Kansas board changed APRN education rule to 750 clinical hours; national groups responding

The Kansas State Board of Nursing told members on June 11 that it has revised APRN education regulations so students who begin an APRN program on or after March 1 must complete 750 clinical hours to be eligible for Kansas licensure.

Board Executive Administrator Carol said the change was adopted previously by the board and that the requirement applies to new enrollees, while applicants who began programs before that date remain under the prior 500-hour standard. "One of the change was to take the clinical hours from 500 to 750. And it would be for anyone who starts an APRN program on March 1 or after," Carol said during the staff report.

The board was told Kansas was one of the first state boards in the nation to take that step and that the decision has prompted reactions across the education community. Carol said she had a virtual meeting with the national task force that recommended the change and that, although the board has received "a bunch" of negative feedback, several national organizations and some programs have endorsed or moved to adopt 750-hour curricula.

Board members and staff discussed the practical effects for graduates seeking Kansas licensure from out of state and for programs that must alter curricula. Carol said some out-of-state APRN programs have already begun to increase clinical-hour requirements to match the new standard. She told the board the task force had thanked the Kansas board for moving early and said multiple programs are now updating their curricula to 750 hours.

Board members did not take a new vote on the rule at the June meeting; staff framed the discussion as an update on implementation and on feedback from the national community. The board also discussed related administrative tasks, including whether statutory language needs revision for other, separate regulatory authorities that the board oversees.

The change affects program approval, licensure evaluation and incoming applicants who graduated from programs with different clinical-hour counts. Staff said they are tracking how many programs revise curricula and will continue to give updates at future meetings.

Looking ahead, board staff said they will monitor how the new clinical-hour requirement influences educational outcomes and whether additional guidance or transitional provisions are needed for graduates who trained under different standards.

The board did not adopt any new statutory language during the session; staff emphasized the item at the meeting as an implementation update and a status report about national reaction and program changes.