Two Year License Renewal
Licenses are now on a two-year renewal schedule. For every biennial license, a licensee will need to have taken 32 hours of Board-approved continuing education. 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), and 1 hour Human Trafficking.
§481.0764 of the Health and Safety Code requires all active licensees who prescribe or dispense opioids to take each year a one-hour board-approved continuing education course covering best practices, alternative treatment options, and multi-modal approaches to pain management that may include physical therapy, psychotherapy, and other treatments.
NOTE – If you do not prescribe opioids, you must 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.”
CE BROKER 2022
Pursuant to Board Rule 275.3, all licensees are required to use the CE Broker digital platform for CE reporting beginning in 2022.
Half of the 32 Hours Each Cycle (16) Must Be from Live or Live Webinar Format Material
A live webinar allows interaction between the presenter and attendees. Note that live credit may only be obtained by attending the course on the dates listed.
Emergency Management (CPR or BLS Certification)
Beginning in 2023, licensees must upload proof of current CPR or BLS certification to the General CE Category on their CE Broker profiles prior to renewing every two years. See Board Rule 273.17.
Approved Courses
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:
(A) Courses sponsored by an optometry college or school accredited by the American Optometric Council on Education (ACOE);
(B) Courses sponsored by the American Optometric Association (AOA) or an affiliate of the AOA;
(C) Courses sponsored by the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) or an affiliate of AAO;
(D) Courses accredited by the Council on Optometric Provider Education (COPE);
(E) Courses sponsored and or approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission;
(F) Courses sponsored by the American Board of Optometry;
(G) Courses approved by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (AACME); and
(H) Courses in professional responsibility given by a board accredited in-state college or school of optometry may be given approval if the course:
(i) is made available as a live course in this state and on the internet; and
(ii) 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.
(2) Notwithstanding the automatic approvals contemplated in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Board shall be entitled to reject individual courses.
Additional Information
- 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.
