Section 6609-A. Mandatory continuing education for dental hygienists

1.
  (A) Each  dental  hygienist,  licensed  pursuant  to  this  article  and
  required to register triennially with the department to practice in this
  state  shall  comply  with  the  provisions  of the mandatory continuing
  education requirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (B) and (C) of
  this subdivision. Dental hygienists who do  not  satisfy  the  mandatory
  continuing education requirements shall not practice until they have met
  such  requirements  and  have  been issued a registration or conditional
  registration certificate.
    (B) Dental hygienists shall be exempt from  the  mandatory  continuing
  education requirement for the triennial registration period during which
  they  are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section,
  adjustments to the mandatory continuing  education  requirement  may  be
  granted  by  the  department  for  reasons  of  health,  certified  by a
  physician, for extended active duty with the Armed Forces of the  United
  States,  or  for other good cause acceptable to the department which may
  prevent compliance.
    (C) A licensed dental hygienist not engaged in the practice of  dental
  hygiene   shall  be  exempt  from  the  mandatory  continuing  education
  requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring
  such status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of dental  hygiene
  during  the  triennial  registration  period shall notify the department
  prior to  reentering  the  profession  and  shall  meet  such  mandatory
  continuing  education  requirements as shall be prescribed by regulation
  of the commissioner.
    2.  During  each  triennial  registration  period  an  applicant   for
  registration shall complete a minimum of twenty-four hours of acceptable
  formal  continuing  education  including  currently mandated child abuse
  reporting instruction and infection control training as approved by  the
  department.  Of  these  twenty-four  hours a maximum of ten hours may be
  self-instructional coursework as approved by the department. Any  dental
  hygienist  whose first registration date following the effective date of
  this section occurs less than three years from such effective date,  but
  on or after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, shall complete
  continuing  education  hours  on a prorated basis at the rate of one and
  one-quarter hours per month for  the  period  beginning  January  first,
  nineteen   hundred  ninety-seven  up  to  the  first  registration  date
  thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied  the  mandatory  continuing
  education  requirements  shall  not  be  issued a triennial registration
  certificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until  a
  conditional   registration   certificate   is   issued  as  provided  in
  subdivision  three  of  this  section.  The  individual  licensee  shall
  determine  the  selection  of  courses  or programs of study pursuant to
  subdivision four of this section.
    3.  The  department,  in  its  discretion,  may  issue  a  conditional
  registration  to  a  licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
  requirements established in subdivision two  of  this  section  but  who
  agrees  to  make  up  any deficiencies and take any additional education
  which the department  may  require.  The  fee  for  such  a  conditional
  registration  shall  be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the
  triennial registration. The duration of  such  conditional  registration
  shall  be  determined by the department. Any licensee who is notified of
  the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence,  satisfactory
  to  the  department,  of completion of required continuing education and
  who practices dental hygiene without such registration, may  be  subject
  to  disciplinary  proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten
  of this title.

    4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal  continuing  education"
  shall  mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional
  practice and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations  of  the
  commissioner. To fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement,
  programs  must  be  taken  from  sponsors  approved  by  the department,
  pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.
    5. The mandatory continuing education fee of thirty dollars  shall  be
  payable  on  or  before  the  first  day  of each triennial registration
  period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial registration  fee
  required by section sixty-six hundred nine of this article.