(b) Each licensed physical therapist and certified physical therapist assistant shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement for the triennial registration period during which they are first licensed. In accordance with the intent of this section, adjustment to the mandatory continuing education requirement may be granted by the department for reasons of health certified by an appropriate health care professional, for extended active duty with the armed forces of the United States, or for other good cause acceptable to the department which may prevent compliance.

(c) A licensed physical therapist and certified physical therapist assistant not engaged in practice, as determined by the department, shall be exempt from the mandatory continuing education requirement upon the filing of a statement with the department declaring such status. Any licensee who returns to the practice of physical therapy during the triennial registration period shall notify the department prior to reentering the profession and shall meet such mandatory education requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. 2. During each triennial registration period an applicant for registration as a licensed physical therapist or certified physical therapist assistant shall complete a minimum of thirty-six hours of acceptable formal continuing education, as specified in subdivision four of this section. Any licensed physical therapist or certified physical therapist assistant whose first registration date following the effective date of this section occurs less than three years from such effective date, but on or after January first, two thousand ten, shall complete continuing education hours on a prorated basis at the rate of one-half hour per month for the period beginning January first, two thousand ten up to the first registration date thereafter. A licensee who has not satisfied the mandatory continuing education requirements shall not be issued a triennial registration certificate by the department and shall not practice unless and until a conditional registration certificate is issued as provided for in subdivision three of this section. Continuing education hours taken during one triennium may not be transferred to a subsequent triennium. 3. The department, in its discretion, may issue a conditional registration to a licensee who fails to meet the continuing education requirements established in subdivision two of this section but who agrees to make up any deficiencies and complete any additional education which the department may require the fee for such a conditional registration shall be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the triennial registration. The duration of such conditional registration shall be determined by the department but shall not exceed one year. Any licensee who is notified of the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence, satisfactory to the department, of required continuing education and who practices without such registration may be subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title. 4. As used in subdivision two of this section, "acceptable formal education" shall mean formal courses of learning which contribute to professional practice in physical therapy and which meet the standards prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Such formal courses of learning shall include, but not be limited to, collegiate level credit and non-credit courses, professional development programs and technical sessions offered by national, state and local professional associations and other organizations acceptable to the department, and any other organized educational and technical programs acceptable to the department. The department may, in its discretion and as needed to contribute to the health and welfare of the public, require the completion of continuing education courses in specific subjects to fulfill this mandatory continuing education requirement. Courses must be taken from a sponsor approved by the department, pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner. 5. Licensed physical therapist or certified physical therapist assistant shall maintain adequate documentation of completion of acceptable formal continuing education and shall provide such documentation at the request of the department. Failure to provide such documentation upon the request of the department shall be an act of misconduct subject to disciplinary proceedings pursuant to section sixty-five hundred ten of this title. 6. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be forty-five dollars, shall be payable on or before the first day of each triennial registration period, and shall be paid in addition to the triennial registration fee required by section sixty-seven hundred thirty-four of this article.