Acupuncture Board: executive officer: education.

Existing law, the Acupuncture Licensure Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of acupuncture by the Acupuncture Board, within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law authorizes the board, with the approval of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to appoint an executive officer who is exempt from civil service. Existing law repeals the provisions establishing the board and authority for it to appoint an executive officer on January 1, 2017. The bill would extend the operation of the board and the board's authority to appoint an executive officer until January 1, 2019. Existing law requires, among other things, the completion of an approved educational and training program in order to be issued a license to practice acupuncture. For purposes of the act, beginning January 1, 2017, existing law defines "approved educational and training program" as a school or college offering education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist who meets various requirements, including offering curriculum that includes specified hours of didactic and laboratory training and supervised clinical instruction. Existing law requires these programs to submit that curriculum to the board and to receive board approval of the curriculum. This bill would provide that any school or college offering education and training in the practice of acupuncture that was approved by the board prior to January 1, 2017, is deemed to have had its curriculum approved by the board if its approval has not been revoked and it has not changed its curriculum since receiving board approval. Beginning January 1, 2017, existing law requires the board to establish standards for the approval of educational training and clinical experience received outside the United States. This bill would repeal that board requirement. The bill would instead require an applicant completing education outside of the United States to submit documentation of his or her education to a board approved credential evaluation service for evaluation and to have the results of the evaluation sent directly from the credential evaluation service to the board. The bill would require the board to examine the received results to determine if an applicant meets requirements for licensure and, if the evaluated education is not sufficient, would authorize the board to offer the applicant additional education, training, or testing, as specified. The bill would require the board to establish, by regulation, an application process, criteria, and procedures for approval of a credential evaluation service. The bill would require the regulations to, at a minimum, require the credential evaluation service to meet specified requirements. The bill would define, for these purposes, an "approved credential evaluation service" as an agency or organization that is approved by the board to evaluate education completed outside the United States and identify the equivalency of that education to education completed within the United States. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.