The CLARB Model Continuing Education (CE) Standard provides clear, consistent guidelines for continuing education requirements in landscape architecture. Designed to support licensure renewal, this standard helps jurisdictions establish defensible CE policies that ensure licensed landscape architects maintain their professional competency throughout their careers.
By adopting the Model CE Standard, licensure boards across the United States, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and Canada can align requirements, creating a more uniform and streamlined approach to continuing education. The standard establishes baseline expectations for professional development while allowing jurisdictions the flexibility to tailor requirements to their specific regulatory frameworks.
Continuing education is a critical component of licensure renewal, ensuring that landscape architects stay current with industry advancements, evolving best practices and regulatory changes — all to better protect public health, safety and wellbeing.
CLARB Model Continuing Education Standard for Landscape Architecture 2024
Approved June 7, 2024.
The CLARB Model Continuing Education Standard for Landscape Architecture 2024 is a policy guidance document established by CLARB to provide additional detail and clarity for meeting continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. If implemented within member jurisdictions, the standard would achieve consistent continuing education requirements across the United States and Canada.
The purpose of continuing education requirements is to ensure a continuing level of competency of landscape architects as a condition for licensure renewal unless specifically exempted under [the jurisdiction's] laws.
Definitions
The terms used in this section shall have the following meaning:
- Activity. Any course or educational endeavor that has a clear purpose and objective and maintains, improves or expands the professional knowledge or skill of the licensee.
- Continuing Education. Training that is designed to ensure continued competence in the practice of landscape architecture.
- Continuing Education Contact Hour. 50 minutes of instruction, not including breaks or meals.
- Health, safety and welfare topics. Any topic related to the regulated scope of landscape architecture practice as determined by the Job Task Analysis or conforming to the health, safety, and welfare classification by the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LA CES).
- Professional development hour (PDH)/Continuing Education Hour (CEH). One hour (with no less than 50 minutes of direct involvement, commonly referred to as a contact hour) of an activity that meets the requirements of these regulations.
- Structured educational activity. Any activity that:
a. has a sponsor other than the licensee,
b. has evidence of pre-planning including a written objective and format,
c. has an assessment component, and
d. is documented and verifiable.
Requirements
- Each licensee shall have completed twelve (12) Continuing Education Contact Hours per 12-month period based on the [jurisdiction’s] renewal cycle.
- Continuing Education Contact Hours shall be related to the practice of landscape architecture and address subjects in the protection of public health, safety and welfare (HSW).
- Other activities may be accepted for Continuing Education credit upon approval by the Board.
- Excess Continuing Education Contact Hours may not be credited to a future calendar year.
- Licensees shall provide proof of satisfying the Continuing Education requirements as required by the Board to renew if audited. If the licensee fails to provide the information as required by the Board, the license shall not be renewed and may be subject to reinstatement.
- Prior to reinstatement of a license, the licensee shall provide proof of satisfying the Continuing Education requirements as required by the Board or earn other continuing education hours to meet minimum requirements and submit documentation.
- All CEH may be audited by the Board.
- During an audit, if the Board does not approve of submitted Continuing Education, the licensee shall have a period of ninety (90) days after notification to provide further information or additional Continuing Education.
Conditions for Acceptance
- To be accepted for meeting the Board’s Continuing Education requirement, a structured educational activity must be:
a. related to the practice of landscape architecture, and
b. address subjects in the protection of public health, safety and welfare (HSW), and
c. performed outside of the normal performance of one’s occupation, and
d. contemporaneously documented.
2. The Board has final authority with respect to approval for courses, specific activities and credit given.
CE Reciprocity
- A non-resident licensee seeking renewal who holds a current license in good standing in another jurisdiction (base state) shall be determined to have met the continuing education requirement (including requirements above) by meeting the continuing education requirements for renewal of that jurisdiction (base state).
- Non-resident applicants for renewal shall demonstrate compliance with their (base state) continuing education renewal requirements of the licensee’s (base state) in a manner determined by the board and may be subject to audit.
- If a non-resident licensee’s (base state) has no continuing education requirements for renewal of a license, the non-resident applicant must comply with all continuing education requirements for renewal in this state.
