The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) revised Public Health Code Rules requiring implicit bias training for all professions licensed or registered under the Public Health Code, except for Veterinary Medicine, effective June 1.
First-time applicants for licensure or registration must have completed a minimum of two hours of implicit bias training within the previous five years.
Beginning June 1, those renewing licenses or registrations must complete one hour of implicit bias training for each year of their license or registration cycle. However, for renewal applications submitted between the rule’s promulgation date of June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022, only one hour of training is required. This includes licensees whose 90-day renewal window includes June 1, 2022. For example, a license scheduled for renewal in August 2022 can be renewed in May, requiring only one hour of training regardless of the length of the license or registration cycle. Subsequent renewals would require an hour of training for each year of the license or renewal cycle.
Documentation of this training must be retained for six years from the date of applying for licensure, registration or renewal. The department retains the right to audit licensees or registrants and request documentation of completion of training.
The department released a frequently asked questions document for implicit bias training, which includes clarification that trainings with prerecorded videos must also provide opportunities for interaction between participants and the instructor. Therefore, prerecorded videos without instructor interaction would not satisfy the implicit bias training standard.
Members with questions related to implicit bias training requirements may contact the Bureau of Professional Licensing. For more information, contact Renée Smiddy at the MHA.