[nagdu] CA State Board tries to regulate out-of-state schools

[Angie Matney]

Have people seen this letter from the California State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind to out-of-state dog-guide programs? The text follows the link.

http://www.guidedogboard.ca.gov/forms_pubs/outofstateletter.shtml

Letter to out-of-state schools
Re: Compliance with California State Law Pertaining to Guide Dogs

Dear Out-of-State School:

On July 8, 1947, Governor Earl Warren signed into law the Guide Dog Act. This act was established to keep out maverick guide dog schools, protect the visually impaired by setting minimum standards of training, provide oversight for the disposition 
of donor funds and maintain minimum competency of training for licensed guide dog instructors.

The purpose of this letter is twofold. First, the Board wishes to inform all out-of-state schools the statutes requiring compliance with licensure requirements for instruction in the state of California. Second, the Board has a process for compliance - 
namely the examination for an instructor license. If a candidate for licensure meets the minimum requirements to sit for the examination, they are eligible for licensure status. The examination is given twice per year and involves a one-day Written 
Exam 
and a one-day Oral/Practical Exam. Fingerprints are also required before taking the examination.

First, California law requires a license for the sale or the giving of a guide dog. Business and Professions Code section 7210 requires that:

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, give, hire or furnish under any other arrangement, any guide dog or seeing-eye dog or to engage in the business or occupation of training any such dog unless he holds a valid and unimpaired 
license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Second, California law requires guide dog instructors to be licensed. An instructor "means a person who instructs blind persons in the use of guide dogs or who engages in the business of training, selling, hiring, or supplying guide dogs for the blind." 
California law as set forth in 16 CCR section 2284 requires:

Anyone instructing a blind person in the use of a guide dog must be licensed by the Board, provided, however, that a school may employ apprentices to assist in such instruction. No apprentice shall act as an instructor except under the direct and 
immediate supervision of a licensed instructor.

Last, B&P Code Section 7213 provides that:

Violation of any provision of this chapter is a misdemeanor.

The process for obtaining an instructor license begins with an examination. To qualify to take the examination, the individual must have the following qualifications as set forth in Statute (B&P Code Section 7209) -- which states the following:

[P]erson to be eligible for examination as an instructor must (1) have a knowledge of the special problems of the blind and how to teach them, (2) be able to demonstrate by actual blindfold test under traffic conditions his ability to train guide dogs with 
whom a blind person would be safe, (3) be suited temperamentally and otherwise to instruct blind persons in the use of guide dogs, and, (4) have had at least three years actual experience, comprising such number of hours as the Board may require, 
as an instructor, and have handled twenty-two (22) man-dog units; or its equivalent, as determined by the Board, as an apprentice under a licensed instructor or under an instructor in a school satisfactory to the Board.

Applicants for the instructor license are required to take both a written and practical/oral examination. Applicants must provide a 15-30 minute video demonstrating instruction skills. A panel of subject matter experts will review the video and evaluate 
the candidate's oral defense of said video. The five steps to licensing are available on the Board's Web site. Applicants may also obtain the application for examination at www.guidedogboard.ca.gov 

The instructor licenses are good for one year and are renewed each year thereafter for a fee of $100. Along with the fee, an instructor must provide the Board with evidence of continuing education (either 8 hours of course/seminar attendance or 16 
hours of attendance at meetings of guide dog users or organizations of the blind).

If you have any questions about the laws cited above, please feel free to contact me at               (916) 574-7825       . Thank you.

Sincerely,

Antonette Sorrick

ANTONETTE SORRICK
Executive Officer, State Board of Guide Dogs for the Blind