§ 8209. Mandatory continuing competency. (1)(a) Each licensed
speech-language pathologist and audiologist required under this article
to register triennially with the department to practice in the state
shall comply with the provisions of the mandatory continuing competency
requirements prescribed in subdivision two of this section, except as
provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Speech-language
pathologists and audiologists who do not satisfy the mandatory
continuing competency requirements shall not be authorized to practice
until they have met such requirements, and they have been issued a
registration certificate, except that a speech-language pathologist or
audiologist may practice without having met such requirements if he or
she is issued a conditional registration pursuant to subdivision three
of this section.

(b) Speech-language pathologists and audiologists shall be exempt from
the mandatory continuing competency requirement for the triennial
registration period during which they are first licensed. Adjustment to
the mandatory continuing competency requirements may be granted by the
department for reasons of health of the licensee where 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 speech-language pathologist or audiologist not engaged
in practice, as determined by the department, shall be exempt from the
mandatory continuing competency requirement upon the filing of a
statement with the department declaring such status. Any licensee who
returns to the practice of speech-language pathology or audiology during
the triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to
reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory continuing
competency requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the
commissioner.

(2) During each triennial registration period an applicant for
registration as either a speech-language pathologist or audiologist
shall complete a minimum of thirty hours of learning activities which
contribute to continuing competence, as specified in subdivision four of
this section, provided further that at least twenty hours shall be in
recognized areas of study pertinent to the licensee's professional scope
of practice of speech language pathology and/or audiology. Any
speech-language pathologist or audiologist 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, two
thousand one, shall complete continuing competency hours on a prorated
basis at the rate of one-half hour per month for the period beginning
January first, two thousand one up to the first registration date.
Thereafter, a licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing
competency 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 competency 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 competency
requirements established in subdivision two of this section, but who
agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional learning
activities 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 competency learning activities and who practices without such
registration, may be subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to
section sixty-five hundred ten of this title.

(4) As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable learning
activities" shall mean activities which contribute to professional
practice in speech-language pathology and/or audiology, and which meet
the standards prescribed in the regulations of the commissioner. Such
learning activities shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate
level credit and non-credit courses, self-study activities, independent
study, formal mentoring activities, publications in professional
journals, professional development programs and technical sessions; such
learning activities may be offered and sponsored by national, state and
local professional associations and other organizations or parties
acceptable to the department, and any other organized educational and
technical learning activities 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
competency learning activities in specific subjects to fulfill this
mandatory continuing competency requirement. For speech-language
pathologists who are employed in school settings as teachers of the
speech and hearing handicapped or as teachers of students with speech
and language disabilities, acceptable learning activities shall also
include professional development programs and technical sessions
specific to teaching students with speech and language disabilities
including those designed to improve methods for teaching such students,
aligned with professional development plans in accordance with
regulations of the commissioner and promoting the attainment of
standards for such students. Learning activities must be taken from a
sponsor approved by the department, pursuant to the regulations of the
commissioner.

(5) Speech-language pathologists and audiologists shall maintain
adequate documentation of completion of acceptable continuing competency
learning activities 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 title.

(6) The mandatory continuing competency fee shall be fifty 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 eighty-two hundred six of this
article.