2023 New York Laws › EDN - Education › Title 8 - The Professions › Article 136 - Physical Therapy and Physical Therapist Assistants › 6742-A - Mandatory Continuing Education.

§  6742-a.  Mandatory  continuing  education.  1.  (a)  Each  licensed
physical therapist and licensed physical  therapist  assistant  required
under  this  article  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. Licensed physical therapist and licensed physical therapist
assistants  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
licensed physical therapist or licensed physical therapist assistant 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) Each licensed physical therapist and licensed  physical  therapist
assistant  shall  be  exempt  from  the  mandatory  continuing education
requirement for the triennial registration period during which they  are
first   licensed.  In  accordance  with  the  intent  of  this  section,
adjustment 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  physical  therapist  and licensed physical therapist
assistant not engaged in 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 physical 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  licensed  physical  therapist  or licensed physical
therapist assistant shall complete a  minimum  of  thirty-six  hours  of
acceptable formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four
of  this  section.  Any licensed physical therapist or licensed physical
therapist  assistant  whose  first  registration  date   following   the
effective  date  of  this section occurs less than three years from such
effective date, but on or after January first, two thousand  ten,  shall
complete  continuing  education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of
one-half hour per month for the  period  beginning  January  first,  two
thousand  ten  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. Continuing education hours taken during  one  triennium
may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium.
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 title.
4.  As  used  in  subdivision  two of this section, "acceptable formal
education" shall mean formal courses of  learning  which  contribute  to
professional  practice  in physical therapy and which meet the standards
prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Such  formal  courses  of
learning  shall  include, but not be limited to, collegiate level credit
and non-credit courses, professional development programs and  technical
sessions  offered by national, state and local professional associations
and other organizations acceptable to  the  department,  and  any  other
organized   educational   and   technical  programs  acceptable  to  the
department. The department may, in  its  discretion  and  as  needed  to
contribute  to  the  health  and  welfare  of  the  public,  require the
completion of continuing  education  courses  in  specific  subjects  to
fulfill this mandatory continuing education requirement. Courses must be
taken  from  a  sponsor  approved  by  the  department,  pursuant to the
regulations of the commissioner.
5.  Licensed  physical  therapist  or  licensed   physical   therapist
assistant   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 title.
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 sixty-seven hundred thirty-four  of
this article.