BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           1524 (Hayashi)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/2/2010         Amended: 6/29/2010
          Consultant:  Bob Franzoia       Policy Vote: B,P&ED  6-1
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          BILL SUMMARY: AB 1524 would abolish the clinical and written  
          examination administered by the Dental Board of California  
          (board) and instead implement a portfolio examination of an  
          applicant's dental competence while the applicant is enrolled in  
          a dental school program at a board-approved dental school.  This  
          bill would require this examination to utilize uniform standards  
          of clinical experiences and competencies.  At the end of that  
          dental school program, the bill would 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.   
          This bill would require the board to adopt regulations to  
          implement the portfolio examination, to oversee the portfolio  
          examination and final assessment process, and to biennially  
          review each dental school with regard to the standardization of  
          the portfolio examination.  The board, as part of the ongoing  
          implementation of the portfolio examination, would be required,  
          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  
          examination would cease to be an option for applicants if the  
          board determines the examination fails to meet those  
          requirements.  This bill would require the board to submit its  
          review and certification or determination to the Legislature, by  
          December 1, 2016.
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
           Develop of portfolio   $100 -$150                       Special*
          examination
                                 
          Implement portfolio               $175-$210** annually,  
          fullySpecial*
          examination assessments           offset by certification fee
                                                        
          * State Dentistry Fund
          ** Estimated 500 to 600 assessments










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          STAFF COMMENTS: A portfolio examination is a performance  
          examination which assesses candidates' skills in commonly  
          encountered clinical examinations.  It includes components of  
          clinical examination administered by the examining entity with  
          the candidates' performance measured according to the  
          information provided in the competency evaluation conducted in  
          the schools by clinical faculty within the program. 

          The University of California Schools of Dentistry state that  
          there are a number of flaws in the current clinical and written  
          examination administered by the board, including potential  
          lapses in quality of care for patients as test subjects,  
          pressure induced critical errors by candidates which may not  
          occur in a normal setting and licensure based on the passage of  
          a single experience examination.  The schools note that the  
          portfolio examination proposed by this bill is a much better  
          method for evaluating clinical competency.