Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3524.5 · Article 4. Revenue
Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3524.5
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) The board may require a licensee to complete continuing education as a condition of license renewal under Section 3523 or 3524. The board shall not require more than 50 hours of continuing education every two years. The board shall, as it deems appropriate, accept certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), or another qualified certifying body, as determined by the board, as evidence of compliance with continuing education requirements.
(b) (1) The board shall adopt regulations to require that, on and after January 1, 2022, all continuing education courses for licensees under this chapter contain curriculum that includes the understanding of implicit bias.
(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, continuing education providers shall ensure compliance with paragraph (1).
(3) Beginning January 1, 2023, the board shall audit continuing education providers at least once every five years to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, and shall withhold or rescind approval from any provider that is in violation of the regulatory requirements.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b), a continuing education course dedicated solely to research or other issues that does not include a direct patient care component is not required to contain curriculum that includes implicit bias in the practice of physician assistants.
(d) In order to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a), continuing education courses shall address at least one or a combination of the following:
(1) Examples of how implicit bias affects perceptions and treatment decisions of physician assistants, leading to disparities in health outcomes.
(2) Strategies to address how unintended biases in decisionmaking may contribute to health care disparities by shaping behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
(e) (1) In determining its continuing education requirements, the board shall consider including a course in menopausal mental or physical health.
(2) In determining its continuing education requirements, the board shall consider including a course in maternal mental health.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 836, Sec. 3.5. (AB 2581) Effective January 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC§ionNum=3524.5.
- Text hash
- sha256 a8f7a6c39e80b5c2c13f21dddf831f8e81adf26221b9900e00dbeba75d2e28ee
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
Cited by 2 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Bus. & Prof. Code, § 3524.5. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Business and Professions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.