S.B. No. 141
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for issuance of a license to practice
orthotics and prosthetics.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsections (b) and (c), Section 605.252,
Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The requirements for a license established by board rule
must include the requirement that the applicant hold:
(1) a bachelor's or graduate degree in orthotics and
prosthetics from:
(A) an education program recognized and
accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs that is offered at an institution of higher
education; or
(B) a practitioner education program that has
education standards that are equivalent to or exceed the standards
adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs; or
(2) a bachelor's degree in another subject and an
orthotic or prosthetic certificate issued by a practitioner
education program:
(A) recognized and accredited by the Commission
on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
(B) that has education standards that are
equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on
Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.
(c) To meet the clinical residency requirements for a
license, the applicant must complete a [at least 1,900 hours of]
professional clinical residency that meets the requirements
established by board rule and is conducted under the direct
supervision of a licensed orthotist, licensed prosthetist, or a
licensed prosthetist orthotist in the discipline for which
licensure is sought. The clinical residency requirements adopted
by the board must be equivalent to or exceed the standards set by
the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 605.258, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The board may issue a student registration certificate
to an individual who is working toward fulfilling the requirements
for a license as an orthotist, prosthetist, or prosthetist
orthotist and:
(1) holds either:
(A) [(1)] a bachelor's or graduate degree in
orthotics and prosthetics from:
(i) [(A)] an education program recognized
and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs that is offered at an institution of higher
education; or
(ii) [(B)] a practitioner education
program that has education standards that are equivalent to or
exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of
Allied Health Education Programs; or
(B) [(2)] a bachelor's degree in another
subject and an orthotic or prosthetic certificate issued by a
practitioner education program:
(i) [(A)] recognized and accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
(ii) [(B)] that has education standards
that are equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or
(2) is a student who:
(A) is currently enrolled in a graduate program
in this state in orthotics and prosthetics that:
(i) is recognized and accredited by the
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs;
and
(ii) incorporates a professional clinical
residency that meets the requirements of rules adopted under
Section 605.252(c); and
(B) submits to the board a written certification
from the graduate program in which the student is enrolled that the
student has successfully completed the academic prerequisites to
enter a professional clinical residency.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
605, Occupations Code, apply only to an application for a license or
student registration certificate submitted to the Texas Board of
Orthotics and Prosthetics on or after January 1, 2014. An
application submitted before January 1, 2014, is governed by the
law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. The Texas Board of Orthotics and Prosthetics
shall adopt rules to implement the changes in law made by this Act
not later than December 1, 2013.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 141 passed the Senate on
March 13, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 141 passed the House on
May 22, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, one
present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor