HB 0203CS

CHAMBER ACTION




1The Committee on Appropriations recommends the following:
2
3     Committee Substitute
4     Remove the entire bill and insert:
5
A bill to be entitled
6An act relating to dental licensure; amending s. 466.006,
7F.S.; allowing certain dental students to take the
8examinations required to practice dentistry in this state
9under specified conditions; providing a prerequisite to
10licensure of such students; creating s. 466.0065, F.S.;
11allowing certain dental students to take regional
12licensure examinations under specified conditions;
13restricting the applicability of examination results to
14licensing in other jurisdictions; requiring approval by
15the Board of Dentistry and providing prerequisites to such
16approval; denying certain persons and entities standing to
17assert right to administrative hearing proceedings;
18providing an effective date.
19
20Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22     Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 466.006, Florida
23Statutes, is amended to read:
24     466.006  Examination of dentists.--
25     (2)  An applicant shall be entitled to take the
26examinations required in this section to practice dentistry in
27this state if the applicant:
28     (a)  Is 18 years of age or older.
29     (b)1.  Is a graduate of a dental school accredited by the
30Commission on Accreditation of the American Dental Association
31or its successor agency, if any, or any other nationally
32recognized accrediting agency; or.
33     2.  Is a dental student in the final year of a program at
34such an accredited school who has completed all the coursework
35necessary to prepare the student to perform the clinical and
36diagnostic procedures required to pass the examinations. With
37respect to a dental student in the final year of a program at a
38dental school, a passing score on the examinations is valid for
39180 days after the date the examinations were completed. A
40dental school student who takes the licensure examinations
41during the student's final year of an approved dental school
42must have graduated before being certified for licensure
43pursuant to s. 466.011.
44     (c)  Has successfully completed the National Board of
45Dental Examiners dental examination within 10 years of the date
46of application.
47     Section 2.  Section 466.0065, Florida Statutes, is created
48to read:
49     466.0065  Regional licensure examinations.--
50     (1)  It is the intent of the Legislature that schools of
51dentistry be allowed to offer regional licensure examinations to
52dental students who are in the final year of a program at an
53approved dental school for the sole purpose of facilitating the
54student's licensing in other jurisdictions. This section does
55not allow a person to be licensed as a dentist in this state
56without taking the examinations as set forth in s. 466.006, nor
57does this section mean that regional examinations administered
58under this section may be substituted for complying with testing
59requirements under s. 466.006.
60     (2)  Each school of dentistry in this state which is
61accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American
62Dental Association or its successor agency may, upon written
63approval by the Board of Dentistry, offer regional licensure
64examinations only to dental students in the final year of a
65program at an approved dental school, if the board has approved
66the hosting school's written plan to comply with the following
67conditions:
68     (a)  A member of the regional examination body's board of
69directors or equivalent thereof must be a member of the American
70Association of Dental Examiners.
71     (b)  The student must have successfully passed parts I and
72II of the National Board of Dental Examiners examination within
732 years before taking the regional examination.
74     (c)  The student must possess medical malpractice insurance
75in amounts not less than the amounts required to take the
76Florida licensure examinations.
77     (d)  At least one of the examination monitors must be a
78dentist licensed in this state who has completed all necessary
79standardization exercises required by the regional examination
80body. Recruitment of examination monitors is the responsibility
81of the regional examination body.
82     (e)  Adequate arrangements, as defined by the regional
83examination body and as otherwise required by law, must be made,
84when necessary, for patients who require followup care as a
85result of procedures performed during the clinical portion of
86the regional examination. The regional examination body must
87inform patients in writing of their right to followup care in
88advance of any procedures performed by a student.
89     (f)  The board chair or the chair's designee must be
90allowed to observe testing while it is in progress.
91     (g)  Each student, upon being deemed eligible by the dental
92school to apply to the regional examination body to take the
93regional examination, must receive written disclosure in at
94least 12-point boldface type that states: "This examination does
95not meet the licensure requirements of chapter 466, Florida
96Statutes, for licensure in the State of Florida. Persons wishing
97to practice dentistry in Florida must pass the Florida licensure
98examinations."
99     (h)  The student must be enrolled as a dental student in
100the student's final year of a program at an approved dental
101school that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of
102the American Dental Association or its successor agency.
103     (i)  The student must have completed all coursework deemed
104necessary by the dental school to prepare the student to perform
105all clinical and diagnostic procedures required to pass the
106regional examination.
107     (j)  The student's academic record must not include any
108evidence suggesting that the student poses an unreasonable risk
109to any live patients who are required for the clinical portion
110of the regional examination. In order to protect the health and
111safety of the public, the dental school may request additional
112information and documents pertaining to the candidate's mental
113and physical health in order to fully assess the candidate's
114fitness to engage in exercises involving a live patient.
115     (3)  A student who takes the examination pursuant to this
116section, a dental school that submits a plan pursuant to this
117section, or a regional examination body that a dental school
118proposes to host under this section does not have standing to
119assert that a state agency has taken action for which a hearing
120may be sought under ss. 120.569 and 120.57.
121     Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.