Continuing Education
Pursuant to Section 20-146(c)-2 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (RSA), licensed opticians are required to participate in continuing education (CE) activities. Please note the following:
Number of Hours
A licensed optician shall earn a minimum of 7 contact hours of qualifying CE during the 1 year period preceeding annual renewal.
Qualifying CE
Continuing education activities shall meet the following requirements:
Providers are approved by the American Board of Opticianry, the National Contact Lens Examiners or other nationally recognized organization approved by the department after consultation with the Connecticut Board of Examiners for Opticians.
The activity involves face-to-face didactic instruction or live, interactive instruction via an online offering which allows the participant and the provider to interact in real time.
The provider implements a mechanism to monitor and document physical attendance at such instruction.
The provider retains written records for a period of three years from the participant’s actual successful completion of the activity, including but not limited to: content description; instructor; date of activity; location of activity; list of participants; participant’s evaluation of instruction presented; and number of contact hours.
The provider issues a certificate of completion after the participant’s successful completion of the activity. Such certificate shall include the participant’s name, provider’s name, title or subject area of the activity, date and location of attendance, and number of contact hours completed.
Activities which do not qualify for award of contact hours include: professional organizational business meetings; speeches delivered at luncheons or banquets; reading of books, articles, or professional journals; home study courses, correspondence courses, and other mechanisms of self instruction; and audio-visual materials, except when the latter is used as a component of a qualifying continuing education activity identified in subsection (a) of this section
Documentation
Each licensee applying for license renewal will be asked to attest that the licensee satisfies the continuing education requirements. Certificates of completion should not be mailed to the Department at the time of license renewal unless a licensee is specifically directed to do so.
Record Retention
Each licensee shall retain records of attendance that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education requirements, and shall retain such documentation for a minimum of three years following the year in which the continuing education activities were completed. Upon the request of the Department, a licensee shall submit records or certificates of completion of continuing education within forty-five days of such request. A licensee, who fails to comply with the continuing education requirements, including failure to maintain proof of course completion, is subject to disciplinary action.
Exemptions
A licensee applying for license renewal for the first time is exempt from the continuing education requirements until the licensee’s next registration period. Registration period means the one-year period for which a license has been renewed.
A licensee who is not engaged in active practice during a given continuing education registration period shall be exempt from continuing education requirements on submission, prior to the expiration of the registration period, of a notarized application.
The application shall contain the statement that the licensee shall not engage in active practice until the licensee has shown proof of completion of the CE requirements outlined above.