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Board authorizes EO to draft changes to appeals process for dental hygiene programs
Summary
The board voted to have its executive officer draft regulatory language to shift initial enforcement determinations on education programs to the EO, with full board review if programs appeal. Members and public commenters debated concentrating authority in a single official.
The Dental Hygiene Board of California voted Nov. 16 to authorize its executive officer to draft amendments to the appeals process that apply to dental hygiene educational programs. The proposed change would have the executive officer (EO) determine intermediary enforcement actions after staff site visits; if a program appeals the EO’s decision, that appeal would be taken to the full board for review.
Executive Officer Anthony Lum framed the proposal as aligning educational-program appeals with the board’s enforcement practice for licensees, saying the current sequence “seems backwards to me,” because informal conferences currently occur after the board acts. Board member Michael Long moved that the board review the current language and authorize the EO to draft amendments to a list of CCR Title 16 sections; the motion passed on a roll-call vote.
During discussion several members and public commenters stressed balancing speed and consistency with checks on a single official’s authority. Board member Carmen Dones said she was concerned about vesting initial determinations in one person; others supported a drafting approach that would couple EO authority with a penalty rubric and legal vetting to ensure fairness and defensibility. Public presenters with higher-education experience urged inclusion of mediation or off-ramps before formal administrative-law-judge proceedings because those hearings are costly and time-consuming.
What the motion does and does not do - Does: authorizes the executive officer and staff to draft regulatory amendments that would place initial intermediary enforcement determinations with the EO and create a process for programs to appeal to the board. - Does not: change code or adopt new rules today; any final regulatory text will return to the board and follow standard rulemaking and public-comment timelines.
Next steps: Staff and legal will draft proposed regulatory text for the CCR sections listed in the motion and will return the text to the board for consideration and, if the board approves, to begin rulemaking.
