§ 34-22-5 — Limited Teaching Licenses; Limited Resident Licenses

(a) The board, by rule, may issue a limited teaching license to teachers who hold an optometric degree and are not licensed and registered to practice optometry in this state. The board may also issue a limited resident license to student residents at a school of optometry approved by the board. The dean of any school of optometry within this state which has been approved by the board shall annually certify to the board the names and addresses of the members of the faculty and student residents of the school who are not licensed and registered to practice optometry in this state and shall promptly notify the board of any change in personnel on the faculty. The board may issue limited licenses to applicants upon the certification of the dean of any school of optometry setting forth that the applicant is a bona fide member of the faculty or a student resident of the school. A limited license shall be valid so long as the holder thereof remains a member of the faculty or a student resident of the school and abides by the rules under which the limited license is issued. The holder of a limited license shall be subject to this chapter regulating the practice of optometry in this state and may perform all services which a person licensed to practice optometry in this state would be entitled to perform, subject to the following limitations:
(1) A limited teaching licensee may only practice optometry as a part of a program of the school and as an adjunct to his or her teaching functions in the school.
(2) A limited resident licensee may only practice optometry as a part of a program of the school, as an adjunct to the learning functions prescribed by the school, and under the supervision of the faculty of the school.
(b) A fee of one hundred dollars ($100) shall be paid by an applicant to the board for the issuance of a limited license.

Legislative History

(Acts 1975, No. 1148, p. 2257, §12; Acts 1997, No. 97-158, p. 211, §3; Act 2025-116, §3.)