Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1056 – Annual renewal of license to practice
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1056
- Board: means the Louisiana State Board of Optometry Examiners. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1041
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Optometry: means that practice in which a person employs primary eye care procedures including ophthalmic surgery such as YAG laser capsulotomy, laser peripheral iridotomy, and laser trabeculoplasty, except for those surgery procedures specifically excluded in Subsection D of this Section; measures the powers and range of vision of the human eye using subjective or objective means, including the use of lenses and prisms before the eye and autorefractors or other automated testing devices to determine its accommodative and refractive state and general scope of function; and the adaptation, sale, and dispensing of frames and lenses in all their forms, including plano or zero power contact lenses, to overcome errors of refraction and restore as near as possible, normal human vision, or for orthotic, prosthetic, therapeutic, or cosmetic purposes with respect to contact lenses. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:1041
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
All licensed optometrists shall annually:
(1) Pay to the board the annual renewal fee provided in La. Rev. Stat. 37:1058 on or before the first day of March of each year.
(2)(a) Except as provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, accompany the payment of the annual renewal fee with evidence satisfactory to the board of attendance and completion of twelve hours of continuing education.
(b) If the licensee is authorized to diagnose and treat pathology and to use and prescribe therapeutic pharmaceutical agents, accompany the payment of the annual renewal fee with evidence satisfactory to the board of attendance and completion of sixteen hours of continuing education.
(c) Half of the required hours of continuing education shall pertain to ocular and systemic pharmacology and current diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease and shall be obtained through an in-person classroom setting.
(d) No licensee shall obtain more than six hours from online education sources.
(e) The continuing education required by this Paragraph shall be obtained, whether in person or online, through any continuing education program that is one of the following:
(i) Offered by a nationally recognized optometric association.
(ii) Offered by a state affiliate of a nationally recognized optometric association or a regional council composed of state affiliates of a nationally recognized optometric association.
(iii) Offered by a school or college of optometry accredited by the American Optometric Association Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.
(iv) Accredited by a nationally recognized organization.
(f) All licensed optometrists who have attained the age of sixty years as of March 1, 1969, shall be exempt from this continuing education requirement.
Acts 1969, No. 116, §1; Acts 2018, No. 206, §3; Acts 2023, No. 194, §1.