Board discusses continuing-education approvals, standards and rule-review schedule

Board staff and members spent an extended portion of the meeting reviewing the continuing-education approval process and discussing standards for who may teach CE courses.

Licensing staff described the CE approval workflow: licensees submit CE claims with certificates and staff check each line item for matching hours, titles and whether the provider is an approved entity (for example, AVMA-accredited schools, state VMAs or programs approved by other states). Staff said courses approved by AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools or race-approved programs are accepted automatically; other providers must show that the course qualifies under rules or is accepted by another state.

A board member and CE committee members raised concerns about the variable quality of some CE submissions, particularly industry-sponsored presentations and courses that lack full speaker résumés or adequate agendas. One member asked whether the board should require earlier submission timelines; the group discussed moving from the current short-notice windows to a 30–90 day submission window, noting the legal profession commonly requires 60–90 days for CLE approval. Staff said the current fees for expedited review are modest and might be increased when the board addresses fee adjustments.

Members also debated whether non-veterinarians or non-LVTs with relevant subject-matter expertise (for instance, entomologists during a screw-worm issue) should be allowed to teach CE; the board indicated such exceptions could be evaluated by the rules committee with credential verification. Staff said the board will include CE policy and submission timelines in the upcoming comprehensive rule-review package to provide clearer standards and processes to licensees.