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Regulatory Landscape
Regulation covers four key areas: education, licensure, continuing education, and discipline.
This guide focuses on the disciplinary phase, where boards apply accountability tools to protect the public and uphold professional standards.
Focus
This reference expands on the tools used within the disciplinary phase.
Challenges Boards Face:
- Cases involving sexual abuse, boundary violations, and fraud that demand serious review
- Heightened emotions and differing perspectives that complicate decisions
- High-stakes decisions with lasting impact on professionals and public trust
- Choosing between “check the box” penalties and actions that drive real behavior change
At every stage, boards need reliable, defensible tools
Disciplinary Process Tools
Boards use a range of tools as cases progress, each serving a specific purpose in supporting accountability and protecting the public.
| Tool | Value | Board Use |
|---|---|---|
| Letters of education or admonishment | Creates awareness | Creates a record and signals concern without major consequence. |
| Monetary fines | Deters repeat behavior | Signals a consequence to discourage repeat behavior. |
| EBAS Assessment (pre-disciplinary) | Clarifies understanding | Offers impartial data to guide consent orders and remediation plans. Anchors decisions with defensible evidence. |
| CE courses, webinars, or training | Supports rehabilitation | Supports rehabilitation and behavior change. |
| Restrictions, suspension, or revocation | Enforces accountability | Protects the public and enforces accountability when other measures are not sufficient. |
| EBAS Assessment (post-disciplinary) | Confirms readiness | Provides objective evidence of ethical reasoning, giving boards confidence as they consider reinstatement. |
Why EBAS Matters
EBAS complements other disciplinary tools by adding defensible, evidence-based insight into ethical reasoning and accountability.
It Helps Board:
- Guide early decisions with impartial evidence
- Inform remediation with clear direction
- Gain confidence in readiness for reinstatement
- Anchor decisions in defensibility
