LICENSE ELIGIBILITY.

(a) To be eligible for a license to practice orthotics or prosthetics in this state, a person must:

(1) submit an application in the manner and on the form prescribed by the executive director;

(2) pay the nonrefundable application fee;

(3) have completed formal training, including the required hours of classroom education and clinical practice, in an area of study the commission by rule determines to be necessary and appropriate;

(4) have completed a clinical residency in the professional area for which a license is sought that complies with the standards, guidelines, or procedures established by the department for a clinical residency that is offered in this state or another state; and

(5) have passed each written and practical examination approved and required by the department.

(b) The requirements for a license established by commission rule must include the requirement that the applicant hold:

(1) a bachelor's or graduate degree in orthotics and prosthetics from:

(A) an education program recognized and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs that is offered at an institution of higher education; or

(B) a practitioner education program that has education standards that are equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or

(2) a bachelor's degree in another subject and an orthotic or prosthetic certificate issued by a practitioner education program:

(A) recognized and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs; or

(B) that has education standards that are equivalent to or exceed the standards adopted by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

(c) To meet the clinical residency requirements for a license, the applicant must complete a professional clinical residency that meets the requirements established by commission rule and is conducted under the direct supervision of a licensed orthotist, licensed prosthetist, or a licensed prosthetist orthotist in the discipline for which licensure is sought. The clinical residency requirements adopted by the commission must be equivalent to or exceed the standards set by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education.

(d) Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1105 (H.B. 4007), Sec. 7.006(1), eff. September 1, 2017.