BILL NUMBER: SB 1183 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 30, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lieu
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to amend Sections 4980.54 and ,
4989.34, 4996.22 , and 4999.76 of the Business and
Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1183, as amended, Lieu. Marriage and family
therapists: clinical social workers: continuing education.
Board of Behavioral Sciences: continuing education.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of marriage
and family therapists and ,
educational psychologists, clinical social workers , and
professional clinical counselors by the Board of Behavioral
Sciences and imposes continuing education requirements for license
renewal. Existing law specifies that certain accredited schools shall
be deemed to be approved continuing education providers for these
licensees. Existing law requires the board to approve other
continuing education providers and authorizes the board to revoke or
deny the right of those providers to offer coursework if they fail to
comply with specified requirements.
This bill would require continuing education providers other than
accredited educational institutions and certain other institutions to
be approved by an accrediting organization, and would delete the
requirement for the board to approve or revoke those providers. The
bill would make other conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4980.54 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
4980.54. (a) The Legislature recognizes that the education and
experience requirements in this chapter constitute only minimal
requirements to assure that an applicant is prepared and qualified to
take the licensure examinations as specified in subdivision (d) of
Section 4980.40 and, if he or she passes those examinations, to begin
practice.
(b) In order to continuously improve the competence of licensed
marriage and family therapists and as a model for all
psychotherapeutic professions, the Legislature encourages all
licensees to regularly engage in continuing education related to the
profession or scope of practice as defined in this chapter.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (e), the board shall not
renew any license pursuant to this chapter unless the applicant
certifies to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, that he or
she has completed not less than 36 hours of approved continuing
education in or relevant to the field of marriage and family therapy
in the preceding two years, as determined by the board.
(d) The board shall have the right to audit the records of any
applicant to verify the completion of the continuing education
requirement. Applicants shall maintain records of completion of
required continuing education coursework for a minimum of two years
and shall make these records available to the board for auditing
purposes upon request.
(e) The board may establish exceptions from the continuing
education requirements of this section for good cause, as defined by
the board.
(f) The continuing education shall be obtained from one of the
following sources:
(1) An accredited educational institution that meets the
requirements set forth in Section 4980.36 or 4980.37. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed as requiring coursework to be offered
as part of a regular degree program.
(2) Other continuing education providers that are approved by
accrediting organizations, including, but not limited to, a
professional marriage and family therapist association, a licensed
health facility, a governmental entity, a continuing education unit
of an accredited four-year institution of higher learning, or a
mental health professional association.
(g) Training, education, and coursework by approved providers
shall incorporate one or more of the following:
(1) Aspects of the discipline that are fundamental to the
understanding or the practice of marriage and family therapy.
(2) Aspects of the discipline of marriage and family therapy in
which significant recent developments have occurred.
(3) Aspects of other disciplines that enhance the understanding or
the practice of marriage and family therapy.
(h) A system of continuing education for licensed marriage and
family therapists shall include courses directly related to the
diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of the client population being
served.
(i) The board shall, by regulation, fund the administration of
this section through continuing education provider fees to be
deposited in the Behavioral Sciences Fund. The fees related to the
administration of this section shall be sufficient to meet, but shall
not exceed, the costs of administering the corresponding provisions
of this section. For purposes of this subdivision, a provider of
continuing education as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (f) shall be deemed to be an approved provider.
(j) The continuing education requirements of this section shall
comply fully with the guidelines for mandatory continuing education
established by the Department of Consumer Affairs pursuant to Section
166.
SEC. 2. Section 4989.34 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
4989.34. (a) To renew his or her license, a licensee shall
certify to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, completion
in the preceding two years of not less than 36 hours of approved
continuing education in, or relevant to, educational psychology.
(b) (1) The continuing
education shall be obtained from either an accredited university or a
continuing education provider that is approved by
the board an accrediting organization .
(2) The board shall establish, by regulation, a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education courses, and all
providers of continuing education shall comply with procedures
established by the board. The board may revoke or deny the right of a
provider to offer continuing education coursework pursuant to this
section for failure to comply with the requirements of this section
or any regulation adopted pursuant to this section.
(c) Training, education, and coursework by approved providers
shall incorporate one or more of the following:
(1) Aspects of the discipline that are fundamental to the
understanding or the practice of educational psychology.
(2) Aspects of the discipline of educational psychology in which
significant recent developments have occurred.
(3) Aspects of other disciplines that enhance the understanding or
the practice of educational psychology.
(d) The board may audit the records of a licensee to verify
completion of the continuing education requirement. A licensee shall
maintain records of the completion of required continuing education
coursework for a minimum of two years and shall make these records
available to the board for auditing purposes upon its request.
(e) The board may establish exceptions from the continuing
education requirements of this section for good cause, as determined
by the board.
(f) The board shall, by regulation, fund the administration of
this section through continuing education provider fees to be
deposited in the Behavioral Sciences Fund. The amount of the fees
shall be sufficient to meet, but shall not exceed, the costs of
administering this section.
(g) The continuing education requirements of this section shall
comply fully with the guidelines for mandatory continuing education
established by the Department of Consumer Affairs pursuant to Section
166.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 4996.22 of
the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
4996.22. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the board
shall not renew any license pursuant to this chapter unless the
applicant certifies to the board, on a form prescribed by the board,
that he or she has completed not less than 36 hours of approved
continuing education in or relevant to the field of social work in
the preceding two years, as determined by the board.
(2) The board shall not renew any license of an applicant who
began graduate study prior to January 1, 2004, pursuant to this
chapter unless the applicant certifies to the board that during the
applicant's first renewal period after the operative date of this
section, he or she completed a continuing education course in spousal
or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention strategies,
including community resources, cultural factors, and same gender
abuse dynamics. On and after January 1, 2005, the course shall
consist of not less than seven hours of training. Equivalent courses
in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention
strategies taken prior to the operative date of this section or proof
of equivalent teaching or practice experience may be submitted to
the board and at its discretion, may be accepted in satisfaction of
this requirement. Continuing education courses taken pursuant to this
paragraph shall be applied to the 36 hours of approved continuing
education required under paragraph (1).
(b) The board shall have the right to audit the records of any
applicant to verify the completion of the continuing education
requirement. Applicants shall maintain records of completion of
required continuing education coursework for a minimum of two years
and shall make these records available to the board for auditing
purposes upon request.
(c) The board may establish exceptions from the continuing
education requirement of this section for good cause as defined by
the board.
(d) The continuing education shall be obtained from one of the
following sources:
(1) An accredited school of social work, as defined in Section
4991.2, or a school or department of social work that is a candidate
for accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of the Council
on Social Work Education. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
construed as requiring coursework to be offered as part of a regular
degree program.
(2) Other continuing education providers that are approved by
accrediting organizations, including, but not limited to, a
professional social work association, a licensed health facility, a
governmental entity, a continuing education unit of an accredited
four-year institution of higher learning, and a mental health
professional association.
(e) Training, education, and coursework by approved providers
shall incorporate one or more of the following:
(1) Aspects of the discipline that are fundamental to the
understanding, or the practice, of social work.
(2) Aspects of the social work discipline in which significant
recent developments have occurred.
(3) Aspects of other related disciplines that enhance the
understanding, or the practice, of social work.
(f) A system of continuing education for licensed clinical social
workers shall include courses directly related to the diagnosis,
assessment, and treatment of the client population being served.
(g) The continuing education requirements of this section shall
comply fully with the guidelines for mandatory continuing education
established by the Department of Consumer Affairs pursuant to Section
166.
(h) The board may adopt regulations as necessary to implement this
section.
(i) The board shall, by regulation, fund the administration of
this section through continuing education provider fees to be
deposited in the Behavioral Science Examiners Fund. The fees related
to the administration of this section shall be sufficient to meet,
but shall not exceed, the costs of administering the corresponding
provisions of this section. For purposes of this subdivision, a
provider of continuing education as described in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subdivision (d) shall be deemed to be an approved provider.
SEC. 4. Section 4999.76 of the Business
and Professions Code is amended to read:
4999.76. (a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) and
subdivision (c), the board shall not renew any license pursuant to
this chapter unless the applicant certifies to the board, on a form
prescribed by the board, that he or she has completed not less than
36 hours of approved continuing education in or relevant to the field
of professional clinical counseling in the preceding two years, as
determined by the board.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (c), the board shall not
renew a license issued pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a)
of Section 4999.54 unless the applicant certifies to the board, on a
form prescribed by the board, that he or she has completed not less
than 18 hours of approved continuing education in or relevant to the
field of professional clinical counseling in the preceding year, as
determined by the board. This paragraph shall become inoperative on
January 1, 2018.
(b) The board shall have the right to audit the records of any
applicant to verify the completion of the continuing education
requirement. Applicants shall maintain records of completed
continuing education coursework for a minimum of two years and shall
make these records available to the board for auditing purposes upon
request.
(c) The board may establish exceptions from the continuing
education requirement of this section for good cause, as defined by
the board.
(d) The continuing education shall be obtained from one of the
following sources:
(1) A school, college, or university that is accredited or
approved, as defined in Section 4999.12. Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed as requiring coursework to be offered as part of a
regular degree program.
(2) Other continuing education providers that are approved by
accrediting organizations , including, but not limited to, a
professional clinical counseling association, a licensed health
facility, a governmental entity, a continuing education unit of a
four-year institution of higher learning that is accredited or
approved, or a mental health professional association ,
approved by the board .
(e) The board shall establish, by regulation, a procedure for
approving providers of continuing education courses, and all
providers of continuing education, as described in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subdivision (d), shall adhere to procedures established by
the board. The board may revoke or deny the right of a provider to
offer continuing education coursework pursuant to this section for
failure to comply with the requirements of this section or any
regulation adopted pursuant to this section.
(f)
(e) Training, education, and coursework by approved
providers shall incorporate one or more of the following:
(1) Aspects of the discipline that are fundamental to the
understanding or the practice of professional clinical counseling.
(2) Significant recent developments in the discipline of
professional clinical counseling.
(3) Aspects of other disciplines that enhance the understanding or
the practice of professional clinical counseling.
(g)
(f) A system of continuing education for licensed
professional clinical counselors shall include courses directly
related to the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of the client
population being served.
(h)
(g) The board shall, by regulation, fund the
administration of this section through continuing education provider
fees to be deposited in the Behavioral Sciences Fund. The fees
related to the administration of this section shall be sufficient to
meet, but shall not exceed, the costs of administering the
corresponding provisions of this section. For the purposes of this
subdivision, a provider of continuing education as described in
paragraph paragraphs (1) and (2)
of subdivision (d) shall be deemed to be an approved provider.
(i)
(h) The continuing education requirements of this
section shall fully comply with the guidelines for mandatory
continuing education established by the Department of Consumer
Affairs pursuant to Section 166.