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Board opposes bill expanding remediation for nursing program directors unless amended
Summary
The Board of Registered Nursing voted to 'oppose unless amended' on SB 975, which would let community colleges submit remediation plans to qualify assistant directors and program directors; members cited risks to program quality and urged narrowly defined remediation standards and correction of drafting errors.
The Board of Registered Nursing voted to oppose unless amended on SB 975, a bill that would authorize the board to accept remediation plans allowing applicants to serve as assistant directors or program directors for California community college nursing programs while they remediate missing qualifications.
Marissa Clark summarized the bill and flagged drafting issues that could unintentionally limit BRN's existing faculty remediation pathways to community colleges. Executive Officer Loretta Melby and several board members described how BRN's current multi‑step faculty approval system operates (clinical teaching assistant -> assistant instructor -> instructor -> assistant director -> director), and emphasized that administrative and program‑leadership experience (budgets, disciplinary oversight, program management) are not the same as bedside clinical competence and may not be straightforward to remediate.
"When you get to that assistant director level, you are expected to be an RN, you are expected to have one year of nursing experience, and you are expected to know how to teach, and that only comes from teaching," Melby said, laying out concerns about allowing remediation for administrative duties without clear, enforceable remediation paths. (Loretta Melby, executive officer.)
Board members acknowledged shortages in rural and community programs and expressed willingness to work with the bill's sponsor to craft narrowly defined amendments. Allison Cormack moved that the board "oppose unless amended" and direct staff to identify necessary amendments; the motion passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the transcript.
Why it matters: Program directors and assistant directors are responsible for program administration, student outcomes and regulatory compliance; members said any remediation pathway must be precisely defined so as not to lower program quality or create inconsistent remediation plans.
What happens next: The board directed staff to work with the author and to draft amendment language clarifying remediation scope, maintaining remediation pathways for faculty across all program types, and defining specific remediation requirements for teaching and administrative competencies.
