NY Educ L § 7807 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 8 - The Professions Article 155 - Massage Therapy 7807 - Mandatory Continuing Education.

§  7807. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each massage therapist licensed pursuant to this article required 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. Massage therapists 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 a massage therapist  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)  Massage  therapists 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, adjustments  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 massage therapist not engaged in professional 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 massage therapy 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  a  massage  therapist  shall  complete  a  minimum  of thirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, a maximum of twelve hours of which may be self-instructional course  work  acceptable to  the  department. Any massage therapist whose first registration date following the effective date of this  section  occurs  less  than  three years  from  such  effective  date,  shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one  hour  per  month  for  the period  beginning  January  first,  two  thousand twelve 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, or until he or she has otherwise met the requirements of this section.   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 continuing  education"  may  mean  formal  programs  of  learning  which  contribute to professional practice in massage therapy which are offered by  sponsors  of  massage  therapy  continuing education approved by the department in consultation with the state board for massage therapy,  to fulfill  the  mandatory  continuing  education  requirement. Sponsors of massage therapy continuing education may include, but  are  not  limited to,  state  or national professional associations established to further the massage therapy  profession,  and  may  include  any  affiliates  of international   massage   therapy   conferences  at  which  professional continuing education is a major component of such conferences,  as  well as  programs  registered  as  licensure-qualifying for the profession of massage therapy by the department. Sponsors  of  massage  therapy  shall file  an  application  with the department and pay a fee of nine hundred dollars. While presenters of didactic instruction  may  be  provided  by persons  who  are  not  licensed  by  the  state  of New York as massage therapists, the practical application of such modalities and  techniques must  be  done  by  licensed  massage  therapists,  or  those  otherwise authorized, when this continuing education occurs in the  state  of  New York.   5.   Massage  therapists  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 chapter.