§ 20-236 — Qualifications for license as barber. Licensure without examination. Barber schools. Minimum curriculum requirements.

Connecticut § 20-236

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 20: Professional and Occupational Licensing, Certification, Title Protection and Registration. Examining Boards
• Ch. 386: Barbers

Text

(a)(1) Any person desiring to obtain a license as a barber shall apply in writing on forms furnished by the Department of Public Health and shall pay to the department a fee of one hundred dollars. The department shall not issue a license until the applicant has made written application to the department, setting forth by affidavit that the applicant has (A) (i) successfully completed the eighth grade, (ii) completed a course of not less than one thousand hours of study in a school approved in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or, if trained outside of Connecticut, in a barber school or college whose requirements are equivalent to those of a Connecticut barber school or college, and (iii) passed a written examination satisfactory to the department, or (B) if the applicant is an apprentice, (i) successfully completed the eighth grade, (ii) completed an apprenticeship approved by the Labor Department and conducted in accordance with sections 31-22m to 31-22u, inclusive, and (iii) passed a written examination satisfactory to the Department of Public Health. Examinations required for licensure under this chapter shall be prescribed by the department with the advice and assistance of the board. The department shall establish a passing score for examinations required under this chapter with the advice and assistance of the board. No license issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter may be assigned or transferred to another person. (2) Any person who holds a license at the time of application to practice the occupation of barbering in any other state, the District of Columbia or in a commonwealth or territory of the United States, and was issued such license on the basis of successful completion of a program of education and training in barbering and an examination, shall be eligible for licensing in this state and entitled to a license without examination upon payment of a fee of one hundred dollars. (3) Any person who holds a license to practice the occupation of barbering in any other state, the District of Columbia, or in a commonwealth or territory of the United States, and has held such license for a period of not less than forty years, shall be eligible for licensure without examination. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint. (b) (1) Barber schools shall obtain approval pursuant to this section prior to commencing operation. In the event that an approved school undergoes a change of ownership or location, such approval shall become void and the school shall apply for a new approval pursuant to this section. Applications for such approval shall be on forms prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health. In the event that a school fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection, no credit toward the one thousand hours of study required pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be granted to any student for instruction received prior to the effective date of school approval. (2) The Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the Connecticut Examining Board for Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmeticians, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to prescribe minimum curriculum requirements for barber schools. The commissioner, in consultation with said board, shall amend such regulations to include education and training in the provision of services to individuals with textured hair, including, but not limited to, working with various curl and wave patterns, hair strand thicknesses and volumes of hair. The commissioner, in consultation with said board, may adopt a curriculum and procedures for the approval of barber schools, provided the commissioner prints notice of intent to adopt regulations concerning the adoption of a curriculum and procedures for the approval of barber schools in the Connecticut Law Journal not later than thirty days after the date of implementation of such curriculum and such procedures. The curriculum and procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall be valid until such time final regulations are adopted. As used in this subdivision, “textured hair” means hair that is coiled, curly or wavy. (c) No person applying for licensure as a barber under this chapter shall be required to submit to a state or national criminal history records check as a prerequisite to licensure.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 4570; 1949, 1953, 1955, S. 2277d; 1959, P.A. 306; 1969, P.A. 389, S. 1; June, 1971, P.A. 8, S. 75; 1972, P.A. 127, S. 45; P.A. 74-113, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 440, 609, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 119, 136; P.A. 80-484, S. 100, 174, 176; P.A. 81-471, S. 51, 71; P.A. 84-173, S. 1; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 30, 117; P.A. 93-296, S. 5, 10; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 98-166, S. 7, 9; P.A. 04-221, S. 13; P.A. 05-272, S. 10; P.A. 09-232, S. 45; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 229; P.A. 10-117, S. 15; P.A. 15-31, S. 1; P.A. 17-112, S. 1; P.A. 24-53, S. 1.) History: 1959 act deleted stipulation that manager barber certificate be to own or manage as well as operate a shop; 1969 act raised license fees for barber and manager barber from $15 to $25; 1971 act increased fees to $30; 1972 act lowered minimum age for applicants from 19 to 18, reflecting changed age of majority; P.A. 74-113 changed expiration date of license from first day of October in odd-numbered years to first day of May annually; P.A. 77-614 transferred duties of board of examiners to department of health services and later repealed section, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-303 amended repealer in P.A. 77-614 to delete reference to repeal of section; P.A. 80-484 transferred remaining duties of board to department, replaced certificates of registration with licenses, deleted requirement that applicant be at least eighteen and of good moral character, replaced reference to apprenticeship with “working as a barber”, required that acceptance of other state's license depends on license requirements which call for equivalent or higher entry standards, added reference to master barber, made licenses good for one year rather than until the following May first, removed provision which required one-year waiting period before reexamination in cases where applicant has failed three successive examinations, deleted provisions re manager barber certificates and re forfeiture of fee after failure to appear for examinations three times in succession and added provisions prohibiting issuance of licenses to persons involved in disciplinary action or unresolved complaint, requiring annual notification of board of number of applicants and establishing passing score; P.A. 81-471 deleted reference to period of working as a barber required prior to licensure and added a specific requirement of 1,500 hours of study and a provision authorizing licensure without examination in some cases; P.A. 84-173 required examinations for licensure to be prescribed by the department with the advice and assistance of the board and required the board's advice and assistance rather than consent in establishing a passing score; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 raised examination fee from $30 to $50; P.A. 93-296 added new Subsec. (b) re approval of barber schools and change of location or ownership, effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 93-381 and P.A. 93-435 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-166 amended Subsec. (a) to add, to eligibility for licensure without examination, anyone with a license in another state or territory for at least 40 years, effective June 4, 1998; P.A. 04-221 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing former provisions with Subdivs. (1) to (3) re qualifications for licensure; P.A. 05-272 amended Subsec. (a)(1)(A) by removing provision re equivalency examination prepared by Commissioner of Education; P.A. 09-232 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by eliminating requirement re English proficiency examination, effective July 1, 2009; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) to increase fees from $50 to $100; P.A. 10-117 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by changing hours of study requirement from 1,500 to 1,000 and by providing that licenses may not be transferred or assigned, amended Subsec. (a)(2) by deleting requirement re completion of not less than 1,500 hours of formal education and training in barbering, by adding provision re completion of program of education and training in barbering and by deleting former provision re substitution of licensed work experience toward meeting training requirement, redesignated existing Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (b)(1) and changed 1,500 hours to 1,000 hours therein and added Subsec. (b)(2) re regulations to prescribe minimum curriculum requirements for barber schools and re curriculum and procedures for barber school approval, effective October 1, 2011; P.A. 15-31 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to add new Subpara. (B) re qualifications for apprentice to obtain license as a barber, redesignate existing Subparas. (B) and (C) as Subpara. (A)(ii) and (iii) and make conforming changes; P.A. 17-112 added Subsec. (c) re submission to state or national criminal history records check as prerequisite to licensure; P.A. 24-53 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by requiring commissioner to amend regulations re minimum curriculum requirements to include education and training in provision of services to individuals with textured hair and adding definition of textured hair, effective July 1, 2024. Former statute cited. 113 C. 563.