BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2382|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2382
Author: Blumenfield (D)
Amended: 7/15/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/23/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Emmerson, Liu, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-1, 8/2/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Ashburn, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,
Price, Wolk, Wyland
NOES: Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : California State University: Doctor of
Physical Therapy
degree
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes the California State
University (CSU) to award a Doctor of Physical Therapy,
establishes constraints on the funding and fees for these
degree programs, requires their joint evaluation by the
CSU, Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's
Office by January 1, 2015, and sunsets on .January 1, 2019.
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ANALYSIS : Current law provides that the primary mission
of the CSU is undergraduate and graduate instruction
through the master's degree, but authorizes the CSU to
offer joint doctoral degrees with the University of
California (UC), or with one or more independent
institutions of higher education, only as specified.
Current law, in setting forth the missions and functions of
California's public and independent institutions of higher
education provides, among other things, that UC has the
sole authority in public higher education to award the
doctoral degree in all fields of learning, except that it
may agree with the CSU to award joint doctoral degrees in
selected fields.
Notwithstanding the differentiation of mission and function
of the public institutions of higher education, current law
authorizes the CSU to independently award the Doctor of
Education (Ed.D) degree focused solely on preparing
administrative leaders for California public K-14 schools.
This bill:
1.Authorizes the CSU to award a Doctor of Physical Therapy
(DPT), notwithstanding the Masterplan and its
differentiation of mission and function, in order to meet
specified physical therapy needs in California, subject
to compliance with the following conditions:
A. Limits the authority to award a doctorate to the
discipline of physical therapy.
B. Requires that the amount of state full-time
equivalent student (FTES) funding per student be at
the agreed upon marginal cost calculation that the
CSU receives and further:
(1) Requires the FTES funding for the new
students in these programs come from within the
CSU's agreed upon enrollment levels in the annual
Budget Act.
(2) Prohibits enrollment in these programs from
altering the ratio of graduate instruction to
total enrollment and diminishing the growth of
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enrollment of undergraduate programs.
C. Requires that the degree be focused on preparing
physical therapists to provide health care services,
and that it be consistent with meeting the
requirements of the Commission on the Accreditation
in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
D. Affirms the authority of the California
Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to review,
evaluate and make recommendations relating to any and
all programs established under the bill's provisions.
E. Caps the fees that may be charged students in
these programs at the rate charged for students in
state-supported DPT programs at the UC (including
joint programs of the CSU and UC).
F. Requires that start-up funding for these programs
be met within existing academic program support
budgets, without diminishing the program support
offered to undergraduates.
G. Prohibits funding of these programs from resulting
in reduced undergraduate enrollment at the CSU.
2.Requires the CSU, Department of Finance (DOF) and
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to jointly conduct a
statewide evaluation of the implementation of the DPT
programs authorized by this bill. More specifically, it:
A. Requires the evaluation to be submitted to the
Legislature and the Governor by January 1, 2015.
B. Requires the evaluation consider the number of new
programs implemented, as specified, the extent to
which the programs are fulfilling identified needs
for physical therapists, information on subsequent
job placement and employment of graduates, program
costs, fund sources, and cost per degree awarded, the
cost of programs to students, as specified, and the
degree of compliance with the bill's provisions.
3.Sunsets on January 1, 2019.
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Comments
Need for the Bill . In January 2009, the CAPTE, recognized
by the United States Department of Education (USDE) as the
entity for accrediting entry-level physical therapists and
physical therapist assistant education programs, announced
the adoption of new Evaluative Criteria for the
Accreditation of Education Programs for the Preparation of
Physical Therapists. These programs are now required to
culminate in the awarding of a DPT degree in order to be
accredited. The CAPTE will begin enforcing this criterion
effective December 31, 2015. Educational programs that
continue to award the master's degree have until December
31, 2017, to come into compliance or have their
accreditation withdrawn.
In California, physical therapists must be licensed to
practice by the Physical Therapy Board of California.
Obtaining a license requires a master's degree in physical
therapy, passage of the National Physical Therapy
Examination (NPTE), the California Law Examination (CLE),
and a criminal history fingerprint background check.
According to the CAPTE, graduation from an accredited
program is required for licensure to practice physical
therapy in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico. The CSU currently offers a master's degree in
physical therapy at four of its campuses and a Joint DPT is
offered through San Francisco State University and UC San
Francisco. Without this bill, the CSU master's programs in
physical therapy will be forced to close, as these
graduates will be ineligible for licensure and unable to
enter the profession after 2017.
According to the Senate Education Committee, a similar
issue arose a few years ago when the American
Speech-Language Hearing Association, a national
professional organization representing audiologists and
also the accrediting body for professional preparation
programs in audiology, speech and language pathology,
mandated that beginning in 2007 audiologists would be
required to earn a doctorate to attain professional
certification. Schools that did not offer a doctorate in
audiology would lose their accreditation. At that time,
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the CSU offered five master's level audiology programs and
one joint doctoral program between San Diego State
University and UC San Diego. The Legislature chose not to
provide this authorization to the CSU.
The Senate Education Committee noted that it was not then,
nor is it now, the CSU or an independent accrediting or
educational evaluation organization that is mandating this
change in physical therapy programs. Again, it is a
private professional association that is not only the sole
accrediting agency but also the sole provider of individual
certification and the national licensing exam.
Under current law, the CSU is authorized to offer joint
degrees with either the UC or private higher education
institutions. Arguably, under this authority, the need to
offer the DPT could be met by expanding the type of
partnership that exists between UCSF/SFSU.
Of the 14 education programs in physical therapy within
California, nine are offered by private institutions,
culminate in a DPT and range in cost from $73,000 to
$122,000. Of the five programs offered by public
institutions, only the UCSF/SFSU joint program offers a DPT
and CSU Fresno, CSU Long Beach, CSU Northridge and CSU
Sacramento offer a masters degree and range in cost form
$15,000 to $38,000.
According to the CSU, their programs are heavily
subscribed, with CSU Northridge reporting that in 2010 they
received 483 applications for 40 spots with an average
increase in applicants of 25 percent per year. Of
approximately 464 graduates of physical therapy programs in
the state per year, the four CSU campuses produce about 148
(32 percent).
Prior Similar Legislation
AB 867 (Nava), 2009-10 Session would have authorized the
CSU to award a Doctor of Nurse Practice degree subject to
specified conditions. AB 867 was held under submission in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SB 764 (Scott), Chapter 269, Statutes of 2005, established
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the authority and conditions under which the CSU could
offer the Ed.D degree. The authority and conditions
established in this bill are almost identical to those
established for purposes of the awarding of the Ed.D
degree. Passed the Senate Floor with a vote of 33-3 on
September 6, 2006.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/10)
American Nurses Association of California
California Hospital Association
California Physical Therapy Association
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California State University, Northridge
Intercollegiate Academic Clinical Coordinators Council
Northern California Clinical Education Consortium
Occupational Therapy Association of California
Physical Therapy Board of California
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/4/10)
California Chiropractic Association
California Medical Association
California Orthopedic Association
California Podiatric Medical Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the California
Hospital Association, "California hospitals are currently
experiencing a shortage of physical therapists and that
shortage is expected to grow significantly over the next
3-5 years. CHA is concerned that if the CSU system is not
permitted to offer the DPT, there will be no public
education option for individuals interested in pursuing a
physical therapy degree. California public education
institutions are an integral component of allied healthcare
workforce training as they provide educational
opportunities at a reasonable cost. Limiting the public
education option will close the door on access to this
profession and to a diverse student population, one that
California hospitals seek to attract in an effort to
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provide a culturally competent workforce."
In support, the Intercollegiate Academic Clinical
Coordinators Council states, "If the CSU is not allowed to
joint the rest of the nation in educating physical
therapists at the doctoral level, the California's already
diminished ability to produce a licensed workforce will be
devastated. It is clearly in the best interests of all
Californians to authorize the CSU to offer the DPT degree."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Medical
Association believes "a standalone, California State
University Doctor of Physical Therapy program will lack the
resources and infrastructure needed to provide an adequate
and necessary level of clinical training and experience
required for such a terminal degree. As equally important,
the nomenclature of a Doctor of Physical Therapy will add
to the confusion of the purpose, significance and meaning
of degrees within the physical therapy profession that
patients are currently experiencing."
In opposition, the California Orthopedic Association
states, "Our concern is whether the CSU system is set up to
include the enhanced clinical rotations which are key to a
meaningful higher level of PT training. It is entirely
unclear that the CSU system ahs the funding to establish a
doctoral program that would include adequate clinical
training, or how the new program would differ from the MPT
currently available to PTs."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,
Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
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Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hagman, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy
CPM:cm 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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