to ensure compliance with certain requirements
applicable to all board examinations under the department's
jurisdiction. The bill would provide that the examination shall cease
to be an option for applicants if the board determines the
examination fails to meet those requirements. The bill would require
the board to submit its review and certification or determination to
the Legislature and the department, by December 1, 2016.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1630 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1630. The examination of applicants for a license to practice
dentistry in this state, as described in Section 1632, shall be
sufficiently thorough to test the fitness of the applicant to
practice dentistry, and both questions and answers shall be written
in the English language.
SEC. 2. Section 1631 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 1632 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
1632. (a) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete the Part I and Part II written examinations of the National
Board Dental Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental
Examinations.
(b) The board shall require each applicant to successfully
complete an examination in California law and ethics developed and
administered by the board. The board shall provide a separate
application for this examination. Applicants shall submit this
application and required fee to the board in order to take this
examination. In addition to the aforementioned application, the only
other requirement for taking this examination shall be certification
from the dean of the qualifying dental school attended by the
applicant that the applicant has graduated, or will graduate, or is
expected to graduate. Applicants who submit completed applications
and certification from the dean at least 15 days prior to a scheduled
examination shall be scheduled to take the examination. Successful
results of the examination shall, as established by board regulation,
remain valid for two years from the date that the applicant is
notified of having passed the examination.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in Section 1632.5, the board
shall require each applicant to have taken and received a passing
score on one of the following:
(1) A portfolio examination of the applicant's competence to enter
the practice of dentistry. This examination shall be conducted while
the applicant is enrolled in a dental school program at a
board-approved school located in California. This examination shall
utilize uniform standards of clinical experiences and competencies,
as approved by the board pursuant to Section 1632.1. The applicant
shall pass a final assessment of the submitted portfolio at the end
of his or her dental school program. Before any portfolio assessment
may be submitted to the board, the applicant shall remit to the board
a three hundred fifty dollar ($350) fee, to be deposited into the
State Dentistry Fund, and a letter of good standing signed by the
dean of his or her dental school or his or her delegate stating that
the applicant has graduated or will graduate with no pending ethical
issues.
(A) The portfolio examination shall not be conducted until the
board adopts regulations to carry out this paragraph. The board shall
post notice on its Internet Web site when these regulations have
been adopted.
(B) The board shall also provide written notice to the Legislature
and the Legislative Counsel when these regulations have been
adopted.
(2) A clinical and written examination administered by the Western
Regional Examining Board, which board shall determine the passing
score for that examination.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 1628, the board is
authorized to do either of the following:
(1) Approve an application for examination from, and to examine an
applicant who is enrolled in, but has not yet graduated from, a
reputable dental school approved by the board.
(2) Accept the results of an examination described in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (c) submitted by an applicant who was enrolled in,
but had not graduated from, a reputable dental school approved by
the board at the time the examination was administered.
In either case, the board shall require the dean of that school or
his or her delegate to furnish satisfactory proof that the applicant
will graduate within one year of the date the examination was
administered or as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c).
SEC. 4. Section 1632.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
1632.1. (a) With regard to the portfolio examination specified in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1632, the board shall
independently monitor and audit the standardization and calibration
of dental school competency instructors at least biennially to ensure
standardization and an acceptable level of calibration in the
grading of the examination. Each dental school's competency
examinations shall be audited biennially by the board.
(b) The board shall oversee all aspects of the portfolio
examination process specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of
Section 1632 and under this section, but shall not interfere with the
dental school authority to establish and deliver an accredited
curriculum. The board shall determine an end-of-year deadline, in
consultation with the current board-approved dental schools, to
determine when the portfolio examinations shall be completed and
submitted to the board for review by the board's examiners.
(c) The board, in consultation with the current board-approved
dental schools, shall approve portfolio examination competencies and
the minimum number of clinical experiences required for successful
completion of the portfolio examination.
(d) The board shall require and verify successful completion of
competency examinations that were performed on a patient of record of
a board-approved dental school, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(1) Comprehensive oral diagnosis and treatment planning.
(2) Periodontics.
(3) Direct restorations.
(4) Indirect restorations.
(5) Removable prosthodontics.
(6) Endodontics.
SEC. 5. Section 1632.6 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
1632.6. (a) As part of the ongoing implementation of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (c) of Section 1632, the board shall review the
portfolio examination to ensure compliance with the requirements of
Section 139 and to certify that the portfolio examination process
meets those requirements. If the board determines that the portfolio
examination fails to meet those requirements, paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c) of Section 1632 shall cease to be implemented and the
portfolio examination will no longer be an option for applicants.
The board's review and certification or determination shall be
completed and submitted to the Legislature and the department by
December 1, 2016.
(b) A report to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on December 1, 2020,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.