§ 6609-a. Mandatory continuing education for dental hygienists. 1.
(A) Each dental hygienist, licensed pursuant to this article and
required to register triennially with the department to practice in this
state shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing
education requirements, except as set forth in paragraphs (B) and (C) of
this subdivision. Dental hygienists who do not satisfy the mandatory
continuing education requirements shall not practice until they have met
such requirements and have been issued a registration or conditional
registration certificate.

(B) Dental hygienists shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing
education requirement for the triennial registration period during which
they are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section,
adjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be
granted by the department for reasons of health, certified by a
physician, 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 dental hygienist not engaged in the practice of dental
hygiene 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 dental hygiene
during the triennial registration period shall notify the department
prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory
continuing education requirements as shall be prescribed by regulation
of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for
registration shall complete a minimum of twenty-four hours of acceptable
formal continuing education including currently mandated child abuse
reporting instruction and infection control training as approved by the
department. Of these twenty-four hours a maximum of ten hours may be
self-instructional coursework as approved by the department. Any dental
hygienist 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-eight, shall complete
continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one and
one-quarter hours per month for the period beginning January first,
nineteen hundred ninety-seven 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 in
subdivision three of this section. The individual licensee shall
determine the selection of courses or programs of study pursuant to
subdivision four of this section.

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 take 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. Any licensee who is notified of
the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence, satisfactory
to the department, of completion of required continuing education and
who practices dental hygiene without such registration, may be subject
to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten
of this title.

4. As used in this section, "acceptable formal continuing education"
shall mean formal programs of learning which contribute to professional
practice and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations of the
commissioner. To fulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement,
programs must be taken from sponsors approved by the department,
pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.

5. The mandatory continuing education fee of thirty 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 sixty-six hundred nine of this article.