Under what circumstances may the board make exceptions to continuing education requirements?

The board may make exceptions to continuing education requirements in cases of emergency or hardship. This reflects a compassionate approach to the rules governing physical therapist assistants, acknowledging that there may be extraordinary circumstances, such as personal health issues or significant life events, that could impede a licensee's ability to fulfill educational obligations.

Providing these exceptions helps ensure that licensees can maintain their professional status even when faced with genuine challenges, while still emphasizing the importance of ongoing education in maintaining quality care. This policy is designed to strike a balance between the requirements for continuing education and the need for flexibility in extraordinary situations.

Other circumstances, such as age or a criminal record, do not inherently warrant exceptions to the continuing education requirements as they do not typically reflect a professional inability to meet educational standards. Requests by individual licensees alone do not justify exceptions; there must be a valid reason, such as hardship, that justifies deviation from the established requirements.