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Respiratory Care Board votes to pursue bachelor’s degree as entry-level requirement
Summary
The Respiratory Care Board of California voted to endorse increasing the minimum educational requirement for entry into respiratory care licensure to a bachelor’s degree, directing staff and committees to continue deliberations and develop implementation details tied to the board’s sunset review process.
The Respiratory Care Board of California voted to recommend raising the minimum education for entry into respiratory care licensure to a bachelor’s degree.
The professional qualifications committee presented a draft recommendation after four years of study and stakeholder outreach, saying the change would align the profession with evolving clinical responsibilities and patient-safety goals. The board voted on a motion to expand educational licensure requirements to a bachelor’s degree minimum and approved it by roll call.
The committee’s recommendation cited surveys of managers, educators and large employers, national professional organization position statements and examples of other states exploring similar changes. Committee co-chair Ray (last name not specified in transcript) told the board the profession has evolved from a technical role to a practitioner role, increasing responsibilities in settings such as intensive care.
Executive Officer Christine (last name not specified in transcript) and committee members said the change would not remove current licensees from practice: ‘‘Anybody who has licensure now still will hold licensure, and as long as they keep their licensure up, they can continue to practice,’’ the committee advised during discussion.
Board members and stakeholders repeatedly cautioned that statutory changes would be required and that the timeline and implementation details remain to be developed. Board members discussed using the board’s upcoming sunset review and the sunset bill process as venues to carry the recommendation forward and noted the need for a phased, deliberate plan addressing capacity, transition safeguards and educational access.
Public commenters representing the California Society for Respiratory Care (CSRC) and employers at UC Davis described pilot bachelor’s programs and urged measured implementation. Several board members and staff said community colleges and private programs are already building capacity: the board packet reported 19 associate-degree programs statewide, of which 11 had started pathways or degree-completion options.
Next steps identified by the board include refining a timeline and implementation plan, developing legislative language if needed, and returning to the board with more specific proposals for consideration prior to any statutory action.
The motion passed by roll call; board members voting in the affirmative included Mark Papien, Preeti Mehta, Rosenberg, Michael Terry, Cheryl Williams, Vice President Hernandez and President Guzman (unanimous by those recorded).
