SECTION 118.50. Requirements for Certifying Entities and Examinations

(a) A certifying entity shall meet the following requirements:

(1) be a non-governmental organization such as a society, association, business, or school that has an interest in or whose members participate in, or have an interest in, the field of laser hair removal;

(2) if a society or association, make its membership available to the general public nationwide that is not restricted because of race, color, religion, age, national origin or disability;

(3) if a society or association, have a certification program open to nonmembers, as well as members;

(4) be an incorporated, nationally recognized entity in good standing, that is involved in setting national standards of practice within its fields of expertise;

(5) have an adequate staff, a viable system for financing its operations, and a policy- and decision-making review board;

(6) have a set of written organizational by-laws and policies that provide adequate assurance of lack of conflict of interest and a system for monitoring and enforcing those by-laws and policies;

(7) have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review and approve their certification guidelines and procedures, and to advise the organization's staff in implementing the certification program;

(8) have a committee, whose members can carry out their responsibilities impartially, to review complaints against certified individuals and to determine appropriate sanctions;

(9) have written procedures describing all aspects of its certification program, maintain records of the current status of an individual's certification and the administration of its certification program;

(10) have procedures to ensure that certified individuals are provided due process with respect to the administration of a certification program, including the process of becoming certified and any sanctions imposed against certified individuals;

(11) have procedures for proctoring examinations, including qualifications for proctors. These procedures shall ensure that the individuals proctoring each examination are not employed by the same company or corporation (or a wholly-owned subsidiary of such company or corporation) as any of the examinees;

(12) exchange information about certified individuals with the agency and other certifying entities and allow periodic review of its certification program and related records by the agency; and

(13) provide a description to the agency of its procedures for choosing examination sites and for providing an appropriate examination environment.

(b) To be approved by the department, a certification program shall meet the following requirements:

(1) require applicants for certification to:

(A) receive training in the topics specified in §118.33(e); and

(B) satisfactorily complete a written examination covering these topics.

(2) require applicants for certification to provide documentation that demonstrates that the applicant has:

(A) received training in the topics specified in §118.33(e); and

(B) satisfactorily completed a minimum period of on-the-job training.

(3) include procedures to ensure that all examination questions are protected from disclosure;

(4) include procedures for denying an application and revoking, suspending, and reinstating a certificate;

(5) provide a certification period of not less than 3 years nor more than 5 years;

(6) include procedures for renewing certifications and, if the procedures allow renewals without examination, require evidence of recent full-time employment and continuing education hours as required by this chapter; and

(7) provide a timely response to inquiries from members of the public about an individual's certification status.

(c) An examination administered or used by a certifying entity shall be designed to test an individual's knowledge and understanding of at least the topics specified in §118.33(e).

Source Note: The provisions of this §118.50 adopted to be effective November 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 4815