61-30.503 Course Approval, Prelicensure and Continuing Education.
(1) Prelicensure and continuing education courses shall be valid for purposes of the licensure and continuing education requirement only if such courses have received approval from the Home Inspection Unit before the course is offered.
(2) The department shall approve education courses for two years from the date approved when the following requirements are met:
(a) Application for prelicensure or continuing education courses must be submitted using the Home Inspector Course Application, form number DBPR HI 0404, “Education Course Application”, effective April 2013, adopted and incorporated herein by reference. The form may be obtained by contacting the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0783 or at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-03262.
(b) The course provider shall submit to the department the following for course approval before the course is offered: an application, a detailed course outline describing the course’s content and subject matter, and a written statement that explains in detail how the course relates to the practice of home inspection services as defined in Section 468.8311(4), F.S.
(c) The application shall include the total number of classroom or interactive distance learning hours, the course syllabus, and the name and qualifications of all instructors.
(3) A course provider making application to offer interactive distance learning must submit documents indicating the following:
(a) The means by which the course will demonstrate interactivity between the student and course provider, which promotes student involvement, and demonstrates that the course measures learning and addresses comprehension of content at regular intervals.
(b) The means by which the course provider is able to monitor student enrollment, participation and course completion.
(c) The means by which the course provider will be able to satisfactorily demonstrate that stated course hours are consistent with the actual hours spent by each student to complete the course.
(d) The means by which the provider will assure qualified instructor(s) will be available to answer questions and provide students with necessary support during the course.
(e) That the student will be required to complete a statement at the beginning and end of the course that indicates that he/she personally completed each module/session of instruction.
(f) The means by which the course provider will verify student identification.
(4) Continuing education courses must address one or more of the eight components of a home and shall not involve the promotion or sale of any products.
(5) The following criteria shall be considered when approving continuing education courses:
(a) Previous approval by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, the Board of Professional Engineers, the Board of Architecture and Interior Design, the Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board, or the Electrical Contractors’ Licensing Board, so long as the courses pertain to one or more of the eight components of a home;
(b) For general continuing education courses, course topics concerning home inspection services or the components of a home, including the limited visual examination of the following readily accessible installed systems and components of a home for the purpose of providing a written report of the condition of the home:
1. The structure,
2. Electrical system,
3. HVAC system,
4. Roof covering,
5. Plumbing system,
6. Interior components,
7. Exterior components, and
8. Site conditions that affect the structure.
(c) The required two (2) hours of instruction regarding hurricane mitigation training shall include training on completion of the “Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form,” OIR-B1-1802 (Rev. 01/12), incorporated by reference in Rule 69O-170.0155, F.A.C. (eff. 2/1/12).
(6) For prelicensure courses, course topics concerning home inspection services or the components of a home, including the limited visual examination of the following readily accessible installed systems and components of a home for the purposes of providing a written report of the condition of the home:
1. The structure,
2. Electrical system,
3. HVAC system,
4. Roof covering,
5. Plumbing system,
6. Interior components,
7. Exterior components, and
8. Site conditions that affect the structure.
(7) Any substantive changes made to approved courses, which shall include instructor changes, must be approved by the department before the changed course can be offered. Course approval shall be rescinded by the department if such notification is not made or the changes fail to otherwise conform to this rule.
(8) Course approvals shall be automatically rescinded if the provider status expires or is rescinded by disciplinary action.
(9) Instructors must meet at least one of the following requirements:
(a) Hold an active or inactive licenses as a home inspector;
(b) Hold an active or inactive license in at least one of the eight components of a home inspection; or
(c) Have at least three years of experience in the area in which they are instructing.
(10) Providers may not use instructors who are currently suspended or revoked due to disciplinary action against their license.
Rulemaking Authority 455.2035, 455.213(6), 468.8313(3), 468.8316, 468.8325 FS. Law Implemented 455.213(6), 455.2177(4), 455.2178, 455.2179, 468.8313, 468.8316 FS. History‒New 10-22-13, Amended 10-30-14.