(a) (1) To qualify for licensure, an applicant shall have completed 30 hours of prelicensing education courses provided by an educational program approved by the bureau.

(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, the prelicensing education courses shall include at least one hour of instruction in cultural competency.

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(b) (1) To renew a license, or to restore a license from retired status to active status, a licensee shall complete 15 hours of approved continuing education courses each annual renewal cycle.

(2) Beginning January 1, 2023, as part of the approved continuing education courses required by paragraph (1), a licensee shall complete at least two hours of instruction in ethics, two hours of instruction in cultural competency, or two hours of instruction in both ethics and cultural competency every annual renewal cycle.

(c) The cost of any educational course required by this chapter shall not be borne by any client served by a licensee.

(d) For purposes of this section, “cultural competency” means understanding and applying cultural and ethnic data to the process of providing services that includes, but is not limited to, information on the appropriate services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex communities, ethnic communities, and religious communities.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 511, Sec. 35. (SB 1495) Effective January 1, 2023.)