Laws, Rules & Regulations

Education Law

Article 130 General Provisions
Subarticle 1, Introductory Summary

§6500 Introduction.

This title provides for the regulation of the admission to and the practice of certain professions. This first article applies to all the professions included in this title, except that prehearing procedures and hearing procedures in connection with the regulation of professional conduct of the profession of medicine and physician's assistants and specialist's assistants shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of Title II-A of article two of the public health law. Each of the remaining articles applies to a particular profession.

§6501 Admission to a profession (licensing).

Admission to practice of a profession in this state is accomplished by a license being issued to a qualified applicant by the education department. To qualify for a license an applicant shall meet the requirements prescribed in the article for the particular profession and shall meet the requirements prescribed in section 3-503 of the general obligations law.

§6501-a Disclosure with respect to loans made or guaranteed by the New York state higher education services corporation.

Every application for a license issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall contain a question inquiring whether the applicant has any loans made or guaranteed by the New York state higher education services corporation currently outstanding, and if so, whether such applicant is presently in default on any such loan. The name and address of any applicant who answers either or both of such questions in the affirmative shall be transmitted to such corporation by the department prior to the date on which such license is issued.

§6502 Duration and registration of a license.

1. A license shall be valid during the life of the holder unless revoked, annulled or suspended by the board of regents or in the case of physicians, physicians practicing under a limited permit, physician's assistants, specialist's assistants and medical residents, the licensee is stricken from the roster of such licensees by the board of regents on the order of the state board for professional medical conduct in the department of health. A licensee must register with the department and meet the requirements prescribed in section 3-503 of the general obligations law to practice in this state.
   
   
2. The department shall establish the beginning dates of the registration periods for each profession and mail an application for registration conforming to the requirements of section 3-503 of the general obligations law to every licensee currently registered at least four months prior to the beginning of the registration period for the respective profession.
   
   
3. An application for registration and the required registration fee shall be submitted together with or as a part of the application for a license. A person initially licensed or a licensee resuming practice after a lapse of registration during the last two years of a triennial registration period shall receive a prorated refund of one-third of the total registration fee for each full year of the triennial period that has elapsed prior to the date of registration. Except as provided in subdivision three-a of this section, the department shall renew the registration of each licensee upon receipt of a proper application, on a form prescribed by the department and conforming to the requirements of section 3-503 of the general obligations law, and the registration fee. Any licensee who fails to register by the beginning of the appropriate registration period shall be required to pay an additional fee for late filing of ten dollars for each month that registration has been delayed. No licensee resuming practice after a lapse of registration shall be permitted to practice without actual possession of the registration certificate.
   
   3-a. Prior to issuing any registration pursuant to this section and section sixty-five hundred twenty-four of this chapter, the department shall request and review any information relating to an applicant which reasonably appears to relate to professional misconduct in his or her professional practice in this and any other jurisdiction. The department shall advise the director of the office of professional medical conduct in the department of health of any information about an applicant which reasonably appears to be professional misconduct as defined in sections sixty-five hundred thirty and sixty-five hundred thirty-one of this chapter, within seven days of its discovery. The registration or re-registration of such applicant shall not be delayed for a period exceeding thirty days unless the director finds a basis for recommending summary action pursuant to subdivision twelve of section two hundred thirty of the public health law after consultation with a committee on professional conduct of the state board for professional medical conduct, if warranted. Re-registration shall be issued if the commissioner of health fails to issue a summary order pursuant to subdivision twelve of section two hundred thirty of the public health law within ninety days of notice by the department pursuant to this subdivision. Re-registration shall be denied if the commissioner of health issues a summary order pursuant to subdivision twelve of section two hundred thirty of the public health law.
   
   
4. Any licensee who is not engaging in the practice of his profession in this state and does not desire to register shall so advise the department. Such licensee shall not be required to pay an additional fee for failure to register at the beginning of the registration period.
   
   
5. Licensees shall notify the department of any change of name or mailing address within thirty days of such change. Failure to register or provide such notice within one hundred eighty days of such change shall be willful failure under section sixty-five hundred thirty of this chapter.
   
   
6. The fee for replacement of a lost registration certificate or license or for registration of an additional office shall be ten dollars.
   
   
7. An additional fee of twenty-five dollars shall be charged for the licensure or registration of any applicant who submits a bad check to the department.

§6503 Practice of a profession.

Admission to the practice of a profession (1) entitles the licensee to practice the profession as defined in the article for the particular profession, (2) entitles the individual licensee to use the professional title as provided in the article for the particular profession, and (3) subjects the licensee to the procedures and penalties for professional misconduct as prescribed in this article (sections sixty-five hundred nine, sixty-five hundred ten, and sixty-five hundred eleven).

§6504 Regulation of the professions.

Admission to the practice of the professions (licensing) and regulation of such practice shall be supervised by the board of regents (section sixty-five hundred six) and administered by the education department (section sixty-five hundred seven), assisted by a state board for each profession (section sixty-five hundred eight).

§6505 Construction.

No definition of the practice of a profession shall be construed to restrain or restrict the performance of similar acts authorized in the definition of other professions.

6505-a Professional referrals.

There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any association or society of professionals authorized to practice under this title, or any employee, agent, or member thereof, for referring any person to a member of the profession represented by such association or society provided that such referral was made without charge as a service to the public, and without malice, and in the reasonable belief that such referral was warranted, based upon the facts disclosed.

6505-b Course work or training in infection control practices.

Every dentist, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, podiatrist, optometrist and dental hygienist practicing in the state shall, on or before July first, nineteen hundred ninety-four and every four years thereafter, complete course work or training appropriate to the professional's practice approved by the department regarding infection control and barrier precautions, including engineering and work practice controls, in accordance with regulatory standards promulgated by the department, in consultation with the department of health, which shall be consistent, as far as appropriate, with such standards adopted by the department of health pursuant to section two hundred thirty-eight of the public health law to prevent the transmission of HIV/HBV in the course of professional practice. Each such professional shall document to the department at the time of registration commencing with the first registration after July first, nineteen hundred ninety-four that the professional has completed course work or training in accordance with this section, provided, however that a professional subject to the provisions of paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section twenty-eight hundred five-k of the public health law shall not be required to so document. The department shall provide an exemption from this requirement to anyone who requests such an exemption and who (i) clearly demonstrates to the department's satisfaction that there would be no need for him or her to complete such course work or training because of the nature of his or her practice or (ii) that he or she has completed course work or training deemed by the department to be equivalent to the course work or training approved by the department pursuant to this section. The department shall consult with organizations representative of professions, institutions and those with expertise in infection control and HIV and HBV with respect to the regulatory standards promulgated pursuant to this section.

6505-c Articulation between military and civilian professional careers.

1. The commissioner shall develop, jointly with the director of the division of veterans' affairs, a program to facilitate articulation between participation in the military service of the United States or the military service of the state and admission to practice of a profession. The commissioner and the director shall identify, review and evaluate professional training programs offered through either the military service of the United States or the military service of the state which may, where applicable, be accepted by the department as equivalent education and training in lieu of all or part of an approved program. Particular emphasis shall be placed on the identification of military programs which have previously been deemed acceptable by the department as equivalent education and training, programs which may provide, where applicable, equivalent education and training for those professions which are critical to public health and safety and programs which may provide, where applicable, equivalent education and training for those professions for which shortages exist in the state of New York.
   
   
2. The commissioner and the director shall prepare a list of those military programs which have previously been deemed acceptable by the department as equivalent education and training in lieu of all or part of an approved program no later than the thirtieth of August, two thousand three. On and after such date, such list shall be made available to the public and applicants for admission to practice of a profession.
   
   
3. The commissioner and the director shall prepare a list of those military programs which may provide, where applicable, equivalent education and training for those professions which are critical to public health and safety, programs which may provide, where applicable, equivalent education and training for those professions for which shortages exist in the state of New York and any other military programs which may, where applicable, be accepted by the department as equivalent education and training in lieu of all or part of an approved program no later than the thirty-first of October, two thousand three. On and after such date, such list shall be made available to the public and applicants for admission to practice of a profession.
   
   
4. Such lists shall be prepared annually no later than the thirtieth of June thereafter with additions and deletions made jointly by the commissioner and the director and made available to the public and applicants for admission to practice of a profession on such date.