§ 7128. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed ophthalmic dispenser 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. Ophthalmic dispensers 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 an ophthalmic dispenser may practice without having met such requirements if he or she is issued a conditional registration certificate pursuant to subdivision three of this section.

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(b) Ophthalmic dispensers 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, 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 ophthalmic dispenser 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 ophthalmic dispensing 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 an ophthalmic dispenser shall complete a minimum of eighteen hours of acceptable formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this section; provided that three hours may be in recognized areas of study pertinent to the dispensing and fitting of contact lenses. During each triennial registration period an applicant for registration as an ophthalmic dispenser and certified to fit contact lenses shall complete twenty hours of acceptable formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this section; provided that ten hours shall be in recognized areas of study pertinent to the dispensing and fitting of contact lenses. Any ophthalmic dispenser 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, nineteen hundred ninety-nine, shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one-half hour per month for the period beginning January first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight 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 chapter.

4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "Acceptable Formal Education" shall mean formal courses of learning which contribute to professional practice in ophthalmic dispensing 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. Ophthalmic dispensers 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 article.