Section 7128. Mandatory continuing education

1.  (a)  Each  licensed
  ophthalmic dispenser required under this article to register triennially
  with the department to practice in  the  state  shall  comply  with  the
  provisions of the mandatory continuing education requirements prescribed
  in subdivision two of this section except as set forth in paragraphs (b)
  and  (c)  of  this subdivision. Ophthalmic dispensers who do not satisfy
  the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not practice until
  they  have  met  such  requirements,  and  they  have  been   issued   a
  registration  certificate,  except  that  an  ophthalmic  dispenser  may
  practice without having met such requirements if he or she is  issued  a
  conditional  registration  certificate  pursuant to subdivision three of
  this section.
    (b)  Ophthalmic  dispensers  shall  be  exempt  from   the   mandatory
  continuing  education  requirement for the triennial registration period
  during which they are first licensed. In accord with the intent of  this
  section,  adjustment  to  the mandatory continuing education requirement
  may be granted by the department for reasons of health certified  by  an
  appropriate  health care professional, 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  ophthalmic  dispenser  not  engaged  in  practice,  as
  determined  by  the  department,  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  ophthalmic  dispensing  during  the triennial registration
  period shall notify the department prior to  reentering  the  profession
  and  shall  meet  such  mandatory  education  requirements  as  shall be
  prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.
    2.  During  each  triennial  registration  period  an  applicant   for
  registration  as  an  ophthalmic  dispenser  shall complete a minimum of
  eighteen hours of acceptable formal continuing education,  as  specified
  in subdivision four of this section; provided that three hours may be in
  recognized  areas  of  study  pertinent to the dispensing and fitting of
  contact lenses. During each triennial registration period  an  applicant
  for registration as an ophthalmic dispenser and certified to fit contact
  lenses  shall  complete  twenty  hours  of  acceptable formal continuing
  education, as specified in subdivision four of  this  section;  provided
  that  ten  hours  shall be in recognized areas of study pertinent to the
  dispensing and fitting of contact lenses. Any ophthalmic dispenser 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-nine, shall  complete  continuing
  education  hours  on  a  prorated basis at the rate of one-half hour per
  month  for  the  period  beginning  January  first,   nineteen   hundred
  ninety-eight  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 for in subdivision three
  of this section. Continuing education hours taken during  one  triennium
  may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.
    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 complete 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 but shall not exceed one year. Any
  licensee  who  is  notified of the denial of registration for failure to
  submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required  continuing
  education and who practices without such registration, may be subject to
  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of
  this chapter.
    4. As used in subdivision two  of  this  section,  "Acceptable  Formal
  Education"  shall  mean  formal  courses of learning which contribute to
  professional practice  in  ophthalmic  dispensing  and  which  meet  the
  standards  prescribed  by  regulations  of the commissioner. Such formal
  courses of learning shall include, but not  be  limited  to,  collegiate
  level  credit  and non-credit courses. Professional development programs
  and technical sessions offered by national, state and local professional
  associations and other organizations acceptable to the  department,  and
  any other organized educational and technical programs acceptable to the
  department.  The  department  may,  in  its  discretion and as needed to
  contribute to  the  health  and  welfare  of  the  public,  require  the
  completion  of  continuing  education  courses  in  specific subjects to
  fulfill this mandatory continuing education requirement. Courses must be
  taken from a  sponsor  approved  by  the  department,  pursuant  to  the
  regulations of the commissioner.
    5.  Ophthalmic  dispensers  shall  maintain  adequate documentation of
  completion of acceptable formal continuing education and  shall  provide
  such  documentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide
  such documentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of
  misconduct subject  to  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant  to  section
  sixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.
    6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five 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 seventy-one hundred twenty-four of
  this article.