Subject of Possible Rule Making: WAC 246-836-130, 246-836-140, 246-836-150, 246-836-160, 246-836-170, 246-836-180, and 246-836-200, amending accreditation requirements for naturopathic medical educational institutions.

     Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 18.36A.060 and 18.36A.100.

     Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: RCW 18.36A.100 requires rules to establish standards for approval of educational programs, providing a process for naturopathic medical schools to request recognition which includes an on-site evaluation by department of health (department) representatives. The statute also allows the department to contract with organizations having expertise to report information necessary to evaluate educational programs. The department is considering amending existing rules for approval of education programs to include accepting information from national accrediting organizations. This may reduce the number of on-site evaluations the department conducts and will then eliminate duplication and inefficiencies.

     Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.

     Process for Developing New Rule: Collaborative rule making.

     Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Susan Gragg, Program Manager, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone (360) 236-4941, fax (360) 236-2406, e-mail susan.gragg@doh.wa.gov. Interested persons can participate in the rule process through meetings and by submitting written comments, and are encouraged to join our listserv, which can be accessed at http://listserv.wa.gov/cgi-bin/wa?A0=NATUROPATHY-PROGRAM.

July 20, 2010

Mary C. Selecky

Secretary

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