HB 0203 2004
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to dental licensure; amending s. 466.006,
3	F.S.; allowing certain dental students to take the
4	examinations required to practice dentistry in this state
5	under specified conditions; providing a prerequisite to
6	licensure of such students; creating s. 466.0065, F.S.;
7	allowing certain dental students to take regional
8	licensure examinations under specified conditions;
9	restricting the applicability of examination results to
10	licensing in other jurisdictions; requiring approval by
11	the Board of Dentistry and providing prerequisites to such
12	approval; denying certain persons and entities standing to
13	assert right to administrative hearing proceedings;
14	providing an effective date.
15
16	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18	Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 466.006, Florida
19	Statutes, is amended to read:
20	466.006 Examination of dentists.--
21	(2) An applicant shall be entitled to take the
22	examinations required in this section to practice dentistry in
23	this state if the applicant:
24	(a) Is 18 years of age or older.
25	(b)1.Is a graduate of a dental school accredited by the
26	Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association
27	or its successor agency, if any, or any other nationally
28	recognized accrediting agency; or.
29	2. Is a dental student in the final year of a program at
30	such an accredited school who has completed all the coursework
31	necessary to prepare the student to perform the clinical and
32	diagnostic procedures required to pass the examinations. With
33	respect to a dental student in the final year of a program at a
34	dental school, a passing score on the examinations is valid for
35	180 days after the date the examinations were completed. A
36	dental school student who takes the licensure examinations
37	during the student's final year of an approved dental school
38	must have graduated before being certified for licensure
39	pursuant to s. 466.011.
40	(c) Has successfully completed the National Board of
41	Dental Examiners dental examination within 10 years of the date
42	of application.
43	Section 2. Section 466.0065, Florida Statutes, is created
44	to read:
45	466.0065 Regional licensure examinations.--
46	(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools of
47	dentistry be allowed to offer regional licensure examinations to
48	dental students who are in the final year of a program at an
49	approved dental school for the sole purpose of facilitating the
50	student's licensing in other jurisdictions. This section does
51	not allow a person to be licensed as a dentist in this state
52	without taking the examinations as set forth in s. 466.006, nor
53	does this section mean that regional examinations administered
54	under this section may be substituted for complying with testing
55	requirements under s. 466.006.
56	(2) Each school of dentistry in this state which is
57	accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American
58	Dental Association or its successor agency may, upon written
59	approval by the Board of Dentistry, offer regional licensure
60	examinations only to dental students in the final year of a
61	program at an approved dental school, if the board has approved
62	the hosting school's written plan to comply with the following
63	conditions:
64	(a) The examining body must be a member of the American
65	Association of Dental Examiners.
66	(b) The student must have successfully completed parts I
67	and II of the National Board of Dental Examiners examination
68	within 2 years before taking the regional examination.
69	(c) The student must possess medical malpractice insurance
70	in amounts that the board determines to be sufficient to cover
71	any reasonably forseeable incident of harm to a patient during
72	the clinical portion of the regional examination.
73	(d) At least one of the examination monitors must be a
74	dentist licensed in this state who has completed all necessary
75	standardization exercises required by the regional examination
76	body.
77	(e) Adequate arrangements must be made, when necessary,
78	for patients who require followup care as a result of procedures
79	performed during the clinical portion of the regional
80	examination.
81	(f) The board chair or the chair's designee must be
82	allowed to observe testing while it is in progress.
83	(g) Each student, upon applying to take the regional
84	examination, must receive written disclosure in at least 12-
85	point boldface type which states: "This examination does not
86	meet the licensure requirements of chapter 466, Florida
87	Statutes, for licensure in the State of Florida. Persons wishing
88	to practice dentistry in Florida must pass the Florida licensure
89	examinations. For more information on Florida's licensure
90	examination procedures, please contact the Florida Board of
91	Dentistry."
92	(h) The student must be enrolled as a dental student in
93	the student's final year of a program at an approved dental
94	school that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
95	the American Dental Association or its successor agency.
96	(i) The student must have completed all the coursework
97	necessary to prepare the student to perform all clinical and
98	diagnostic procedures required to pass the regional examination.
99	(j) The student's academic record must not include any
100	evidence suggesting that the student poses an unreasonable risk
101	to any live patients who are required for the clinical portion
102	of the regional examination. In order to protect the health and
103	safety of the public, the board may request additional
104	information and documents pertaining to the candidate's mental
105	and physical health in order to fully assess the candidate's
106	fitness to engage in exercises involving a live patient.
107	(3) A student who takes the examination pursuant to this
108	section, a dental school that submits a plan pursuant to this
109	section, or a regional examination body that a dental school
110	proposes to host under this section does not have standing to
111	assert that a state agency has taken action for which a hearing
112	may be sought under ss. 120.569 and 120.57.
113	Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.