PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR [01-01-089].
Title of Rule: Defining prescribed core curriculum (core curriculum continuing education).
Purpose: To mandate three clock hours of prescribed core curriculum for real estate licensees license renewal.
Other Identifying Information: Also amends WAC 308-124A-600, 308-124H-025, 308-124H-061, and 308-124H-062.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.85.040(4).
Summary: Requires the completion of three clock hours of prescribed core curriculum, included in the thirty clock hours for renewal of both salesperson and broker real estate licenses.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: Allows for the real estate commission to mandate continuing education core curriculum which covers current legal issues and trends in real estate of an urgent or compelling nature.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Syd Beckett, Olympia, Washington, (360) 664-6524; Implementation and Enforcement: Department of Licensing, Real Estate Program, 2000 4th Street, Olympia, WA 98507.
Name of Proponent: Washington State Real Estate Commission and Washington Department of Licensing, governmental.
Agency Comments or Recommendations, if any, as to Statutory Language, Implementation, Enforcement, and Fiscal Matters: As drafted and submitted to the code reviser.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: A required core curriculum is a tool by which the Department of Licensing can ensure that certain critical information, such as law changes and updates, reaches all licensees in a timely manner. These issues may vary between commercial, residential and property management practitioners. The completion of a mandatory core curriculum continuing education requirement by all real estate licensees seeks to enhance the practice of real estate and thereby increase consumer protection.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: The proposed rule will require amendments to WAC 308-124A-600, specifying dates to report the prescribed core curriculum clock hours and that failure to report will result in denial of license renewal. WAC 308-124H-025 will be amended to specify that the prescribed core curriculum may be offered by the Washington State Real Estate Commission, requiring a renumbering of the sections in this WAC. This WAC also is amended to include who may teach the prescribed core curriculum and the requirements to be met. Also amended will be WAC 308-124H-061 Grounds for denial or withdrawal of course approval and 308-124H-062 Hearing procedure [see WSR 01-23-005].
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. There is no economic impact to the providers of continuing real estate education. The core course is a three hour course only, which would incorporate into the thirty clock hour requirement.
RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption.
Hearing Location: Department of Licensing, 405 Black Lake Boulevard S.W., Conference Room, Olympia, WA 98502, on December 28, 2001, at 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Jana Jones by December 21, 2001, TDD (360) 753-1966, or (360) 664-6524.
Submit Written Comments to: Jana L. Jones, Assistant Administrator, Real Estate Program, P.O. Box 2445, Olympia, WA 98507-2445, fax (360) 586-0998, by December 21, 2001.
Date of Intended Adoption: December 28, 2001.
November 7, 2001
Alan E. Rathbun
Assistant Director
Business and Professions Division
OTS-5059.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 97-01-027, filed 12/10/96,
effective 1/10/97)
WAC 308-124A-600
Continuing education clock hour
requirements.
A licensee shall submit to the department evidence
of satisfactory completion of clock hours, pursuant to RCW 18.85.165, in the manner and on forms prescribed by the
department.
(1) A licensee applying for renewal of an active license
shall submit evidence of completion of at least thirty clock
hours of instruction in a course(s) approved by the director and
commenced within thirty-six months of a licensee's renewal date. A minimum of fifteen clock hours must be completed within
twenty-four months of the licensee's current renewal date((;)),
and a portion of that fifteen must include three hours of the
prescribed core curriculum defined at WAC 308-124A-605. Up to
fifteen clock hours of instruction beyond the thirty clock hours
submitted for a previous renewal date may be carried forward to
the following renewal date. Licensees shall begin reporting
prescribed core curriculum for renewal dates on or after June 1,
2004. Failure to report successful completion of the prescribed
core curriculum clock hours shall result in denial of license
renewal.
(2) The thirty clock hours shall be satisfied by evidence of completion of approved real estate courses as defined in WAC 308-124H-025. A portion of the thirty clock hours of continuing education must include three clock hours of prescribed core curriculum defined at WAC 308-124A-605.
(3) Courses for continuing education clock hour credit shall be commenced after issuance of a first license.
(4) A licensee shall not place a license on inactive status to avoid the continuing education requirement. A licensee shall submit evidence of completion of continuing education clock hours to activate a license if activation occurs within one year after the license had been placed on inactive status and the last renewal of the license had been as an inactive license.
(5) Approved courses may be repeated for continuing education credit in subsequent renewal periods.
(6) Clock hour credit for continuing education shall not be accepted if:
(a) The course is not approved pursuant to chapter 308-124H WAC and chapter 18.85 RCW;
(b) Course(s) was taken to activate an inactive license pursuant to RCW 18.85.215(3);
(c) Course(s) was used to satisfy the requirements of RCW 18.85.095 (1)(b), real estate salesperson's license, RCW 18.85.095 (2)(a), real estate salesperson's practices course, and RCW 18.85.090, broker's license and WAC 308-124A-570, reinstatement.
(7) Instructors shall not receive clock hour credit for teaching or course development.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040 and chapter 18.86 RCW. 97-01-027, 308-124A-600, filed 12/10/96, effective 1/10/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040 and SB 6284. 95-03-012, 308-124A-600, filed 1/5/95, effective 2/5/95. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040. 91-23-006, 308-124A-600, filed 11/7/91, effective 12/8/91.]
[]
OTS-5060.3
NEW SECTION
WAC 308-124H-014
Establishing time frame for approval of
core curriculum.
The first required core curriculum continuing
education courses will be offered for eighteen months, beginning
June 1, 2002, ending December 31, 2003. Following the initial
introductory core curriculum, the approval period for courses
designated as satisfying the core curriculum(s) shall be from
January 1 through December 31, a two-year (twenty-four month)
period. Courses submitted and approved prior to the two-year
period will not be allowed to commence for core curriculum credit
until January 1. Courses submitted later than January 1, will
still have an expiration date of December 31, making that course
approval period less than two years.
[]
(1) Be offered by a private entity approved by the director to operate as a school;
(2) Be offered by a tax-supported, public technical or community college or other institution of higher learning that certifies clock hours as indicated in RCW 18.85.010(9), consistent with the approval standards prescribed by the director and this chapter;
(3) Be offered by the Washington real estate commission;
(4) Have a minimum of three hours of course work or instruction for the student. A clock-hour is a period of fifty minutes of actual instruction;
(((4))) (5) Provide practical information related to the
practice of real estate in any of the following real estate topic
areas: Fundamentals, practices, principles/essentials, real
estate law, legal aspects, brokerage management, business
management, taxation, appraisal, evaluating real estate and
business opportunities, property management and leasing,
construction and land development, ethics and standards of
practice, real estate closing practices, current trends and
issues, finance, hazardous waste and other environmental issues,
commercial, real estate sales and marketing, instructor
development or the use of computers and/or other technologies as
applied to the practice of real estate;
(((5))) (6) Be under the supervision of an instructor
approved to teach the topic area, who shall, at a minimum, be
available to respond to specific questions from students on an
immediate or reasonably delayed basis;
(((6))) (7) The following types of courses will not be
approved for clock hours: Course offerings in mechanical office
and business skills, such as, keyboarding, speed-reading, memory
improvement, language, and report writing; orientation courses
for licensees, such as those offered by trade associations; and
personal and sales motivation courses or sales meetings held in
conjunction with a licensee's general business. Clock hours will
not be awarded for any course time devoted to meals or
transportation;
(((7))) (8) Courses of thirty clock hours or more which are
submitted for approval shall include a comprehensive
examination(s) and answer key(s) of no fewer than three questions
per clock hour with a minimum of ninety questions, and a
requirement of passing course grade of at least seventy percent;
essay question examination keys shall identify the material to be
tested and the points assigned for each question;
(((8))) (9) Include textbook or instructional materials
approved by the director, which shall be kept accurate and
current; ((and))
(((9))) (10) Not have a title which misleads the public as
to the subject matter of the course;
(11) Courses offering the prescribed core curriculum shall meet the requirements of WAC 308-124A-605;
(12) Only primary providers shall be approved to teach the prescribed core curriculum; and
(13) Course providers offering core curriculum within a course exceeding three clock hours must clearly indicate in the application for approval where the core curriculum elements are met in the course.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040 and The Governor's Order on Regulatory Improvement 97-02. 00-08-035, 308-124H-025, filed 3/29/00, effective 7/1/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040 and chapter 18.86 RCW. 97-01-027, 308-124H-025, filed 12/10/96, effective 1/10/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040 and SB 6284. 95-03-012, 308-124H-025, filed 1/5/95, effective 7/1/95. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040. 91-23-006, 308-124H-025, filed 11/7/91, effective 12/8/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040, [18.85].085, [18.85].090 and [18.85].095. 91-07-029, 308-124H-025, filed 3/14/91, effective 4/14/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.85.040. 90-10-010, 308-124H-025, filed 4/20/90, effective 8/1/90.]