2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 2 - HEALING ARTS › CHAPTER 10 - Psychiatric Technicians › ARTICLE 4 - Schools for Preparation of Psychiatric Technicians › Section 4531.1.

4531.1. (a) The approval process for a school or program shall be consistent with the following timelines:
(1) (A) Upon receipt of a letter of intent to submit an application for approval as a school or program for psychiatric technicians, the board shall notify the proposed school or program of the steps in the approval process and provide an estimated wait time until active assignment to a nursing education consultant.
(B) Upon active assignment of a nursing education consultant, the school or program shall submit an initial application for approval within 60 days.
(2) (A) Within 30 days of the date the board receives an initial application for approval, the board shall notify the school or program whether the application is complete.
(B) A notice that an initial application is not complete shall specify what additional documents or payment of fees the school or program is required to submit to the board to make the application complete.
(3) Within 60 days from the date the board notifies the school or program that the initial application is not complete, the school or program shall provide the missing information. If a school or program fails to submit the required information, the board shall take the application out of consideration consistent with subdivision (c) of Section 4531.2. The board may provide a school or program with an additional 30 days to complete its application.
(4) Within six months of the date the board receives an initial application for approval as a school or program, the board shall approve the school or program, deny approval, or notify the school or program that corrective action is required.
(b) A school or program for psychiatric technicians seeking approval by the board shall remit to the board for deposit in the Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund fees in accordance with the following schedule:
(1) The nonrefundable initial application fee shall be in an amount equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the board in reviewing and processing the application up to five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the final approval fee shall be in an amount equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the board in the application approval process up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(B) The final approval fee for an applicant program that meets the following criteria shall be in an amount equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the board in the application approval process up to five thousand dollars ($5,000):
(i) The program is affiliated with an approved school or program that is in good standing.
(ii) The program utilizes the curriculum and policies approved by the board for the approved school or program.
(3) The continuing approval fee shall be in an amount equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the board in providing oversight and review of a school or program up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) once every four years.
(c) If the board makes an initial determination that the cost of providing oversight and review of a school or program under this section is less than the amount of any fees required to be paid by that school or program, the board shall decrease the fees applicable to that institution to an amount that is proportional to the board’s reasonable costs associated with that school or program.
(d) The board may reduce the continuing approval fees, by no more than one-half of the established fee, for a program that experiences a reduction in enrollment capacity that directly leads to a reduction in state funding. The board shall require a program to provide documentation for the purposes of issuing the fee reduction.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, the board shall, without taking any further regulatory action, implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of provider bulletins or similar instructions until emergency regulations are adopted pursuant to paragraph (2). The board shall provide written notice 30 days prior to the adoption of any instruction under this paragraph and post the notice on its internet website. It is the intent of the Legislature that the board have temporary authority as necessary to implement program changes until completion of the regulatory process.
(2) The board shall adopt emergency regulations no later than June 30, 2022. The adoption of regulations shall be deemed an emergency and necessary to avoid serious harm to the public peace, health, safety, or general welfare within the meaning of Section 11342.545 of the Government Code, and the board need not make a written finding of emergency as required by Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. Notwithstanding subdivisions (e) and (h) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, the board may annually readopt any emergency regulation authorized by this section that is the same as or substantially equivalent to an emergency regulation previously adopted pursuant to this section until January 1, 2024.
(3) The initial adoption of emergency regulations and the readoption of emergency regulations authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State. The emergency regulations shall remain in effect for no more than one year from the date any regulation became effective as an emergency regulation.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 723, Sec. 18. (SB 816) Effective January 1, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, by its own provisions.)