32-1683. Qualifications of applicants

An applicant for a license issued under this chapter shall:

1. Be of good moral character.

2. Not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.

3. Not be a former licensee under this chapter whose license was suspended or revoked and not subsequently reinstated.

4. Be a high school graduate or the equivalent as prescribed by rules of the board.

5. Establish that the applicant has the required technical skill and training necessary for licensing by any one of the following means:

(a) Submit evidence of having a valid and subsisting license in good standing from another state that licenses dispensing opticians or ophthalmic dispensers and whose requirements are substantially equivalent to the requirements of this chapter.

(b) Submit evidence of having served an apprenticeship in optical dispensing for three of the six years immediately preceding the date of application under the direct supervision of a dispensing optician, optometrist or an allopathic or osteopathic physician who holds an active license in good standing issued by any state. The apprenticeship must include all principal phases of optical dispensing in order to result in the applicant acquiring the minimum basic skills required for optical dispensing. The board may accept a maximum of one thousand hours of alternative optical laboratory experience toward satisfying the apprenticeship requirements if that experience meets the standards established by the board.

(c) Submit evidence of graduation from a school of optical dispensing that presently meets the standards required for approval by a nationally recognized body on opticianry accreditation as determined by the board. The applicant must also have served an apprenticeship in optical dispensing as prescribed in subdivision (b) for one of the six years immediately preceding the date of application.

(d) Submit evidence of having worked as a dispensing optician or having served as an apprentice to a dispensing optician, a physician or an optometrist in a nonlicensing state for three of the six years immediately preceding the date of application. This work or apprenticeship must include all principal phases of optical dispensing in order to result in the applicant acquiring the minimum basic skills required for optical dispensing.