The Board proposes the rule amendments to updated requirements for education, continuing education, and continuing education for school instructors.

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

RULE NOS.:RULE TITLES:

61J1-4.001Education

61J1-4.003Continuing Education

61J1-4.008Continuing Education for School Instructors

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The Board proposes the rule amendments to updated requirements for education, continuing education, and continuing education for school instructors.

SUMMARY: The requirements for education, continuing education, and continuing education for school instructors will be updated.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: During discussion of the economic impact of this rule at its meeting, the Board, based upon the expertise and experience of its members, determined that a Statement of Estimated Regulatory Costs (SERC) was not necessary and that the rule will not require ratification by the Legislature. No person or interested party submitted additional information regarding the economic impact at that time.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 475.613(2), 475.614, 471.617 FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 475.613, 475.615, 475.617, 475.618, 475.628 FS.

IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE SCHEDULED AND ANNOUNCED IN THE FAR.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Allison McDonald, Executive Director, Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board, 400 West Robinson Street, #N801, Orlando, FL 32801

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

61J1-4.001 Qualifying Education.

(1) Board prescribed or approved courses and end-of-course examinations shall be offered by a nationally or state recognized appraisal organization, accredited universities, colleges, community colleges, area vocational-technical centers, state or federal agencies or commissions, or proprietary real estate schools registered pursuant to Section 475.451, F.S. A copy of the course application shall be submitted to the board for evaluation at least 90 days prior to use. The provider must submit a two complete copyies of the course materials, a detailed course timeline, learning objectives and end-of-course examinations. The Board will notify the entity within 60 days whether the course and exams meet the criteria set out in subsection (2) below and Rules 61J1-10.001, 61J1-10.002, 61J1-10.003, 61J1-10.004, F.A.C. Approval must be granted before the course is conducted. Institutions, entities and schools offering Board prescribed or approved appraisal educational courses are responsible for keeping the course subject matter current and accurate.

(2) No change.

(3) Satisfactory course completion is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 75% or higher on a Board approved end-of-course examination. The provider shall develop at least two forms of the end-of-course examinations and submit them for approval with a detailed course syllabus, detailed timeline and two copies of the course material. The answer key must be unique for each form of the examination and reference the page numbers containing the information on which each question and correct answer is based. At least 70% of the questions on each examination form shall be application oriented. Application level means the ability to use the learned material in a completely new and concrete situation. It usually involves the application of rules, policies, methods, computations, laws, theories, or any other relevant and available information. No more than 10% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level. Knowledge level means the recall of specific fact, patterns, methods, terms, rules, dates, formulas, names or other information that should be committed to memory. A provider offering prescribed courses must maintain a sufficient bank of questions to assure examination validity. A course that is more than 30 hours shall contain at least 100 items. A course that is 30 hours or less shall contain a minimum of 50 items. All questions shall be multiple choice with 4 answer choices each. The order of the examination questions may not follow the sequence of the course content. No examination shall contain more than 20% duplication of questions. The examination shall comply with the Item Writing Guidelines as of January 29, 2004, incorporated herein by reference.  The examination must be proctored.

(4) The institution, or school, or entity offering these Board prescribed or approved courses shall fully inform each student of the standards and requirements at the commencement of each course. Each student shall receive a copy of the most current course approval letter, issued by the Board, at the commencement of each course. Notice of course completion shall be made on the form prescribed by the Board in Rule 61J1-4.005, F.A.C.

(5) No change.

(6)(a) The qualifying education courses required in this rule may be satisfied by a Board approved equivalent distance education course. Distance education is education that takes place when the learner is separated from the source of instruction by time and/or distance.  Such distance education course subject matter, assignment work, scholastic standards and other related requirements shall be evaluated in the same manner as the course offered by classroom instruction, having due regard however, to the different method of presentation.  Components of distance education include synchronous and asynchronous courses.  Synchronous courses require the instructor and students to interact simultaneously online via live webinar or web-based meeting.  Synchronous courses do not require proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by the AQB.  The institution, school or entity offering synchronous courses must provide the delivery platform.  Asynchronous courses allow the students to progress at their own pace and follow a structure course content and quiz/exam schedule.  The institution, school, or entity offering distance asynchronous education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by the AQB.

(b) through (c) No change.

(d) The qualifying education courses required in this rule may be taught by a Board approved equivalent hybrid education course.  Hybrid courses can be composed of a combination of classroom, asynchronous and synchronous education.  A copy of the complete course materials and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall be submitted for approval. The examination may be administered at the end of the course or portions of the examination may be administered to students at appropriate intervals during the course. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the courses and examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examination may be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each institution, school, or entity offering the education course(s) in accordance with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times, standards, and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board approved education courses to keep the course material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.  The examination must be proctored in person or remotely.  Bio-metric proctoring is acceptable.  The institution, school, or entity offering hybrid education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or by an independent certified organization approved by the AQB for the asynchronous portion of the course.  The institution, school, or entity offering synchonous education courses must provide the delivery platform.

(e) (d) For distance and hybrid learning, class hours are defined as 60 minutes, of which 50 minutes are instruction attended by the student. Fifty minutes of each 60-minute class segment shall be timed.

(f) (e) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed qualifying education course(s) through distance and hybrid education is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 75% or higher on the Board approved examination. Students failing the Board approved end-of-course examination must wait at least 30 days from the date of the original examination to take the alternate end-of-course examination. Within one year of the original end-of-course examination, a student may retake the prescribed end-of-course exam a maximum of one time. Otherwise, students failing the appraisal education course examination must repeat the Board prescribed or approved course prior to being eligible to again take the end-of-course examinations.

(g)(f) The objective of the distance and hybrid education course examination is to test fairly and reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the course. A course that is more than 30 hours shall contain at least 100 items. A course that is 30 hours or less shall contain a minimum of 50 items. The order of the examination questions may not follow the sequence of the course content. The answer key must reference the page number(s) containing the information on which each question and correct answer is based. The answer key must be unique for each form of the examination. At least 70% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the application level or higher. No more than 10% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level. The examination shall comply with the Item Writing Guidelines as of January 29, 2004, incorporated by reference in subsection (3) above.  The examination must be proctored in person or remotely.  Bio-metric proctoring is acceptable.

(h) (g) No change.

(i) (h) Qualifying education courses by distance education, hybrid or classroom will be approved for 24 months at which point the course will expire unless submitted to the Board and approved for renewal. Courses may not be offered or distributed after the expiration date. Each student shall receive a copy of the most current course approval letter, issued by the Board, at the commencement of each course. Students must be notified of the course expiration date upon receipt of the course materials.

Rulemaking Authority 475.614, 471.617 FS. Law Implemented 475.613, 475.615, 475.617 FS. History–New 10-15-91, Formerly 21VV-4.001, Amended 1-9-94, 3-10-98, 9-6-98, 10-10-99, 5-25-04, 5-15-05, 1-17-06, 2-6-07, 12-6-07, 3-24-09, 4-28-10, 8-1-10, 7-30-14, 8-5-15,                  .

 

61J1-4.003 Continuing Education.

(1) through (2) No change.

(3) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed or approved continuing education course or courses of classroom instruction is demonstrated by successfully meeting standards established for each Board prescribed course. These standards for approval of continuing education courses for appraisers shall be that the course or courses contain at least 2 hours of instruction and cover real estate appraisal related topics such as ad valorem taxation, arbitration, business courses related to real estate appraisal, construction estimating, ethics and standards of professional practice, land use planning, zoning and taxation, management, leasing, brokerage, timesharing, property development, real estate appraisal (valuations/evaluations), real estate financing and investment, real estate law, real estate litigation, real estate appraisal related computer applications, real estate securities and syndication, and real property exchange.

(a) A copy of the course application and all course materials shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation at least 90 days prior to use. The provider must submit a complete copy of the course materials, a detailed course timeline, and learning objectives.The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the course. Approval must be granted before the course and examinations, if required, may be offered. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board approved courses to keep the course materials current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.

(b) through (d) No change.

(4)(a) The continuing education courses required in this rule may be satisfied by a Board approved equivalent distance education course. Distance education is education that takes place when the learner is separated from the source of instruction by time and/or distance. Such distance education course subject matter, assignment work, scholastic standards and other related requirements shall be evaluated in the same manner as the course offered by classroom instruction, having due regard however, to the different method of presentation. Components of distance education include synchronous and asynchronous courses.  Synchronous courses require the instructor and students to interact simultaneously online via live webinar or web based meeting.  Synchronous courses do not require final exams or proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by the AQB. The institution, school, or entity offering synchronous education courses must provide the delivery platform.  Asynchronous courses allow the students to progress at their own pace and follow a structure course content and quiz/exam schedule. The institution, school or entity offering distance asynchronous education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by the AQB. 

(b) A copy of the distance education course materials, a detailed course timeline, learning objectives, and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall be submitted for approval. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the course and examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examinations may be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each institution, school, or entity offering the distance education course(s) in accordance with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times, standards and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school or entity offering the Board approved distance education courses to keep the course material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.    The examination must be proctored in person or remotely.  Bio-metric proctoring is acceptable.

(c) The continuing education courses required in this rule may be taught by a Board approved equivalent hybrid education course.  Hybrid courses can be composed of a combination of classroom, asynchronous and synchronous education.  Hybrid courses must include in the course timed outline what sections are being offered by synchronous, asynchronous and classroom. The asynchronous portion of the course requires a course examination.  A copy of the complete course materials and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall be submitted for approval. The examination may be administered at the end of the course or portions of the examination may be administered to students at appropriate intervals during the course. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the courses and examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examination may be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each institution, school, or entity offering the education course(s) in accordance with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times, standards, and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board approved education courses to keep the course material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.  The examination must be proctored in person or remotely.  Bio-metric proctoring is acceptable.  The institution, school, or entity offering hybrid  education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB or by an independent certified organization approved by the AQB for the asynchronous portion of the course.  The institution, school, or entity offering hybrid education courses must provide the delivery platform for the synchronous portion of the course.

(d)(c) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed continuing education course(s) through distance and hybrid education is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 80% or higher on the Board approved examination. Students failing the Board prescribed course examination must repeat the Board prescribed distance or hybrid education course of study prior to being eligible to again take the course examination, which must be a different examination from the one the student previously failed.

(e)(d) The objective of the distance and hybrid education course examination is to test fairly and reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the course. This examination shall consist of a minimum of 3 questions per instructional hour. All questions shall be multiple choice with 4 answer choices each. The order of the examination questions may not follow the sequence of the course content. The answer key must reference the page number(s) containing the information on which each question and correct answer is based. The answer key must be unique for each form of the examination. At least 70% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the application level or higher. No more than 10% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level. The examination shall comply with the Item Writing Guidelines as of January 29, 2004, incorporated herein reference.

(f)(e) In all Board approved continuing education courses by distance or hybrid education, the institution, school or entity shall provide to students an address, telephone number, or e-mail address of a Board approved instructor to answer inquiries.

(g)(f) Continuing education courses by distance and hybrid education will be approved for 24 months at which point the course will expire unless submitted to the Board and approved for renewal. Courses may not be offered or distributed after the expiration date. Students must be notified of the course expiration date upon receipt of the course materials.

(5) through (8) No change.

Rulemaking Authority 475.613(2), 475.614 FS. Law Implemented 475.613, 475.618, 475.628 FS. History–New 10-15-91, Amended 4-21-92, 6-7-92, Formerly 21VV-4.003, Amended 11-3-94, 9-5-96, 4-6-98, 9-6-98, 9-14-00, 10-22-01, 3-31-02, 5-25-04, 5-15-05, 1-8-06, 12-4-06, 12-6-07, 6-7-10, 7-17-11, 4-9-13, Amended 11-17-15, 10-16-19, 2-18-21,                            .

 

61J1-4.008 Continuing Education for School Instructors.

(1) All persons holding “school instructor” permits shall re-certify their competency during each renewal period as defined in Rule 61J1-2.002, F.A.C., by satisfactorily completing a minimum of 21 hours of instruction in real estate appraisal subjects and instructional techniques as prescribed by the Board. A school instructor is not required to complete the 21 hours of re-certification education as a condition for initial permit renewal if the time between the effective date on the initial permit as an instructor and the beginning of the initial renewal permit is less than 12 months. Of the required 21 hours, up to 17 hours may be applied toward the continuing education requirement for registration, licensure, or certification pursuant to Rule 61J1-4.003, F.A.C.  The 4 hour Instructional Techniques course does not apply toward the continuing education requirement for registration, licensure, or certification pursuant to Rule 61J1-4.003, F.A.C.

(2) through (3) No change.

(4) The institution, school or approved entity offering the Board approved courses outlined in this section shall inform each student of the standards and requirements at the commencement of each course. Each student shall receive a copy of the most current course approval letter, issued by the Board, at the commencement of each course. The enforcement thereof shall be the responsibility of the Board and the DBPR and their decision on any such matters shall be final. The institution, school or approved entity will be responsible for issuing a grade report. The information required in the grade report can be located in Rule 61J1-4.005, F.A.C.

(a) through (b) No change.

(c) A copy of the application course and all course materials shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation at least 90 days prior to use. The provider must submit a complete copy of the course materials, a detailed course outline, and learning objectives. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the course. Approval must be granted before the course and examinations, if required, may be offered. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board-approved courses to keep the course materials current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.

(d) No change.

(5)(a) The continuing education courses required in this rule may be taught by a Board approved equivalent distance education course. Distance education is education that takes place when the learner is separated from the source of instruction by time and/or distance.  Such distance education course subject matter, assignment work, scholastic standards and other related requirements shall be substantially the same as the course offered by classroom instruction, having due regard however, to the different method of presentation.   Components of distance education include synchronous and asynchronous courses. Synchronous courses require the instructor and students to interact simultaneously online via live webinar or web-based meeting. Synchronous courses do not require a final exam. The institution, school, or entity offering synchronous distance education must provide the delivery platform.  Asynchronous courses allow the students to progress at their own pace and follow a structure course content and quiz/exam schedule.

(b) A copy of the distance education course materials, a detailed course timeline, learning objectives, and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall be submitted for approval. The examination may be administered at the end of the course or portions of the examination may be administered to students at appropriate intervals during the course. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the courses and examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examination may be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each institution, school, or entity offering the distance education course(s) in accordance with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times, standards, and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board approved distance education courses to keep the course material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.

(c) The continuing education courses required in this rule may be taught by a Board approved equivalent hybrid education course.  Hybrid courses can be composed of a combination of classroom, asynchronous and synchronous education. Hybrid courses must include in the course timed outline what sections are being offered by synchronous, asynchronous and classroom. The asynchronous portion of the course requires a course examination.  A copy of the complete course materials and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall be submitted for approval. The examination may be administered at the end of the course or portions of the examination may be administered to students at appropriate intervals during the course. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the courses and examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examination may be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each institution, school, or entity offering the education course(s) in accordance with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times, standards, and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board approved education courses to keep the course material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.

(d)(c) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed continuing education course(s) through distance and hybrid education is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 80% or higher on the Board approved examination. Students failing the Board prescribed course examination must repeat the Board prescribed distance and hybrid education course of study prior to being eligible to again take the course examination, which must be a different examination from the one the student previously failed.

(e)(d) The objective of the distance and hybrid education course examination is to test fairly and reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the course. This examination shall consist of a minimum of 3 questions per instructional hour. All question shall be multiple choice with 4 answer choices each. The order of the examination questions may not follow the sequence of the course content. The answer key must reference the page number(s) containing the information on which each question and correct answer is based. The answer key must be unique for each form of the examination. At least 70% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the application level or higher. No more that 10% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level.

(f)(e) In all Board approved continuing education courses by distance or hybrid education, the institution, school, or entity shall provide to students an address, telephone number, or e-mail address of a Board approved instructor to answer inquiries.

(g)(h) Continuing education courses by distance and hybrid education will be approved for 24 months at which point the course will expire unless submitted to the Board and approved for renewal. Courses may not be offered or distributed after the expiration date. Students must be notified of the course expiration date upon receipt of the course materials.

Rulemaking Authority 475.614 FS. Law Implemented 475.618 FS. History–New 10-1-95, Amended 9-6-98, 11-15-99, 3-31-02, 2-16-04, 12-4-06, 1-3-18, 9-30-20,                            .

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: September 2, 2021

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: September 24, 2021