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Board defers decision on whether webinars qualify as face-to-face continuing education
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Summary
Members debated whether live webinars should count as face-to-face continuing education for electrologists. A board member cited regulatory language and lack of explicit Department of Public Health guidance; staff will seek written clarification from Steve or Celeste and return the item to old business at the next meeting.
A board member raised repeated concerns from electrology licensees about whether live webinars can satisfy the board's continuing-education requirement for "face-to-face" instruction. The member said licensees ask, "If I attend the webinar and I, get a certificate saying I attended. Why can't that count?" and noted that "anything over the Internet was considered a home study" under prior staff guidance.
Jen O'Neil questioned whether online formats can reliably verify attendance and participation, saying, "Over the Internet counts as a home study," and adding that in-person classes allow "interaction back and forth." The member who raised the topic recounted COVID-era experiments in which staff tried proctoring online sessions but found it difficult to ensure engagement—"we had 1 put dishes in the dishwasher," she said, and "one lady actually sat there with a bottle of wine."
The speaker also cited a regulatory reference, saying the "definition under continuing ed for the state of Connecticut says... face to face instruction means in person, live instruction," and cautioned that the state regulatory definition (referred to in the meeting as "section 20 dash 2 7 5 b dash 1") was being interpreted rather than supported by explicit Department of Public Health guidance: "any conclusion drawn about live webinars versus face to face instruction were interpreted and not based on explicit citable DPH guidance. The information should not be relied upon or referenced."
Licensing staff present (identified in the meeting as Selecta Delgado and referenced earlier as Celeste) said they did not have the visibility or authority to resolve the interpretation during the session. Delgado told members they could email questions and that staff would seek a formal response from Steve (a staff member referenced by speakers) or Celeste and bring that clarification back at the next meeting. The chair instructed that the continuing-education item remain on the old-business agenda so the board could confirm a final position when staff returned with written guidance.
