(a) The board shall meet as often as necessary to conduct its business. It shall conduct separate examinations covering the following fields of practice: barbering, hairdressing, advanced manicuring, and esthetics. Examinations shall be given at least twice in every year for each of these fields of practice for which applications for licensure or endorsements are pending. An applicant may take an examination in more than one field during the same testing session. The board may not require an applicant for licensure as a manicurist to take or pass an examination conducted by the board for the field of manicuring; however, nothing in this sentence prohibits the board from requiring a licensed manicurist to pass an examination to obtain an optional endorsement as an advanced manicurist under AS 08.13.080(f).
(b) The board may not require a person applying for a limited license to practice non-chemical barbering under AS 08.13.100(f) to take an examination that tests the person's knowledge of chemical processes, including permanent waving, bleaching, coloring, or chemical straightening.