50 N.J.R. 2547(a)

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 24, DECEMBER 17, 2018
RULE PROPOSALS

Reporter
50 N.J.R. 2547(a)
NJ - New Jersey Register  >  2018  >  DECEMBER  >  DECEMBER 17, 2018  >  RULE PROPOSALS  >  LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY -- DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

Interested Persons Statement

INTERESTED PERSONS
Interested persons may submit comments, information or arguments concerning any of the rule proposals in this issue until the date indicated in the proposal. Submissions and any inquiries about submissions should be addressed to the agency officer specified for a particular proposal.

The required minimum period for comment concerning a proposal is 30 days. A proposing agency may extend the 30-day comment period to accommodate public hearings or to elicit greater public response to a proposed new rule or amendment. Most notices of proposal include a 60-day comment period, in order to qualify the notice for an exception to the rulemaking calendar requirements of    N.J.S.A. 52:14B-3. An extended comment deadline will be noted in the heading of a proposal or appear in a subsequent notice in the Register.

At the close of the period for comments, the proposing agency may thereafter adopt a proposal, without change, or with changes not in violation of the rulemaking procedures at    N.J.A.C. 1:30-6.3. The adoption becomes effective upon publication in the Register of a notice of adoption, unless otherwise indicated in the adoption notice. Promulgation in the New Jersey Register establishes a new or amended rule as an official part of the New Jersey Administrative Code.
Agency


LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY > DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS > NEW JERSEY BOARD OF NURSING

Administrative Code Citation

Proposed Amendment:  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3
Text

Provisional Accreditation

Authorized By: State Board of Nursing, Joanne Leone, Executive Director.

Authority: N.J.S.A. 45:11-24.

Calendar Reference: See Summary below for explanation of exception to calendar requirement.

Proposal Number: PRN 2018-118.

Submit written comments by February 15, 2019, to:

  Joanne Leone, Executive Director
   State Board of Nursing
   PO Box 45010
   Newark, New Jersey 07101
   or electronically at: http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Proposals/Pages/default.aspx.
The agency proposal follows:

Summary

In In re Eastwick College LPN-to Rn Bridge Program, 225 N.J. 533 (2016), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the Board of Nursing (Board) was unreasonable in its interpretation of  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3(c)2.   N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3(c)2 requires that a nursing education program on provisional accreditation have 75 percent of students from the first or second graduating class pass the examination the first time it is taken. The Board has interpreted this regulation as requiring that 75 percent of any students who take the licensing examination during a calendar year pass the examination, regardless of whether they were in the first or second graduating class. The Supreme Court held that the plain language of the regulation required that only students in a specific class would count towards the calculation of passage rates on the examination, so that students from the first graduating class who take the licensing examination a year after graduating do not count towards the calculation of passage rates for the second graduating class. The Board proposes to amend  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3 to address the concerns raised by the Supreme Court and to clearly require that 75 percent of graduates who take the examination in a calendar year pass the examination the first time they take it. Subsection (c) will be recodified as (g) based on the proposed amendments discussed below.

The Board also proposes to amend  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3 to revise standards for nursing education programs with provisional accreditation. Proposed amendments to  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3 provide a definition for [page=2548] calendar year in new subsection (a) and require programs on provisional accreditation to inform students that the program has provisional accreditation and that it will cease operations if it does not obtain accreditation under proposed new subsection (c). In proposed new subsection (d), a program administrator for a nursing program with provisional accreditation is required to have at least three years of full-time experience in an accredited nursing program with a background in developing, implementing, and evaluating nursing curriculum. Under proposed new subsection (e), a nursing program on provisional accreditation may only graduate one class per year. The Board proposes to amend  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3(g)3 to require that a self-study of a program be submitted within three months of the program receiving the examination results of its first graduating class. The Board also proposes to recodify existing subsections (a), (b), and (d) as (b), (f), and (h), respectively, with no change in text.

Recodified  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3(i) allows a program that has been denied accreditation to continue on probation status until the last student has graduated or otherwise leaves the program. The Board believes that, if a program has been denied, it is because that program is not adequately educating nursing students and that the program should not be allowed to continue to operate. The Board proposes to delete the provision that allows such programs to continue to operate on probationary status. As such programs will no longer be permitted to operate, the Board proposed to delete subsection (f), which imposed a 10-year ban on programs that did not provide an opportunity for students to complete their education after losing provisional accreditation. The Board also proposes to amend the rule to prohibit a program that has been denied accreditation, or the officers of such a program, from reapplying for accreditation for three years.

The Board has determined that the comment period for this notice of proposal will 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 Board believes that the rulemaking will help to ensure that nursing education programs are adequately prepared to provide nursing students with an education that prepares them to obtain licensure and to practice safely and effectively as nurses.

Economic Impact

This rulemaking will impose costs on nurse education programs with provisional accreditation. Proposed amendments to  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.3 require nursing programs with provisional accreditation to inform student applicants that they have provisional accreditation and the implications of provisional accreditation. The cost of informing student applicants will be borne by the programs.

Federal Standards Statement

A Federal standards analysis is not required because there are no Federal laws or standards applicable to the proposed amendments.

Jobs Impact

The Board does not believe that the proposed amendments will result in an increase or decrease in the number of jobs in New Jersey.

Agriculture Industry Impact

The Board does not believe that the rulemaking will have any impact on the agriculture industry of this State.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

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

The costs imposed on small businesses are the same as for all businesses as detailed in the Economic Impact statement. The Board does not believe that nursing programs will need to employ any professional services to comply with the requirements of this rulemaking. The proposed amendments impose no recordkeeping or reporting requirements, but impose compliance requirements as detailed in the Summary above.

The Board believes that the proposed amendments further the welfare and safety of the public in its dealings with nurses, by ensuring that these nurses have proper instruction. Therefore, the proposed amendments must be applied uniformly to all nursing programs regardless of their size.

Housing Affordability Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed amendments concern accreditation requirements for nursing programs.

Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis

The proposed amendments will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed amendments 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 amendments concern accreditation requirements for nursing programs.

Racial and Ethnic Community Criminal Justice and Public Safety Impact

The Board has evaluated this rulemaking and determined that it will not have an impact on pretrial detention, sentencing, probation, or parole policies concerning adults and juveniles in the State. Accordingly, no further analysis is required.

Regulations

Full text of the proposal follows (additions indicated in boldface thus; deletions indicated in brackets [thus]):

SUBCHAPTER 1.   PROGRAMS IN NURSING EDUCATION

13:37-1.3   Provisional accreditation

(a)For purposes of this section, the term "calendar year" means a year beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31.

[(a)] (b) (No change in text.)

(c)A nursing program that has provisional accreditation shall inform applicants that:

1. The nursing program has provisional accreditation; and

2. If the nursing program does not obtain accreditation, it will cease operation, regardless of whether all of the students in the nursing program have completed their education.

(d) The program administrator for a nursing program that has provisional accreditation shall have at least three years of full-time experience working in an accredited or approved nursing education program in a position that includes responsibility for development, implementation, and evaluation of nursing curriculum.

(e) A nursing program on provisional accreditation shall only graduate one class per calendar year.

[(b)] (f) (No change in text.)

[(c)] (g) A nursing program that has been granted provisional accreditation shall not be granted accreditation until:

1. (No change.)

[2. Seventy-five percent of students from the first or second graduating class, who have taken the licensing examination, pass the examination the first time it is taken by the student; and]

2.Within either the first or second calendar year after the first graduates complete the program, 75 percent of the graduates who take theexamination in each calendar year pass the examination the first time it is taken by the student. This means that students who graduate in the first year, but do not take the exam until the second year will be counted in the results of the second-year exam;and

3. A self-study report is submitted to the Board,three months from when the nursing program receives theexamination results of the first graduating class, that shows the nursing program is in compliance with the requirements of  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.4 through 1.11.

[(d)] (h) (No change in text.)

[(e)] (i) A program that does not meet the requirements of [(b)] (g) above shall remain on provisional accreditation status. A program may remain on provisional accreditation status for no more than two years from the date the first class graduates. A program that has not met the requirements of [(b)] (g) above in that two-year period [shall cease to admit students and shall be placed on probation until the last student enrolled in the program graduates or otherwise leaves the program. Once [page=2549] the last student has left the program, the program] shall lose its provisional accreditation. A program that has lost provisional accreditation pursuant to this subsection [may], or any officer, director, owner, or principal of such a program, shall not be permitted to reapply for accreditation [pursuant to  N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.2] for three years from the date the provisional accreditation was lost.

[(f) A program, or an institution that offers a program, that does not provide its students an opportunity to complete their education and graduate as required by (e) above, may not reapply for accreditation for 10 years from the date the program ended.]