Rule Proposal

VOLUME 48, ISSUE 17
ISSUE DATE: SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
RULE PROPOSALS
LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
STATE BOARD OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINERS

Proposed New Rules: N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.20 through 10.24

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Continuing Education; Continuing Education Programs; Continuing Education Audits; Records of Continuing Education; Waiver of Continuing Education Requirements; Additional Continuing Education Requirements
 
Authorized By: State Board of Psychological Examiners, J. Michael Walker, Executive Director.
 
Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:14B-13 and P.L. 2015, c. 131.
 
Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.
 
Proposal Number: PRN 2016-147.
 
Submit comments by November 5, 2016, to:
 
   J. Michael Walker, Executive Director
   State Board of Psychological Examiners
   124 Halsey Street
   PO 45017
   Newark, NJ 07101
   or electronically at: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.
 
The agency proposal follows:
 
Summary

P.L. 2015, c. 131, established continuing education requirements for the renewal of a psychologist license. The law requires licensed psychologists to complete 40 continuing education credits every biennial renewal period, of which four must be related to domestic violence. The Board of Psychological Examiners (Board) proposes new rules to effectuate the requirements of P.L. 2015, c. 131.

Proposed new N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.20 requires licensed psychologists to complete 40 continuing education credits every biennial license renewal period, of which at least four credits must be related to domestic violence. These continuing education requirements will be imposed for the first biennial renewal following one year after the effective date of the new rule. Licensees applying for their first renewal will be exempt from continuing education requirements and licensees who complete more than 40 credits in a biennial renewal period will be permitted to carry up to 10 credits into the succeeding renewal period.

Proposed new N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.21 requires licensees to complete at least 20 credits in continuing education courses or programs related to psychology and sets forth the entities that may approve providers for continuing education courses or programs. Of these required 20 credits, at least 10 must be in courses or programs that have live interaction with the instructor. The proposed new rule permits licensees to complete up to 20 continuing education through methods outside of approved continuing education courses or programs, such as completing a college course, authoring a textbook or peer reviewed article, or teaching a continuing education course or program.

Proposed new N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.22 provides that the Board will randomly audit licensees to determine compliance with continuing education requirements. The rule also establishes the documentation licensees will be required to maintain to verify completion of continuing education requirements and requires licensees to submit this documentation to the Board upon request.

Proposed new N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.23 permits the Board to waive continuing education requirements for reasons of hardship and establishes the method by which licensees may apply for such waivers. Proposed new N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.24 allows the Board in certain circumstances to direct licensees to complete continuing education credits in addition to the required 40 credits.

The Board also proposes new rule N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.19 as a reserved section.

The Board has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal shall be 60 days; therefore, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 1:30-3.3(a)5, this notice is excepted from the rulemaking calendar requirement.
 
Social Impact

The proposed new rules benefit the public by ensuring that licensees maintain continuing proficiency in the provision of psychological services and advancements in the profession.
 
Economic Impact

The Board believes that the proposed new rules will have an economic impact upon licensees since they will have to pay fees for continuing education courses. The Board, however, does not impose or control the fees for such courses and is unable to estimate what those costs will be.
 
Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because the proposed new rules do not involve any Federal standards or requirements.
 
Jobs Impact

The Board believes that the proposed new rules may increase jobs in the State in that there may be a need for providers to hire instructors to teach continuing education courses or programs. The Board does not anticipate that the proposed new rules will have any other impact on jobs.
 
Agriculture Industry Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed new rules will have any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.
 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

Since licensees are individually licensed by the Board, they may be considered "small businesses" under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 52:14B-16 et seq.

Costs that small businesses may incur are the same costs that all licensees may incur as summarized in the Economic Impact above. The Board does not believe that licensees will need to employ any professional services in order to comply with the proposed new rules. The proposed new rules do not impose any reporting requirements, but do impose compliance and recordkeeping requirements as discussed in the Summary above.

The proposed new rules protect the health, safety, and welfare of patients who receive psychological services by ensuring that licensees have current knowledge as to the practice of psychology. The Board believes that the new rules must be uniformly applied to all licensees and no exemptions are provided based on the size of the licensee's business.
 
Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

The proposed new rules will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey, and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the new rules would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed new rules concern continuing education requirements for licensed psychologists.
 
Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed new rules will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the new rules would evoke a change in housing production in Planning Areas 1 or 2, or within designated centers, under the State Development and Redevelopment Plan in New Jersey because the proposed new rules concern continuing education requirements for licensed psychologists.
 
Full text of the proposed new rules follows (additions indicated in boldface thus):
 
SUBCHAPTER 10.  GENERAL OBLIGATIONS OF A LICENSEE
 
13:42-10.19      (Reserved)
 
13:42-10.20      Continuing education
 
(a) Upon the first biennial license renewal after (one year from the effective date of this section), and upon every biennial license renewal thereafter, licensees shall attest that they have completed courses of continuing education of the types and number of credits specified in (b) and (c) below and in N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.21. Falsification of any information submitted on the renewal application may require an [page=1783] appearance before the Board and may subject a licensee to penalties and/or suspension or revocation of the license pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:1-21 through 45:1-25.
 
(b) Each applicant for biennial license renewal shall be required to complete during the preceding biennial period 40 credits of continuing education related to the practice of psychology, except as provided in (c) below. These 40 credits shall include at least four credits in topics related to domestic violence.
 
(c) Licensees applying for their first biennial renewal shall not be required to indicate that they completed continuing education requirements.
 
(d) A licensee who completes more than the minimum continuing education credit hours set forth in (b) above in any biennial registration period may carry no more than 10 of the additional credit hours into a succeeding biennial period.
 
13:42-10.21      Continuing education programs
 
(a) A licensee shall successfully complete at least 20 of the required 40 continuing education credits through continuing education courses or programs related to the practice of psychology, one credit for each hour of instruction. Courses or programs shall be presented by providers approved by the:
 
1. American Psychological Association;
 
2. Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology;
 
3. Association of State and Provincial Psychology Board; or
 
4. American Medical Association.
 
(b) A licensee may complete up to 20 of the required 40 continuing education credits from the following:
 
1. Completing a graduate course, related to the practice of psychology, given by a school, college, or university accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, one credit for each hour of instruction up to 20 credits;
 
2. Authorship of a textbook or a chapter of a textbook directly related to the practice of psychology published in the biennial renewal period for which the licensee is allocating the credits, five credits for each chapter up to five credits;
 
3. Authorship of an article, which has been refereed through peer review, related to the practice of psychology in a psychological, medical, or health related journal published in the biennial renewal period for which the licensee is allocating the credits, five credits per article up to five credits;
 
4. Presenting a new lecture or seminar to professional peers, or teaching or developing the curriculum for a new continuing education course or program related to psychology. The lecture, seminar, course, or program shall be approved pursuant to (a) above. "New" means that the licensee has never presented the seminar or lecture before, or taught or developed curriculum for that course or program in any educational setting; one credit for each 50 minutes of the lecture, seminar, course, or program, up to five credits; or
 
5. Teaching or developing the curriculum for a new course related to psychology in a school, college, or university accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. "New" means that the licensee has never taught or developed curriculum for that course in any educational setting, five credits of continuing education for each academic credit taught up to five credits.
 
(c) At least 10 credits of the 20 required under (a) above shall be in courses or programs in which there is the opportunity for live interaction with the continuing education instructor.
 
13:42-10.22      Continuing education audits; records of continuing education
 
(a) The Board shall perform audits on randomly selected licensees to determine compliance with continuing education requirements.
 
(b) A licensee shall maintain the following documentation for a period of four years after completion of the credits and shall submit such documentation to the Board upon request:
 
1. For attendance at courses or programs presented by a provider approved pursuant to N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.21(a): a certificate of completion from the provider which includes:
 
i. The title, date, and location of course offering;
 
ii. Name of the licensee; and
 
iii. Number of credits awarded;
 
2. For successful completion of a graduate course: a transcript from the school, college, or university;
 
3. For publication of textbook or article: the published item, including the date of publication;
 
4. For teaching a course or program or developing curriculum: documentation, including a copy of the curriculum, location, date, and time of course, duration of course by hour, and a letter from the continuing education provider, or from the school, college, or university, confirming that the licensee developed or taught the course or program; and
 
5. For presenting a lecture or seminar: documentation including the location, date, and duration of the lecture or seminar, a copy of the presentation, and documentation from the sponsor of the lecture or seminar indicating that the licensee presented the lecture or seminar.
 
13:42-10.23      Waiver of continuing education requirements
 
(a) The Board may waive the continuing education requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.20 on an individual basis for reasons of hardship, such as severe illness, disability, or military service.
 
1. A licensee seeking a waiver of the continuing education requirements shall apply to the Board in writing at least 90 days prior to license renewal and set forth in specific detail the reasons for requesting the waiver. The licensee shall provide the Board with supplemental materials that support the request for waiver.
 
2. A waiver of continuing education requirements granted pursuant to this section shall be effective only for the biennial period for which such waiver is granted. If the condition(s) that necessitated the waiver continue(s) into the next biennial period, a licensee shall apply to the Board for the renewal of such waiver for the new biennial period.
 
13:42-10.24      Additional continuing education requirements
 
(a) The Board may direct or order a licensee to complete continuing education credits:
 
1. As part of a disciplinary or remedial measure in addition to the required 40 hours of continuing education; or
 
2. To correct a deficiency in the licensee's continuing education requirements.
 
(b) Any continuing education credits completed by the licensee in compliance with an order or directive from the Board as set forth in (a) above shall not be used to satisfy the minimum continuing education requirements as set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:42-10.20.