(a) Prior to implementation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1632, the department’s Office of Professional Examination Services shall review the Western Regional Examining Board examination to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 139 and to certify that the examination process meets those standards. If the department determines that the examination process fails to meet those standards, paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1632 shall not be implemented. The review of the Western Regional Examining Board examination shall be conducted during or after the Dental Board of California’s occupational analysis scheduled for the 2004–05 fiscal year, but not later than September 30, 2005. However, an applicant who successfully completes the Western Regional Examining Board examination on or after January 1, 2005, shall be deemed to have met the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 1632 if the department certifies that the Western Regional Examining Board examination meets the standards set forth in this subdivision.
(b) The Western Regional Examining Board examination process shall be regularly reviewed by the department pursuant to Section 139.
(c) The Western Regional Examining Board examination shall meet the mandates of subdivision (a) of Section 12944 of the Government Code.
(d) As part of its next scheduled review by the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection, the Dental Board of California shall report to that committee and the department on the pass rates of applicants who sat for the Western Regional Examining Board examination, compared with the pass rates of applicants who sat for the state clinical and written examination administered by the Dental Board of California. This report shall be a component of the evaluation of the examination process that is based on psychometrically sound principles for establishing minimum qualifications and levels of competency.
(Amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 307, Sec. 5. (SB 821) Effective January 1, 2010.)