52 N.J.R. 16(a)

VOLUME 52, ISSUE 1, JANUARY 6, 2020
RULE PROPOSALS

Reporter
52 N.J.R. 16(a)
NJ - New Jersey Register  >  2020  >  JANUARY  >  JANUARY 6, 2020  >  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 > STATE BOARD OF NURSING


Administrative Code Citation


Proposed New Rule: N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.21


Text

  Exit Examinations

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 2020-004.
Submit comments by March 6, 2020, 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

The Board of Nursing (Board) accredits nurse education programs in New Jersey. One of the ways that a nursing education program can lose accreditation is if, for three years in a row, less than 75 percent of its graduates pass the national nurse licensing examination. Some programs that are in danger of losing accreditation due to this standard require students to take a predictor or exit examination, prior to graduation which assesses the likelihood of students passing the national licensing examination. Those students who do not pass the predictor examination are not allowed to graduate, so that they will not adversely affect the pass rate for the program and endanger the program's accreditation status. The Board is troubled by this situation, in that students who have otherwise qualified to graduate, are kept in a program, so that the program will not lose accreditation. The Board does not oppose the use of examinations to assess how well a program is preparing students, but is opposed to students being prevented from graduating solely because their school might lose accreditation.   

The Board proposes new N.J.A.C. 13:37-1.21 to permit nursing education programs to require students to take a predictor examination at the end of the program, but to also prohibit a program from preventing a student from graduating or taking a licensing examination, based on the student's performance on the predictor examination.  
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 proposed new rule will benefit students who have completed nursing programs but are prevented from sitting for a licensing examination based solely on their performance on a comprehensive nursing program examination.

   
Economic Impact   

The proposed new rule will benefit students in that they will not be prevented from taking a licensing examination and starting their nursing career based on a comprehensive nursing examination. 

  
Federal Standards Statement   

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

Jobs Impact 

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

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis   

Since nurse education 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 proposed new rule will not impose any costs and the Board does not believe that nursing programs will need to employ any professional services to comply with the requirements of the proposed new rule. The proposed new rule imposes no new recordkeeping or reporting requirements but imposes compliance requirements, as detailed in the Summary above.   

The Board believes that the proposed new rule furthers the welfare and safety of students who have completed nursing education programs. Therefore, the proposed new rule must be applied uniformly to all nursing programs regardless of their size.   

Housing Affordability Impact Analysis   

The proposed new rule will have an insignificant impact on the affordability of housing in New Jersey and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed new rule would evoke a change in the average costs associated with housing because the proposed new rule concerns comprehensive examinations given by nurse education programs.   

Smart Growth Development Impact Analysis   

The proposed new rule will have an insignificant impact on smart growth and there is an extreme unlikelihood that the proposed new rule 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 rule concerns comprehensive examinations given by nurse education 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.   

Full text of the proposed new rule follows:   

SUBCHAPTER 1.   PROGRAMS IN NURSING EDUCATION   

13:37-1.21    Exit examinations

   
(a) A nursing program may require students to take a comprehensive examination at the end of a program to assess students' knowledge of nursing.  

 
(b) A student's performance on an examination, if required pursuant to (a) above, shall not affect the student's ability to graduate from the program or to take licensing examinations.