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Committee adopts amendment to restore pathway allowing nursing students to obtain LNA licensure after fundamentals course
Summary
OPLC proposed and the committee adopted a replace‑all amendment to SB 93 to create an explicit statutory pathway allowing students who complete a fundamentals-of-nursing curriculum in an LPN/RN program to apply for initial LNA licensure and sit for the exam.
Deanna Juris, executive director of the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC), told the Senate committee that a long-standing practice allowing students enrolled in LPN or RN programs to sit for the Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) exam after completing the fundamentals-of-nursing course did not appear to have clear statutory authority.
Juris described a practical problem: applicants in that pathway were in the board’s queue but the OPLC lacked explicit statutory language authorizing the pathway, which risked denying applicants who had job offers. She proposed a statutory insertion into RSA 326-B: applicants could either submit completion of an LNA education program or documentation of successful completion of the fundamentals-of-nursing curriculum in a board‑approved nursing education program.
The committee adopted a replace‑all amendment offered in committee (filed as 2025-0372s) that inserts the language and creates a clear statutory pathway. Juris said some schools have sought bridge approvals under existing rules pending a statutory fix, but the amendment is intended to remove the extra paperwork burden going forward.
Why it matters: Committee members and the department framed the change as narrowly targeted to avoid disrupting existing licensing for LPNs, RNs, APRNs or applicants enrolled in LNA programs. Juris and the sponsor stressed the amendment does not affect applicants for LPN/RN/APRN licenses or those already enrolled in LNA-specific programs.
Action taken: The committee adopted the replace‑all amendment and then voted to pass SB 93 as amended; members recorded the amendment’s passage and moved the bill forward on consent.
Quote in context: “We really need to look at something in the statute to allow this practice to continue,” Juris told the committee. “Some of those people have job offers. Hospitals are counting on them coming in for shifts.”
Next steps: The amended language will proceed to the floor; the sponsor and OPLC said they would try to fast‑track the statute to avoid disrupting pending applicants and employers that hired graduating students.
