(a)(1) Any person desiring to obtain a license as a barber shall apply in writing on forms furnished by the Department of Public Health and shall pay to the department a fee of one hundred dollars. The department shall not issue a license until the applicant has made written application to the department, setting forth by affidavit that the applicant has (A) (i) successfully completed the eighth grade, (ii) completed a course of not less than one thousand hours of study in a school approved in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or, if trained outside of Connecticut, in a barber school or college whose requirements are equivalent to those of a Connecticut barber school or college, and (iii) passed a written examination satisfactory to the department, or (B) if the applicant is an apprentice, (i) successfully completed the eighth grade, (ii) completed an apprenticeship approved by the Labor Department and conducted in accordance with sections 31-22m to 31-22u, inclusive, and (iii) passed a written examination satisfactory to the Department of Public Health. Examinations required for licensure under this chapter shall be prescribed by the department with the advice and assistance of the board. The department shall establish a passing score for examinations required under this chapter with the advice and assistance of the board. No license issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter may be assigned or transferred to another person.

(2) Any person who holds a license at the time of application to practice the occupation of barbering in any other state, the District of Columbia or in a commonwealth or territory of the United States, and was issued such license on the basis of successful completion of a program of education and training in barbering and an examination, shall be eligible for licensing in this state and entitled to a license without examination upon payment of a fee of one hundred dollars.

(3) Any person who holds a license to practice the occupation of barbering in any other state, the District of Columbia, or in a commonwealth or territory of the United States, and has held such license for a period of not less than forty years, shall be eligible for licensure without examination. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint.

(b) (1) Barber schools shall obtain approval pursuant to this section prior to commencing operation. In the event that an approved school undergoes a change of ownership or location, such approval shall become void and the school shall apply for a new approval pursuant to this section. Applications for such approval shall be on forms prescribed by the Commissioner of Public Health. In the event that a school fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection, no credit toward the one thousand hours of study required pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be granted to any student for instruction received prior to the effective date of school approval.

(2) The Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the Connecticut Examining Board for Barbers, Hairdressers and Cosmeticians, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to prescribe minimum curriculum requirements for barber schools. The commissioner, in consultation with said board, may adopt a curriculum and procedures for the approval of barber schools, provided the commissioner prints notice of intent to adopt regulations concerning the adoption of a curriculum and procedures for the approval of barber schools in the Connecticut Law Journal not later than thirty days after the date of implementation of such curriculum and such procedures. The curriculum and procedures implemented pursuant to this section shall be valid until such time final regulations are adopted.

(c) No person applying for licensure as a barber under this chapter shall be required to submit to a state or national criminal history records check as a prerequisite to licensure.