HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 1077 Recognition of Chiropractic Accrediting Entities
SPONSOR(S): Bankson
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 378
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee 14 Y, 4 N Curry McElroy
2) Education & Employment Committee
3) Health & Human Services Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Chapter 460, F.S., is the practice act for chiropractic medicine that sets the minimum requirements for safe
practice in the state. The Board of Chiropractic Medicine (Board), under the Department of Health (DOH)
enforces the practice act, including licensure, monitoring, and ensuring safe practice of chiropractic
professionals.
Currently, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) is the only accrediting entity authorized to provide
program accreditation for chiropractic education. The bill removes the CCE as the sole accrediting entity and
instead allows any accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, including the CCE, to
accredit chiropractic colleges for licensure purposes.
The bill has no fiscal impact on state or local governments.
This bill has an effective date of July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
STORAGE NAME: h1077a.HRS
DATE: 3/9/2023
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Regulation and Licensure of Chiropractic Physicians
Chapter 460, F.S., is the practice act for chiropractic medicine that sets the minimum requirements for
safe practice in the state. The Board of Chiropractic Medicine (Board), under the Department of Health
(DOH) enforces the practice act, including licensure, monitoring, and ensuring safe practice of
chiropractic professionals.1
To obtain a chiropractic physician license by examination, one must: 2
Submit a complete application and pay an application fee;
Be at least 18 years of age;
Have graduated from a chiropractic college accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education
or its predecessor agency;
Have completed at least 3 years of residence college work prior to graduation, consisting of a
minimum of 90 semester hours leading up to a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or
university;3
Pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners certification exams I, II, III, and IV and
physiotherapy exam;
Pass the Florida Laws and Rules Exam;4 and
Submit to background screening for criminal history.
Students in an accredited chiropractic college may practice chiropractic medicine without a license as
part of their clinical training or under the direct supervision of chiropractic physician as part of their
course of study. Students in their final year of education at an accredited college may also apply for
licensure and take all of the requisite exams, but must graduate before receiving their license.
Accreditation for Chiropractic Colleges
Chiropractic education generally includes a four-year doctoral graduate school program which includes
classroom instruction and clinical training.5 Licensure laws generally require chiropractic education from
an accredited chiropractic college. Accreditation is a process for validating an educational program
which involves an external peer review board developing evaluation criteria and evaluating a program’s
curriculum, faculty, services and operations, clinical competency, and research to determine if the
program meets recognized standards.6
U.S. Department of Education
1 FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH , Board of Chiropractic Medicine, https://floridaschiropracticmedicine.gov/ (last visited Mar. 6, 2023).
2 S. 460.406, F.S.
3 For applicants who graduated from a chiropractic college before July 2, 1990, only 2 years of residence college work from an
accredited college or university are required. However, anyone who graduated from a chiropractic college after July 1, 1990, must have
been granted a bachelor’s degree based on 4 academic years of study from an accredited college.
4 S. 456.017(6), F.S.; Rule 64B2-11.001(2), F.A.C.
5 U.S. D EPARTMENT OF L ABOR , BUREAU OF L ABOR STATISTICS, Chiropractors, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/chiropractors.htm#tab-4
(last visited Mar. 6, 2023).
6 U.S. D EPARTMENT OF EDUCATION , Overview of Accreditation in the United States,
https://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation.html#Overview (last visited Mar. 6, 2023).
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The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) does not accredit individual higher educational programs,
but instead recognizes accreditation agencies to evaluate the individual educational programs for
purposes of participating in USDE’s federal student aid programs. 7 Accreditation agencies are not
required to apply for recognition with the USDE, but if an educational institution wants to participate in
federal student aid programs and offer public financial aid to its students, it must be accredited by an
agency which the USDE has recognized. Therefore, many accreditation agencies choose to apply for
recognition with the USDE.8 The USDE currently recognizes approximately 63 accreditation agencies.9
Council on Chiropractic Education
The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) is a programmatic accrediting agency for Doctor of
Chiropractic Degree Programs and Chiropractic Residency Programs. The CCE is the only national
organization recognized by the USDE to accredit chiropractic education programs for its federal
programs.10 The CCE’s recognition as an accrediting agency was renewed by USDE on May 20, 2022,
for a period of five years. There are currently 18 chiropractic colleges accredited by the CCE, three of
which are in Florida.11
Effect of the Bill
Currently, the CCE is the only accrediting entity named in statute to provide program accreditation for
chiropractic education under ch. 460, F.S. This includes chiropractic education for licensure, restricted
licenses, and chiropractic medical faculty certificates. Additionally, the continuing education courses
required for renewing a certified chiropractic assistant certification must be approved by CCE-
accredited chiropractic colleges.12
The bill removes the CCE as the sole accrediting entity and instead requires that accreditation must be
from an accrediting agency recognized by the USDE. CCE is currently the only accrediting agency for
chiropractic education recognized by the USDE.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Amends s. 400.9905, F.S., relating to definitions.
Section 2: Amends s. 460.402, F.S., relating to exceptions.
Section 3: Amends s. 460. 403, F.S., relating to definitions.
Section 4: Amends s. 460. 406, F.S., relating to licensure by examination.
Section 5: Amends s. 460.4061, F.S., relating to restricted license.
Section 6: Amends s. 460. 4062, F.S., relating to chiropractic medicine faculty certificate.
Section 7: Amends s. 460. 4165, F.S., relating to certified chiropractic physician’s assistants .
Section 8: Amends s. 460.4167, F.S., relating to proprietorship by persons other than chiropractic
physicians.
Section 9: Provides and effective date of July 1, 2023.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 U.S. D EPARTMENT OF EDUCATION , Datab ase of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/agency-
list (last visited Mar. 6, 2023).
10 Supra note 9.
11 C OUNCIL ON C HIROPRACTIC EDUCATION , Accredited Doctor of Chiropractic Programs, https://www.cce-usa.org/dcp-information.html (last
visited Mar. 6, 2023); The three Florida accredited institutions are the National University of Health Sciences, Palmer College of
Chiropractic, and Keiser University.
12 S. 460.4165(13)(b), F.S.
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1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
None.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
Not applicable. The bill does not appear to affect county or municipal governments.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
DOH has sufficient rulemaking authority in current law to implement the bill.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
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DATE: 3/9/2023
Statutes affected: H 1077 Filed: 400.9905, 460.402, 460.4061, 460.4165