Department of Administrative Servivces
Division of Professional Regulation
PUBLIC NOTICE
proposed
200 Board of Landscape Architects
The Delaware Board of Landscape Architects is proposing to revise its rules and regulations pursuant to 24 Del.C. Sec. 205(a)(1). The Board is proposing changes to the following Regulation:
Regulation 7.1.2 regarding the Definition and Scope of Continuing Education.
Continuing Education Hourly Requirements and Continuing Education Reporting and Documentation.
A public hearing will be held on the proposed Rules and Regulations on Thursday, December 9, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. in the Second Floor Conference Room “A” of the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, Delaware, 19904. If the number of persons desiring to testify at the Public Hearing is large, the amount of time allotted to each speaker will be limited.
The Board will receive and consider input in writing from any person on the proposed Rules and Regulations. Any written comments should be submitted to the Board in care of Sherry Clark at the above address. The final date to submit written comments shall be at the above scheduled public hearing. Persons may view the proposed changes to the Regulations between the hours of 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Board’s office at the Cannon Building, 861 Silver Lake Boulevard, Dover, Delaware 19904. There will be a reasonable fee charged for copies of the proposed changes.
This notice will be published in two newspapers of general circulation not less than twenty (20) days prior to the date of the hearing.
200 Board of Landscape Architects
7.0 Continuing Education as a Condition of Biennial Renewal
7.1 General Statement: Each licensee shall be required to meet the continuing education requirements of these guidelines for professional development as a condition for license renewal. Continuing education obtained by a licensee should maintain, improve or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure, or develop new and relevant skills and knowledge.
7.1.1 In order for a licensee to qualify for license renewal as a landscape architect in Delaware, the licensee must have completed 20 hours of continuing education acceptable to the Board within the previous two years, or be granted an extension by the Board for reasons of hardship. Such continuing education shall be obtained by active participation in courses, seminars, sessions, programs or self-directed activities approved by the Board.
7.1.1.1 For purposes of seminar or classroom continuing education, one hour of acceptable continuing education shall mean 60 minutes of instruction.
7.1.2 To be acceptable for credit toward this requirement, all courses, seminars, sessions, programs or self-directed activities shall be submitted to the Board. The Board shall recommend any course, seminar, session or program for continuing education credit that meets the criteria in sub-paragraph 7.1.2.1 below. All courses, seminars, sessions and programs are acceptable for continuing education credit if sponsored by organizations listed in Rule 7.1.3. All other continuing education credits will be reviewed at the time of renewal. All self-directed activities for continuing education credit allowed by Rule 7.6 must be pre-approved and submitted by the licensee 60 days prior to the activity on the form provided in Rules 7.3 and 7.4
7.1.2.1 Each course, seminar, session, program, or self-directed activity to be recommended for approval by the Board shall have a direct relationship to the practice of landscape architecture as defined in the Delaware Code and contain elements which will assist licensees to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Delaware served by Delaware licensed landscape architects.
5 DE Reg. 446 (8/1/01)
7.1.3 Continuing Education courses offered or sponsored by the following organizations will be automatically deemed to qualify for continuing education credit:
7.1.3.1 American Society of Landscape Architects (National and local/chapter levels)
7.1.3.2 Council of Landscape Architectural Registration
7.1.4 Erroneous or false information attested to by the licensee shall constitute grounds for denial of license renewal.
7.2 Effective Date: The Board shall commence requiring continuing education as a condition of renewal of a license for the license year commencing on February 1, 1995. The licensee shall be required to successfully complete twenty (20) hours of continuing education within the previous two calendar years (example: February 1, 1993 through January 31, 1995).
7.3 For licensing periods beginning February 1, 2001 and thereafter, documentation as required by Rule 7.4 of all continuing education hours must be submitted to the Board on or before November 1 of the year preceding the biennial renewal date of the licenses. A license shall not be renewed until the Board has approved twenty (20) hours of continuing education classes as provided in Rule 7.1 or has granted an extension of time for reasons of hardship.
7.4 Reporting: The licensee shall submit a completed Verification of Continuing Education Form provided by the Division of Professional Regulation to the Board.
7.4.1 Each licensee must retain copies of all supporting materials documenting proof of continuing education compliance for submission to the Board upon request. Supporting materials include a syllabus, agenda, itinerary or brochure published by the sponsor of the activity and a document showing proof of attendance (i.e., certificate, a signed letter from the sponsor attesting to attendance, report of passing test score). The Board reserves its right to request additional information and/or documentation to verify continuing education compliance.
7.5 Hardship: The Board will consider any reasonable special request from individual licensees for continuing education credits and procedures. The Board may, in individual cases involving physical disability, illness, or extenuating circumstances, grant an extension, not to exceed two (2) years, of time within which continuing education requirements must be completed. In cases of physical disability or illness, the Board reserves the right to require a letter from a physician attesting to the licensee’s physical condition. No extension of time shall be granted unless the licensee submits a written request to the Board prior to the expiration of the license.
7.6 Self-directed Activities: For renewal periods beginning February 1, 2001, the following rules regarding self-directed activity shall apply. The Board will have the authority to allow self-directed activities to fulfill the continuing education requirements of the licensees. However, these activities must result in a book draft, published article, delivered paper, workshop, symposium, or public address within the two (2) year reporting period. Self-directed activities must advance the practitioner’s knowledge of the field and be beyond the practitioner’s normal work duties. Instructors will not be granted CE credit for studies customarily associated with their usual university or college instruction teaching loads.
7.6.1 The Board may, upon request, review and approve credit for self-directed activities in a given biennial licensing period. A licensee must obtain pre-approval of the Board prior to undertaking the self-directed activity in order to assure continuing education credit for the activity. Any self-directed activity submitted for approval must include a written proposal outlining the scope of the activity, the number of continuing education hours requested, the anticipated completion date(s), the role of the licensee in the case of multiple participants and whether any part of the self-directed activity has ever been previously approved or submitted for credit by the same licensee. Determination of credit will be made by the Board upon review of the completed final project.
7.7 Exemptions: New licensees by way of uniform national examination or by way of reciprocity shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements set forth herein for their first renewal period.
5 DE Reg. 446 (8/1/01)
*Please Note: As the rest of the sections were not amended they are not being published. A complete set of the rules and regulations for the Board of Landscape Architects is available at: http://www.state.de.us/research/AdminCode/title24/200 Board of Landscape Architecture.shtml
