§ 7807 — Mandatory continuing education

§ 7807. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each massage therapist\nlicensed pursuant to this article required to register triennially with\nthe department to practice in the state shall comply with the provisions\nof the mandatory continuing education requirements prescribed in\nsubdivision two of this section except as set forth in paragraphs (b)\nand (c) of this subdivision. Massage therapists who do not satisfy the\nmandatory continuing education requirements shall not practice until\nthey have met such requirements, and they have been issued a\nregistration certificate, except that a massage therapist may practice\nwithout having met such requirements if he or she is issued a\nconditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of\nthis section.\n (b) Massage therapists shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing\neducation requirement for the triennial registration period during which\nthey are first licensed. In accord with the intent of this section,\nadjustments to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be\ngranted by the department for reasons of health certified by an\nappropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the\narmed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to\nthe department which may prevent compliance.\n (c) A licensed massage therapist not engaged in professional practice,\nas determined by the department, shall be exempt from the mandatory\ncontinuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the\ndepartment declaring such status. Any licensee who returns to the\npractice of massage therapy during the triennial registration period\nshall notify the department prior to reentering the profession and shall\nmeet such mandatory education requirements as shall be prescribed by\nregulations of the commissioner.\n 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for\nregistration as a massage therapist shall complete a minimum of\nthirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, a maximum of\ntwelve hours of which may be self-instructional course work acceptable\nto the department. Any massage therapist whose first registration date\nfollowing the effective date of this section occurs less than three\nyears from such effective date, shall complete continuing education\nhours on a prorated basis at the rate of one hour per month for the\nperiod beginning January first, two thousand twelve up to the first\nregistration date thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the\nmandatory continuing education requirements shall not be issued a\ntriennial registration certificate by the department and shall not\npractice unless and until a conditional registration certificate is\nissued as provided for in subdivision three of this section, or until he\nor she has otherwise met the requirements of this section.\n 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional\nregistration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education\nrequirements established in subdivision two of this section but who\nagrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education\nwhich the department may require. The fee for such a conditional\nregistration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the\ntriennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration\nshall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any\nlicensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to\nsubmit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing\neducation and who practices without such registration, may be subject to\ndisciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of\nthis chapter.\n 4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable formal\ncontinuing education" may mean formal programs of learning which\ncontribute to professional practice in massage therapy which are offered\nby sponsors of massage therapy continuing education approved by the\ndepartment in consultation with the state board for massage therapy, to\nfulfill the mandatory continuing education requirement. Sponsors of\nmassage therapy continuing education may include, but are not limited\nto, state or national professional associations established to further\nthe massage therapy profession, and may include any affiliates of\ninternational massage therapy conferences at which professional\ncontinuing education is a major component of such conferences, as well\nas programs registered as licensure-qualifying for the profession of\nmassage therapy by the department. Sponsors of massage therapy shall\nfile an application with the department and pay a fee of nine hundred\ndollars. While presenters of didactic instruction may be provided by\npersons who are not licensed by the state of New York as massage\ntherapists, the practical application of such modalities and techniques\nmust be done by licensed massage therapists, or those otherwise\nauthorized, when this continuing education occurs in the state of New\nYork.\n 5. Massage therapists shall maintain adequate documentation of\ncompletion of acceptable formal continuing education and shall provide\nsuch documentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide\nsuch documentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of\nmisconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section\nsixty-five hundred ten of this chapter.\n 6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars,\nshall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial\nregistration period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial\nregistration fee required by section seventy-one hundred twenty-four of\nthis chapter.\n