Amended in Senate June 22, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2190

Introduced by Assembly Member Salas

(Principal coauthor: Senator Hill)

February 18, 2016

An act to amend Sections begin delete 4928 and end delete begin insert 4927.5, 4928, and end insert 4934 of begin insert , to add Section 4942 to, and to repeal Section 4939 of, end insert the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2190, as amended, Salas. Acupuncture Board: executive officer begin delete . end delete begin insert : education. end insert

Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of acupuncture by the Acupuncture Board, within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes the board, with the approval of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to begin delete employ personnel necessary to administer the Acupuncture Licensure Act, including end delete begin insert appoint end insert an executive officer who is exempt from civil service. Existing law repeals the provisions establishing the board and authority for it to begin delete employ personnel end delete begin insert appoint an executive officer end insert on January 1, 2017.

The bill would extend the operation of the board and the board’s authority to appoint an executive officer begin delete exempt from civil service end delete until January 1, 2019.

begin insert

Existing law requires, among other things, the completion of an approved educational and training program in order to be issued a license to practice acupuncture. For purposes of the act, beginning January 1, 2017, existing law defines “approved educational and training program” as a school or college offering education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist who meets various requirements, including offering curriculum that includes specified hours of didactic and laboratory training and supervised clinical instruction. Existing law requires these programs to submit that curriculum to the board and to receive board approval of the curriculum.

end insert begin insert

This bill would provide that any school or college offering education and training in the practice of acupuncture that was approved by the board prior to January 1, 2017, is deemed to have had its curriculum approved by the board if its approval has not been revoked and it has not changed its curriculum since receiving board approval.

end insert begin insert

Beginning January 1, 2017, existing law requires the board to establish standards for the approval of educational training and clinical experience received outside the United States.

end insert begin insert

This bill would repeal that board requirement. The bill would instead authorize the board to require an applicant completing education outside of the United States to submit documentation of his or her education to a credential evaluation service that is approved by the board for evaluation and to have the results of the evaluation sent directly from the credential evaluation service to the board. The bill would require the board to establish, by regulation, an application process, criteria, and procedures for approval of a credential evaluation service to assess the equivalency of an applicant’s education. The bill would require the regulations to, at a minimum, require the credential evaluation service to meet specified requirements.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 4927.5 of the end insert begin insert Business and Professions
Code end insert begin insert , as added by Section 2 of Chapter 397 of the Statutes of 2014,
is amended to read: end insert

4927.5.  

(a) For purposes of this chapter, “approved educational
and training program” means a school or college offering education
and training in the practice of an acupuncturist that meets all of
the following requirements:

(1) Offers curriculum that includes at least 3,000 hours of which
at least 2,050 hours are didactic and laboratory training, and at
least 950 hours are supervised clinical instruction. Has submitted
that curriculum to the board, and has received board approval of
the curriculum. begin insert Any school or college offering education and
training in the practice of acupuncture that was approved by the
board prior to January 1, 2017, has not had its approval revoked,
and has not changed its curriculum since receiving board approval,
is deemed to have had its curriculum approved by the board for
the purposes of this section. end insert

(2) Has received full institutional approval under Article 6
(commencing with Section 94885) of Chapter 8 of Part 59 of
Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code in the field of
traditional Asian medicine, or in the case of institutions located
outside of this state, approval by the appropriate governmental
educational authority using standards equivalent to those of Article
6 (commencing with Section 94885) of Chapter 8 of Part 59 of
Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code.

(3) Meets any of the following:

(A) Is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

(B) Has been granted candidacy status by the Accreditation
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

(C) Has submitted a letter of intent to pursue accreditation to
the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine within 30 days of receiving full institutional approval
pursuant to paragraph (2), and is granted candidacy status within
three years of the date that letter was submitted.

(b) Within 30 days after receiving curriculum pursuant to
paragraph (1), the board shall review the curriculum, determine
whether the curriculum satisfies the requirements established by
the board, and notify the school or college, the Accreditation
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and Bureau
of Private and Postsecondary Education of whether the board has
approved the curriculum.

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 4928 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:

4928.  

(a) The Acupuncture Board, which consists of seven
members, shall enforce and administer this chapter.

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019,
and as of that date is repealed.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the repeal of this section
renders the board subject to review by the appropriate policy
committees of the Legislature.

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 4934 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:

4934.  

(a) The board, by and with the approval of the director,
may appoint an executive officer who is exempt from the State
Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18500) of
Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019,
and as of that date is repealed.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 4939 of the end insert begin insert Business and Professions Code end insert begin insert ,
as amended by Section 37 of Chapter 426 of the Statutes of 2015,
is repealed. end insert

begin delete

4939.  

(a) The board shall establish standards for the approval
of educational training and clinical experience received outside
the United States.

(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.

end delete

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 4942 is added to the end insert begin insert Business and Professions
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 4942. end insert   

(a) If an applicant completes education outside of the
United States, the board may require the applicant to submit
documentation of his or her education to a credential evaluation
service that is approved by the board for evaluation and to have
the results of the evaluation sent directly from the credential
evaluation service to the board in order to assess educational
equivalency.

(b) The board shall establish, by regulation, an application
process, criteria, and procedures for approval of credential
evaluation services to assess the equivalency of an applicant’s
education. The regulations shall, at a minimum, require the
credential evaluation service to meet all of the following
requirements:

(1) Furnish evaluations written in English directly to the board.

(2) Be a member of a nationally recognized foreign credential
evaluation association, such as, but not limited to, the American
Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers or
the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

(3) Undergo reevaluation by the board every five years.

(4) Certify to the board that the credential evaluation service
maintains a complete set of reference materials as determined by
the board.

(5) Base evaluations only upon verified authentic, official
transcripts, and degrees.

(6) Have a written procedure for identifying fraudulent
transcripts.

(7) Include in an evaluation report submitted to the board the
specific method or methods of authentication for the transcripts,
certification, degrees, and other education evaluated for the
purposes of the report.

(8) Include in the evaluation report, for each degree held by
the applicant, the equivalent degree offered in the United States,
the date the degree was granted, the institution granting the degree,
an English translation of the course titles, and the semester unit
equivalence for each course.

(9) Have an appeal procedure for applicants.

(10) Provide information concerning the credential evaluation
service to the board that includes, but is not limited to, resumes
or curriculum vitae for each evaluator and translator, which
includes biographical information, three letters of references from
public or private agencies, statistical information on the number
of applications processed annually for the past five years, and any
other information the board may require to determine whether the
credential evaluation service meets the standards under this
subdivision and the board’s regulations.

(11) Provide to the board all information required by the board,
including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) Its credential evaluation policy.

(B) A complete list of terminology and evaluation terms used
in producing its credential evaluations.

(C) A detailed description of the specific methods utilized for
credential authentication.

end insert