Required Continuing Education
For every biennial (two-year) license, a licensee will need to have taken 32 hours of Board-approved continuing education. Half of the hours (16) must be from live or live webinar format (synchronous) material.
Of the 32 hours a licensee must take:
- 24 hours covering the diagnosis or treatment of ocular disease
- 2 hours Professional Responsibility (one each year),
- 1 hour Human Trafficking, and
- CPR or BLS certification (see Board Rule 273.17).
Active licensees who prescribe or dispense opioids also must take 1 hour each year of board-approved continuing education course covering the best practices, alternative treatment options, and multi-modal approaches to pain management that may include physical therapy, psychotherapy, and other treatments.
If you do not prescribe opioids and do not want to take the required CE, you may mark yourself exempt from the opioid prescribing requirement on your CE Broker account. First click on “Report CE” and then click on “Additional Options.” After selecting your CE Cycle, click “Begin” for the Prescribing Opioid Exemption. Respond to the attestation statements and click “submit.”
Pursuant to Board Rule 275.3, all licensees are required to use the CE Broker digital platform to report CE hours to the Board. For detailed information, see our Continuing Education Page. Additionally CE Broker developed Instructions for Uploading CPR/BLS.
State law imposes very expensive penalties for failing to renew on time and for failing to obtain the required Board approved continuing education on time.
CE for Providers — Obtain Course Approval
The Board has determined that the following providers who provide courses in subjects directly related to optometry may satisfy the criteria for acceptable continuing education hours and may be given automatic approval:
- Courses sponsored by an optometry college or school accredited by the American Optometric Council on Education (ACOE);
- Courses sponsored by the American Optometric Association (AOA) or an affiliate of the AOA;
- Courses sponsored by the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) or an affiliate of AAO;
- Courses accredited by the Council on Optometric Provider Education (COPE);
- Courses sponsored and or approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission;
- Courses sponsored by the American Board of Optometry;
- Courses approved by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (AACME); and
- Courses in professional responsibility given by a board accredited in-state college or school of optometry may be given approval if the course is made available as a live course in this state and on the internet; and includes the study of professional ethics, the Texas Optometry Act and Board Rules, judicious prescribing of dangerous drugs, pain management, or drug abuse by professionals.
Providers/courses that are not pre-approved shall still submit an application to the Board for approval based on the same deadlines (two weeks prior to each Board meeting). However, the process has changed because courses for approval must be submitted through the CE Broker portal. The portal goes directly to TOB staff. Providers can sign up now!
Find more information at these links: PROVIDER INFO and CE Provider Suite Info.
