Section 8.03. Continuing education.

 

(1)  Except as provided in sub. (6) , hearing instrument specialists, audiologists and speech-language pathologists shall complete at least 20 hours of board approved continuing education programs or courses of study which pertain to the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing instruments, audiology or speech-language pathology, as appropriate, in each biennial renewal period. Of the 20 required hours, at least 2 hours shall relate to ethics.

(2)  Except as provided under s. HAS 7.05 (1) (a) 4. and (2) (a) 3. , continuing education hours may be applied only to the biennial registration period in which the continuing education hours are acquired.

(3)  To obtain credit for completion of continuing education hours, a licensee shall, at the time of each renewal, sign a statement certifying that he or she has completed, within the 2 years immediately preceding the date of his or her application, 20 hours of continuing education programs or courses of study approved by the board, including at least 2 hours of ethics credits.

(4)  A licensee who fails to meet the continuing education requirements by the renewal date shall not practice as a hearing instrument specialist, audiologist or speech-language pathologist, as appropriate, until his or her license is restored under s. HAS 7.05 .

(5)  For auditing purposes, every licensee shall maintain records of continuing education hours for at least 5 years from the date the certification statement required under sub. (3) is signed.

(6)  A new licensee is not required to report continuing education hours until the second renewal date following the initial grant of his or her license. A new licensee is not required to take or report continuing education prior to or at the time of the first renewal of the license after initial licensure. A licensee is required to take continuing education during the second 2-year period following licensure and report full compliance with the continuing education requirements at the time of the second renewal following licensure and every subsequent biennium.

History: Cr. Register, February, 1999, No. 518 , eff. 3-1-99; CR 05-026 : am. (1) and cr. (6) Register September 2005 No. 597 , eff. 10-1-05; CR 11-017 : am. (1), (3), (6) Register August 2011 No. 668 , eff. 9-1-11.