Section 8209. Mandatory continuing competency

(1)(a)  Each  licensed
  speech-language pathologist and audiologist required under this  article
  to  register  triennially  with  the department to practice in the state
  shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing  competency
  requirements  prescribed  in  subdivision two of this section, except as
  provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision.  Speech-language
  pathologists   and   audiologists  who  do  not  satisfy  the  mandatory
  continuing competency requirements shall not be authorized  to  practice
  until  they  have  met  such  requirements,  and they have been issued a
  registration certificate, except that a speech-language  pathologist  or
  audiologist  may  practice without having met such requirements if he or
  she is issued a conditional registration pursuant to  subdivision  three
  of this section.
    (b) Speech-language pathologists and audiologists shall be exempt from
  the  mandatory  continuing  competency  requirement  for  the  triennial
  registration period during which they are first licensed. Adjustment  to
  the  mandatory  continuing competency requirements may be granted by the
  department for reasons of health of the licensee where 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 speech-language pathologist or audiologist not  engaged
  in  practice,  as determined by the department, shall be exempt from the
  mandatory  continuing  competency  requirement  upon  the  filing  of  a
  statement  with  the  department declaring such status. Any licensee who
  returns to the practice of speech-language pathology or audiology during
  the triennial registration period shall notify the department  prior  to
  reentering  the  profession  and  shall  meet  such mandatory continuing
  competency requirements as shall be prescribed  by  regulations  of  the
  commissioner.
    (2)  During  each  triennial  registration  period  an  applicant  for
  registration as either  a  speech-language  pathologist  or  audiologist
  shall  complete  a  minimum of thirty hours of learning activities which
  contribute to continuing competence, as specified in subdivision four of
  this section, provided further that at least twenty hours  shall  be  in
  recognized areas of study pertinent to the licensee's professional scope
  of   practice   of  speech  language  pathology  and/or  audiology.  Any
  speech-language pathologist or audiologist 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, two
  thousand one, shall complete continuing competency hours on  a  prorated
  basis  at  the  rate of one-half hour per month for the period beginning
  January first, two thousand one  up  to  the  first  registration  date.
  Thereafter,  a  licensee  who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing
  competency 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 competency 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 competency
  requirements established in subdivision two of  this  section,  but  who
  agrees  to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional learning
  activities 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 competency learning activities and who practices without such
  registration,  may  be  subject  to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to
  section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.
    (4)  As  used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable learning
  activities" shall  mean  activities  which  contribute  to  professional
  practice  in  speech-language pathology and/or audiology, and which meet
  the standards prescribed in the regulations of  the  commissioner.  Such
  learning  activities  shall  include,  but not be limited to, collegiate
  level credit and non-credit courses, self-study activities,  independent
  study,   formal   mentoring  activities,  publications  in  professional
  journals, professional development programs and technical sessions; such
  learning activities may be offered and sponsored by national, state  and
  local  professional  associations  and  other  organizations  or parties
  acceptable to the department, and any other  organized  educational  and
  technical   learning   activities  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
  competency learning activities in  specific  subjects  to  fulfill  this
  mandatory   continuing   competency   requirement.  For  speech-language
  pathologists who are employed in school  settings  as  teachers  of  the
  speech  and  hearing  handicapped or as teachers of students with speech
  and language disabilities, acceptable  learning  activities  shall  also
  include   professional   development  programs  and  technical  sessions
  specific to teaching students  with  speech  and  language  disabilities
  including  those designed to improve methods for teaching such students,
  aligned  with  professional  development  plans   in   accordance   with
  regulations   of  the  commissioner  and  promoting  the  attainment  of
  standards for such students. Learning activities must be  taken  from  a
  sponsor  approved  by the department, pursuant to the regulations of the
  commissioner.
    (5)  Speech-language  pathologists  and  audiologists  shall  maintain
  adequate documentation of completion of acceptable continuing competency
  learning  activities 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 title.
    (6)  The  mandatory  continuing competency fee shall be fifty 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  eighty-two  hundred  six  of  this
  article.