To reduce the continuing education requirement for supervisors to refresher courses of 3 to 5 hours of training in supervision every 5 years.

 In accordance with Virginia law, the petition was filed with the Register of Regulations and will be published on March 24, 2014 with a request for comment to be received until April 23, 2014.  The petition will also be posted for comment on the Virginia Regulatory Townhall at www.townhall.virginia.gov

 At the next meeting held after the close of the comment period, scheduled for April 25, 2014, the Board will consider the petition and any comment received to decide whether or not to initiate the rule-making process. Should the Board decide to respond by initiating regulatory action, the regulatory process typically takes at least 18-24 months to complete. 

At its meeting held on April 25, 2014, the Board considered the petition and comment received and had a robust discussion on the issue.   While there was some support for a review of the regulation, the Board voted to deny the petition because members did not believe the requirement is excessively burdensome but did feel that it is necessary to ensure adequate supervision of applicants.

Members noted that the requirement equates to 2.8 hours of CE per year, all of which may be counted towards the 30 hours of CE required for licensure renewal every two years.  Additionally, the changes suggested by commenters did not appear to be significantly different from the current requirement.  The Board further discussed the possible need for better communication with supervisors about the requirement and the types of courses that may be beneficial.