05 Jan Pennsylvania Extends Waiver Temporarily Allowing Licensees to Meet Continuing Education Requirements Entirely Through Online Learning or Distance Education
The laws and regulations of 22 of the 29 licensing boards and commissions overseen by the Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) impose continuing education (CE) requirements of varying scope and magnitude on the various occupations/professions that BPOA regulates. Broadly stated, CE is delivered in one of two ways: (1) traditional, in-person instruction; and (2) online education or “distance learning.”
The laws and regulations of some of these boards impose restrictions or place limitations on the number or percentage of online/distance hours that may be applied towards a licensee’s CE requirement, or mandate that certain hours/courses be obtained in-person. Those boards were identified by the Department at the beginning of the pandemic, and a waiver was sought and approved by the Governor on March 22, 2020 (updated March 24, and supplemented with an additional board via a follow-up waiver on June 26, 2020), suspending regulatory restrictions “for the current biennial renewal period to permit all licensees to complete their continuing education online during the COVID-19 pandemic.”…