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Dental Hygiene Board reinstates citations, places Pasadena City College and Taft College on probation
Summary
The Dental Hygiene Board of California voted July 20 to reinstate stayed citations and place Pasadena City College on two years and Taft College on three years probation (quarterly reporting), finding noncompliance after reviewing site-visit reports and concluding submitted funding evidence did not substantiate claims that citations would block funding.
The Dental Hygiene Board of California voted July 20 to reinstate previously stayed citations and place two California dental hygiene programs under probation after concluding the schools did not provide sufficient evidence that citations would prevent them from receiving funding.
The board voted to reinstate the citation and place Pasadena City College on two years of probation with quarterly reporting requirements after staff told the board PCC failed to submit the specific documentation requested to show a citation would adversely affect active funding. Michael Long moved the education committee recommendation to reinstate the citation and reconfirm probation; Sherman King seconded. The motion passed on roll call with recorded ayes and absences as noted.
Pasadena City College representatives told the board they had submitted mitigation plans and argued they had not received an official probationary notice, that some federal grant guidelines (HRSA) could be interpreted to penalize programs not in full compliance, and that they had submitted documentation the morning of the meeting showing mitigation steps and timelines for partial facility remediation by 2025 and a new facility by 2029. The board said staff had given PCC extensions to provide the specific funding documentation requested but the information provided was judged speculative and insufficient to alter the committee recommendation.
The board took a similar action on Taft College. Staff reported Taft had seven violations identified in a February 2024 site visit, the most serious being failures to ensure several 2022–23 graduates met competency requirements. Justin Matthews moved to reinstate the citation, assess a $2,000 fine (described as $1,000 for each of the 2022 and 2023 academic years), and place Taft on three years probation with quarterly reporting and potential announced and unannounced site visits; Sherman King seconded. The motion passed on roll call.
Board members framed these actions as consumer-protection measures focused on student and patient safety. Several board members and subject-matter experts said the probation and citation process is intended to ensure programs remediate identified deficiencies; public commenters and school representatives urged the board to consider funding impacts and to review submitted mitigation plans before issuing enforcement actions.
Next steps: staff will issue standardized letters notifying the schools of probation and documenting required reporting timelines and corrective measures. The board also asked staff to include future agenda updates to show progress on corrective plans and to clarify procedural timelines for schools.
