BILL NUMBER: S7594

SPONSOR: GOLDEN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend chapter 537 of the laws of 2008,
amending the education law relating to a restricted dental faculty
license, in relation to extending the expiration of such chapter

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to extend the current provisions of
law concerning licensure of foreign trained dentists who are employed as
full-time faculty members at a New York State dental school.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the effective date of Chapter 537 of the Laws of
2008, which currently sunsets on February 1, 2019. Chapter 537 added
section 6604-b to the Education Law to authorize the State Education
Department (SED) to issue a full-time faculty license to foreign-trained
dentists who are full-time faculty members employed at an approved New
York state school of dentistry. In order to be eligible, a foreign-
              

trained dentist must meet the following requirements:

* The dentist must be serving full-time on the faculty of one of New
York state's six academic dental centers (Columbia University College of
Dental Medicine, New York University College of Dentistry, University at
Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Stony
Brook School of Dental Medicine, Eastman Institute for Oral Health at
the University of Rochester, or Touro College of Dental Medicine).

* The dentist must be a full-time faculty member, which means the indi-
vidual must devote at least 4 days per week to teaching, patient care,
research or administration.

*The dentist may only practice within the facilities or clinics of the
dental school or at a clinic or facility that has an affiliation agree-
ment with the school.

*The restricted license is valid for a period of 3 years, the same peri-
od that a regular license is valid.

*In order to qualify for the license an individual must have at least 6
years of pre-professional and professional education which includes the
same course work required of a dentist licensed through the regular
pathway.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Dental schools in the United States suffer from an ongoing shortage of
faculty members. As of 2016, there were 271 open full-time dental facul-
ty positions nationwide. Of those vacant positions, at least 76 were
vacant for 7-12 months. New York State shoulders a disproportionate
share of total U.S. vacancies, with more than 60 unfilled dental faculty
vacancies at present at the state's six schools.

The reasons for the relatively high number of vacancies are varied and
complex, and include such factors as a candidate's ability to meet the
rigorous requirements of faculty positions, time and resource
constraints on scholarly pursuits, and the overall number of faculty
members who are reaching the age of retirement that need to be replaced
in order to maintain the current level of instruction and care provided.
Perhaps most importantly, according to the annual ADEA Survey of Vacant
Budgeted Faculty positions, salary considerations have consistently
ranked among the top reasons that faculty positions remain unfilled. The
average annual net income in 2014 was $174,780 for private general prac-
titioner dentist and $322,200 for a specialist. Compared to an average
2014 salary from an academic dental school of $93,667, this creates a
pay gap that is difficult to bridge.

The shortage of dental faculty negatively impacts the state's ability to
train new dentists, and thereby compromises access to dental care.  Such
a lack of access results in diminished health outcomes, which in turn
drives unnecessary costs to the State's healthcare system.

Since 2008, the State has addressed the shortage of dental faculty by
allowing the limited licensure of foreign-trained dentists who serve in
academia. The Restricted Dental Faculty Licensure statute has been
immensely helpful in ensuring the state's academic dental centers are
able to attract the talent necessary to provide high quality dental
education. There are currently approximately 30 dental faculty members
using a restricted license throughout NYS's six academic dental centers,
and three others awaiting approval for the license.

This bill would make the Restricted Dental Faculty Licensure statute
permanent, in order to ensure that this important avenue for addressing
the dental faculty shortage remains available to New York State dental
schools. It would continue all the current limitations applicable to
foreign-trained dentists practicing under such licenses. Currently,
every other state that has a dental school grants foreign trained dental
faculty the full privilege of licensure while employed within the
academic setting.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
PRIOR EXTENSIONS:

2016: S.6552-A(Golden)/A.9129-A(Glick) - Chapter 140
2014: S.7183-A(Golden)/A.8660-A(Glick) - Chapter 172

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately.