§ 7128. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed
ophthalmic dispenser required under this article to register triennially
with the department to practice in the state shall comply with the
provisions of the mandatory continuing education requirements prescribed
in subdivision two of this section except as set forth in paragraphs (b)
and (c) of this subdivision. Ophthalmic dispensers who do not satisfy
the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not practice until
they have met such requirements, and they have been issued a
registration certificate, except that an ophthalmic dispenser may
practice without having met such requirements if he or she is issued a
conditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of
this section.

(b) Ophthalmic dispensers shall be exempt from the mandatory
continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period
during which they are first licensed. In accord with the intent of this
section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing education requirement
may be granted by the department for reasons of health 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 ophthalmic dispenser not engaged in practice, as
determined by the department, 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 ophthalmic dispensing during the triennial registration
period shall notify the department prior to reentering the profession
and shall meet such mandatory education requirements as shall be
prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.

2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for
registration as an ophthalmic dispenser shall complete a minimum of
eighteen hours of acceptable formal continuing education, as specified
in subdivision four of this section; provided that three hours may be in
recognized areas of study pertinent to the dispensing and fitting of
contact lenses. During each triennial registration period an applicant
for registration as an ophthalmic dispenser and certified to fit contact
lenses shall complete twenty hours of acceptable formal continuing
education, as specified in subdivision four of this section; provided
that ten hours shall be in recognized areas of study pertinent to the
dispensing and fitting of contact lenses. Any ophthalmic dispenser 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-nine, shall complete continuing
education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one-half hour per
month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred
ninety-eight 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 for in subdivision three
of this section. Continuing education 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 education
requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who
agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete 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 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
education and who practices without such registration, may be subject to
disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of
this chapter.

4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "Acceptable Formal
Education" shall mean formal courses of learning which contribute to
professional practice in ophthalmic dispensing and which meet the
standards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Such formal
courses of learning shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate
level credit and non-credit courses. Professional development programs
and technical sessions offered by national, state and local professional
associations and other organizations acceptable to the department, and
any other organized educational and technical programs 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 education courses in specific subjects to
fulfill this mandatory continuing education requirement. Courses must be
taken from a sponsor approved by the department, pursuant to the
regulations of the commissioner.

5. Ophthalmic dispensers shall maintain adequate documentation of
completion of acceptable formal continuing education 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 chapter.

6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five 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 seventy-one hundred twenty-four of
this article.