Acupuncture: education and training programs.

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. The act, until January 1, 2017, requires the board to establish standards for the approval of schools and colleges offering education and training in the practice of an acupuncturist, as specified. The act, commencing January 1, 2017, defines an "approved educational and training program," for purposes of licensure as an acupuncturist, as a school or college that: offers curriculum that has been submitted to and approved by the board and includes specified hours of didactic and laboratory training and supervised clinical instruction; is approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education or is the appropriate out-of-state governmental educational authority; and is accredited or granted candidacy status by the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) , or has submitted a letter of intent to pursue accreditation to the ACAOM, as specified. The act, commencing January 1, 2017, requires the board, within 30 days of receiving curriculum submitted by a school or college pursuant to these provisions, to review the curriculum, determine whether the curriculum satisfies the board's requirements, and notify the school or college, the ACAOM, and the bureau of whether the board has approved the curriculum. This bill would include another accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education as an alternative to the ACAOM in the above provisions. The bill would require the board to conduct site visits to each site of a school or college of acupuncture to inspect or reinspect the school or college for purposes of approval or continued approval of its training program, and to impose a fee for the site visits in an amount to recover direct reasonable regulatory costs incurred by the board in conducting the inspection and evaluation of the school or college.