Licensing committee weighs remediation policy for repeated exam failures and approves College of the Mainland RDA course
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Summary
The Licensing Committee reviewed remediation approaches for candidates who fail clinical licensure exams and directed staff to draft proposed rule language to simplify approval and reduce the need for board-level preapproval; the committee also approved College of the Mainland’s application to offer an RDA course.
The Licensing Committee used its Feb. 20 session to review how other jurisdictions and regional examining agencies handle remediation for applicants who fail clinical licensure examinations multiple times. Staff summarized results from queries to several examining boards and noted most jurisdictions are moving away from board-approved remediation and toward examiner- or agency-administered remediation programs.
Miss Mendez (agency staff) summarized the current Texas policy: an applicant who fails three general-dentistry clinical examination attempts must complete 80 hours of clinical remediation before retaking the exam; further failures can escalate to 1,000 clinical hours or repeating the fourth year of a CODA-accredited dental school under specific circumstances. Committee members discussed whether the board should continue the requirement for preapproval of remediation, whether staff could be delegated to approve remediation plans (to avoid delaying candidates while the board meets), and whether the 1,000-hour repeat requirement is overly onerous.
After a broad discussion that included perspectives from committee members and staff, the committee directed agency staff to draft proposed rule language that would: 1) remove the need for prior board-level approval of remediation in favor of staff-level approval or clearer administrative pathways; and 2) propose a more streamlined remediation ladder (committee discussion favored a substantially smaller remediation requirement than 1,000 hours for most cases, though no final numeric change was adopted at this meeting). Staff will return with proposed language and options for committee consideration.
Separately, the committee reviewed an application from College of the Mainland for registration as an RDA course provider. Staff confirmed that College of the Mainland operates a CODA-accredited dental hygiene program and the corrected application indicated that fact. The committee voted to approve College of the Mainland as a registered dental-assistant course provider.
The committee concluded with no additional public comments.
Note: the committee asked staff to present draft remedial-rule language at a future meeting rather than adopt immediate changes at this session.
