BILL NUMBER: SB 122 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 10, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Price
JANUARY 24, 2011
An act to amend Sections 2709, 2786, and 2798 of, and to add
Sections 2786.2 and 2786.5 to, the Business and Professions Code,
relating to nursing, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 122, as amended, Price. Nursing.
Existing law, until January 1, 2012, creates within the Department
of Consumer Affairs the Board of Registered Nursing, and makes the
board responsible for the licensure and regulation of registered
nurses. Existing law requires the board to meet quarterly.
This bill would require meetings of the board to be held in
northern and southern California.
Existing law defines the term "approved school of nursing" and
requires the board to approve and regulate registered nursing schools
that are institutions of higher education or are affiliated with an
institution of higher education, as specified. Existing law requires
a school of nursing that is not affiliated with an institution of
higher education to make an agreement with such an institution for
purposes of awarding nursing degrees.
This bill would delete the provisions requiring an agreement and
would instead require that a school of nursing that is not an
institution of higher education or that is affiliated with an
institution of higher education, and that is subject to the
requirements set forth in the California Private Postsecondary
Education Act of 2009, obtain board approval to grant nursing
degrees. The bill would require new nursing schools seeking
board approval to be recognized or approved by an accrediting agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education.
The bill would specify that the term "approved school of nursing"
includes an approved nursing program. The bill would subject all
approved schools of nursing to specified fees for deposit into the
Board of Registered Nursing Fund, a continuously appropriated fund.
Because the bill adds a new source of revenue to a continuously
appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law provides that it is unlawful for anyone to conduct a
school of nursing unless the school has been approved by the board.
This bill would authorize the board to issue cease and desist
orders to a school of nursing that is not approved by the board and
would require the board to notify the office of the Attorney General
of such a school. The bill would also provide that it is
unprofessional conduct for any registered nurse to violate that
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2709 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2709. The board for the purpose of transacting its business shall
meet at least once every three months, at times and places it
designates by resolution. Meetings shall be held in northern and
southern California.
SEC. 2. Section 2786 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2786. (a) An approved school of nursing, or an approved nursing
program, is one that has been approved by the board, gives the course
of instruction approved by the board, covering not less than two
academic years, is affiliated or conducted in connection with one or
more hospitals, and is an institution of higher education. For
purposes of this section, "institution of higher education" includes,
but is not limited to, community colleges offering an associate of
arts or associate of science degree and private postsecondary
institutions offering an associate of arts, associate of science, or
baccalaureate degree or an entry-level master's degree, and is an
institution that is not subject to the California Private
Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education
Code).
(b) A school of nursing that is not an institution of higher
education or that is affiliated with an institution of higher
education as required by the board, and that is subject to the
California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3
of the Education Code), shall be approved by the board to grant an
associate of arts or associate of science degree to individuals who
graduate from the school of nursing or to grant a baccalaureate
degree in nursing with successful completion of an additional course
of study as approved by the board and the institution involved.
(c) If an institution of higher education, an affiliated
institution, or an institution subject to the California Private
Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education
Code), applies for approval of a new school of nursing, the school of
nursing shall be required to be recognized or approved by an
accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of
Education.
(d)
(c) The board shall determine by regulation the
required subjects of instruction to be completed in an approved
school of nursing for licensure as a registered nurse and shall
include the minimum units of theory and clinical experience necessary
to achieve essential clinical competency at the entry level of the
registered nurse. The board's standards shall be designed to require
all schools to provide clinical instruction in all phases of the
educational process.
(e)
(d) The board shall perform or cause to be performed an
analysis of the practice of the registered nurse no less than every
five years. Results of the analysis shall be utilized to assist in
the determination of the required subjects of instruction, validation
of the licensing examination, and assessment of the current practice
of nursing.
SEC. 3. Section 2786.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2786.2. All private postsecondary schools of nursing approved by
the board pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2786 shall comply
with Article 8 (commencing with Section 94897) to Article 16
(commencing with Section 94928), inclusive, of, and shall be subject
to Article 18 (commencing with Section 94932) of, Chapter 8 of Part
59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code. The board shall
have a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education to ensure compliance with these provisions,
including the handling of student complaints regarding these approved
schools of nursing.
SEC. 4. Section 2786.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2786.5. (a) An institution of higher education or a private
postsecondary school of nursing approved by the board pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 2786 shall remit to the board for deposit
in the Board of Registered Nursing Fund the following fees, in
accordance with the following schedule:
(1) The fee for approval of a school of nursing shall be five
thousand dollars ($5,000).
(2) The fee for continuing approval of a new nursing program shall
be three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500).
(3) The processing fee for authorization of a substantive change
to an approval of a school of nursing shall be five hundred dollars
($500).
(b) If the board determines that the annual cost of providing
oversight and review of a school of nursing, as required by this
article, is less than the amount of any fees required to be paid by
that institution pursuant to this article, the board may decrease the
fees applicable to that institution to an amount that is
proportional to the board's costs associated with that institution.
SEC. 5. Section 2798 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
2798. (a) It is unlawful for anyone to conduct a school of
nursing unless the school has been approved by the board.
(b) A school of nursing that is not an institution of higher
education or that is affiliated with an institution of higher
education as required by the board, and that is subject to the
California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3
of the Education Code), shall be approved by the board to grant an
associate of arts or associate of science degree to individuals who
graduate from the school of nursing or to grant a baccalaureate
degree in nursing with successful completion of an additional course
of study as approved by the board and the institution involved.
(c) If an institution of higher education, an affiliated
institution, or an institution subject to the California Private
Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8 (commencing with
Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education
Code), applies for approval of a new school of nursing, the school of
nursing shall be required to be recognized or approved by an
accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of
Education.
(b) If the board has a reasonable belief, either by complaint or
otherwise, that a school is allowing students to apply for its
nursing program and that nursing program does not have the approval
of the board, the board shall immediately order the school to cease
and desist from offering students the ability to enroll in its
nursing program. The board shall also notify the Attorney General's
office that the school is offering students the ability to enroll in
a nursing program that does not have the approval of the board.
(c) It shall be unprofessional conduct for any registered nurse to
violate or attempt to violate, either directly or indirectly, or to
assist or abet the violation of, this section.
(d) This section is not applicable to schools conducted under
Section 2789 of this chapter.