CSLB licensing committee details plan to expand exam translations, continuing education rules and certification guidance

The Contractors State License Board licensing committee on May 15 updated the board on four licensing-and-testing strategic-plan items: addressing language barriers, drafting regulations for continuing education tied to disciplinary authority, the process for assessing and updating exam content, and educating licensees about required and optional certifications.

Committee chair Jim Rwayne called the discussion to review strategic items 1.1, 1.3, 1.5 and 1.6 and asked Licensing Chief Carol Gagnon to describe current work on language access. "CSLB currently provides the following items in languages other than English," Gagnon said, noting staff have prioritized Spanish translations because of higher demand. She said the board offers exam study guides and 10 of its most popular exams in Spanish, runs a monthly Spanish "get license to build" workshop, has staff certified to translate documents to Spanish and uses a Department of Consumer Affairs contract for larger translations. Public Affairs Chief Catherine White added that disaster-response materials and other consumer-facing documents have been translated into Chinese and other languages as needed.

The committee heard staff recommendations to survey new applicants monthly to identify other language needs, to expand the set of exams translated into Spanish, to translate more forms and study materials, and to pursue an additional bilingual position in the Exam Development Unit (EDU) to support Spanish exams. When asked whether consumer surveys will be used to measure impact, Gagnon said consumer checks have not yet been conducted but are under consideration.

On continuing education, Regulation Manager Tracy Bridal told the committee staff has begun drafting a regulatory package to update California Code of Regulations sections 870 and 871 to allow regulations requiring continuing education tied to existing disciplinary authority. Bridal said the Office of Administrative Law approval process typically takes about two years and staff will present updates at future board meetings. Staff also plan to expand an online training/resources page for contractors and to coordinate a survey on available training with other strategic planning items.

Carol Gagnon described EDU's approach to exam updates. EDU updates each trade exam on a roughly five‑year cycle, working with subject-matter experts (SMEs) and using job-audit interviews, occupational-analysis surveys (sent to either the full population or a sample of up to 3,000 licensees), item statistics and code-review workshops timed to major code updates. "The exam development unit currently updates every exam every 5 years," Gagnon said, and described a process that includes writing new items, setting cut scores, pretesting, and ongoing maintenance between cycles. EDU has six exam specialists supporting 48 trade exams; staff said first-time pass rates are tracked separately from overall pass-rate statistics, which can be skewed by repeat takers.

On certifications, staff said CSLB lists two board-issued certifications on license records — asbestos and hazardous-substance removal — and that other certifications may be issued by trade associations or other agencies and can differ in scope from CSLB trade descriptions (for example, state fire marshal sprinkler fitter certification vs. CSLB C-16 fire protection contractor scope). Staff proposed a sample survey of active licensed contractors asking about government-required and optional certifications, adding notice language to issuance letters about possible additional required certifications, and adding certification information to study guides or the license search page.

Committee members asked about survey response rates for EDU outreach (staff said responses vary by trade, from as little as about 8% up to 38%, and that samples of 50+ responses or 10%+ yield usable statistics), about engaging trade associations and unions for references and SME recruitment, and about whether the board can re-evaluate exam content between five‑year cycles using item statistics. EDU staff said they continuously monitor item statistics and will pull or revise items that perform poorly in pretesting.

The committee received no public comments during the licensing discussion. The licensing-and-testing update concluded with staff saying they would bring drafts of surveys and proposed regulatory text to the committee for review.

The licensing committee did not take formal action during this informational update; it gathered information for a summary report to the full board.