Founding Document · 4-13-2026

The A&P Group

Attendees & Presenters — the original handbook authored by Dr. Alan Homestead establishing how the group operates, who joins, and how members earn CE.

This handbook is informational only and is not legal advice. CE rules reflect the latest Washington state law and will be updated as that law changes. Final responsibility for category selection, documentation, and audit defense rests with the individual licensee under WAC 246-851-120.

Reason to Exist — CE Rules

There is a 10-hour requirement for synchronous in-person CE per 2-year license renewal period (WAC 246-851-090(2)(b)).
There is rare synchronous in-person CE available in the Tri-Cities.
Washington statute and rule do not prescribe specific credentials for the individual presenter, but credit categories do constrain the eligible source of the education — see Article 8 below.
Two or more ODs meeting for CE, where one OD presents a topic to the others, may qualify as synchronous in-person learning under WAC 246-851-090(1)(b), provided the licensee can defend the chosen credit category under WAC 246-851-120.
Presenter qualifies for 3 hours CE per each hour of CE presented (WAC 246-851-150(2)(a)), subject to the Category 3 limits below.
Attendee qualifies for 1 hour CE per hour of attendance, claimed as Category 2 (WAC 246-851-140) in most cases — see attendee guidance below.

Category 3 (Teaching) limits

First-time-only: "Credit will be granted for only the first time a course is taught" (WAC 246-851-150(2)(b)). A presenter who repeats the same lecture on a future rotation may not claim Category 3 credit a second time.
10-hour cap: "A maximum of 10 credit hours in category 3 may be earned in any two-year reporting period" (WAC 246-851-150(1)). Across all teaching, presenters cannot exceed 10 Category 3 hours per renewal cycle.
Audience qualification: "Qualifying courses must be presented to practitioners or allied health professionals" (WAC 246-851-150(2)(c)). A&P meets this by design.

Attendee category guidance

Bottom line: attendees of A&P Group lectures normally earn 1 hour of Category 2 CE per hour of attendance under WAC 246-851-140. Category 2 covers organized peer-led / study-club style continuing education from sources outside the six Category-1 channels.

Category 2 cap: up to 22 hours may be claimed in Category 2 per two-year renewal period.
Synchronous in-person requirement: attendance at an A&P meeting counts toward the 10-hour synchronous in-person requirement of WAC 246-851-090(1)(b), regardless of which numerical category the hours are recorded under.
When Category 1 may apply instead: if a specific A&P lecture is also separately sponsored or co-presented by a Category-1 source listed in WAC 246-851-125 (AOA or its affiliates, an ASCO-accredited school, a COPE-approved course, an ARBO member board, a recognized academic optometric organization, or an ophthalmic referral center), the attendee may claim that hour as Category 1 instead. The A&P Group on its own is not one of those six sources.
Category 5 (self-study) remains available for the article-plus-synopsis route under WAC 246-851-170 — capped at 10 hours and not earned by lecture attendance.

The Board's email of March 30, 2026, expressly leaves the final category determination to the individual licensee; the guidance above reflects how A&P attendance is intended to be claimed.

Is A&P CE Acceptable by the WA State Board?

On March 30, 2026, Pamela Bright (Program Manager, Office of Health Professions, Washington State Department of Health) wrote in response to the group's inquiry:

"The board does not approve CE. If you have determined the 'A&P Group' falls into one of the categories below, you can count that towards your CE. If you need interpretation of the laws, you may want to seek legal counsel."

WAC 246-851-125 — Category 1: Credit for education from optometry-specific organizations.
WAC 246-851-140 — Category 2: Credit for education from non-optometric organizations.
WAC 246-851-150 — Category 3: Credit for teaching.
WAC 246-851-155 — Category 4: Credit for publishing and exhibiting.
WAC 246-851-170 — Category 5: Credit for self-study.

For CE questions, contact Pamela Bright, Program Manager — Pamela.Bright@doh.wa.gov · 564-669-9146 · doh.wa.gov

WAC Map — Maximum CE Hours Legally Obtainable via the A&P Group

The table below collects every Washington Administrative Code (WAC) section that governs how a Tri-Cities A&P Group member can earn continuing education, and the maximum hours each section can contribute to the 50-hour, two-year renewal cycle through A&P participation. Caps are per two-year reporting period unless noted. This is a quick reference — Articles 1–10 below contain the full text and citations.

WAC	What it governs	Max hours via A&P (per 2-yr cycle)
246-851-090	50-hour total requirement; 10-hr synchronous in-person minimum; documentation rules.	A&P in-person meetings satisfy the full 10-hr in-person minimum; total hours capped by the category rules below.
246-851-120	Licensee-attestation standard — no Board pre-approval; licensee defends category on audit.	N/A — gating rule that authorizes non-COPE peer CE like A&P.
246-851-125	Category 1 — optometry-specific sources (AOA/OPW, ASCO schools, COPE, ARBO boards, recognized academic optometric orgs, ophthalmic referral centers).	0 hrs by default. The A&P Group is not itself a Category-1 source. An individual A&P lecture may be claimed as Cat 1 only when it is also separately sponsored or co-presented by one of the six listed sources.
246-851-140	Category 2 — non-optometric / peer-led education.	Up to 20 hrs as an attendee (1 hr per hour of attendance, up to the 20-hr Category 2 cap).
246-851-150	Category 3 — teaching (3 hrs CE per hour taught, first-time-only).	Up to 10 hrs as a presenter (hard cap, regardless of how many lectures given).
246-851-155	Category 4 — publishing & exhibiting.	0 hrs via A&P attendance/presentation (separate activity). Cap is 10 hrs from publishing.
246-851-170	Category 5 — self-study (article + 2-page synopsis).	0 hrs from lecture attendance. Up to 10 hrs separately if a member independently completes self-studies on topics related to A&P lectures.
246-851-225	Mandatory health-equity training (≥2 hrs every 4 yrs, board-approved list).	0 hrs via A&P — must come from a DOH-approved health-equity course.
246-851-230	Practice management content (cap 10 hrs per cycle).	Counted inside the Category 2 (or Cat 1) hours above, not additive — subject to a 10-hr practice-management sub-cap.
246-851-235	Cultural competency in clinical care (cap 2 hrs per cycle).	Up to 2 hrs within the Category 2/3 totals above when an A&P lecture is on a qualifying cultural-competency topic.
246-851-245	One-time suicide-prevention training (board-approved model list).	0 hrs via A&P — must come from a DOH model-list course.
246-12-210	CE record-retention period (at least 4 years — two reporting cycles).	N/A — recordkeeping rule. A&P retains rosters and slide decks to assist members under audit.

Bottom line — most A&P hours per 2-year renewal

The realistic maximum a single member can earn through A&P Group participation in one 2-year renewal cycle is about 30 hours of the 50-hour requirement — and that's only if they both present and attend actively.

10 hrs Category 3 — hard cap on teaching credit (WAC 246-851-150(1)). 3 hrs of credit per hour taught, first time only, so roughly 3.3 hrs of original lecture presented hits the ceiling.
20 hrs Category 2 — hard cap on non-optometric / peer-led CE (WAC 246-851-140). 1 hr per hour of attendance.
+ satisfies the full 10-hr synchronous in-person minimum (WAC 246-851-090(2)(b)) — those hours sit inside the 30, not on top.

Why it can't go higher

WAC 246-851-125 requires at least 25 of the 50 hours be Category 1 from one of six listed optometry-specific sources (AOA / affiliates, ASCO schools, COPE, ARBO boards, recognized academic optometric organizations, ophthalmic referral centers). The A&P Group is not one of those sources, so 0 hrs of Cat 1 come from A&P by default. An individual A&P lecture only counts as Cat 1 if it's separately co-sponsored by one of those six.
WAC 246-851-225 (health equity, ≥2 hrs every 4 yrs), WAC 246-851-245 (one-time suicide prevention), and WAC 246-851-235 (cultural competency, cap 2 hrs) all require board-approved courses — 0 hrs via A&P unless the specific lecture qualifies on the DOH approved list.
WAC 246-851-155 (Category 4 publishing) and WAC 246-851-170 (Category 5 self-study) are separate activities — not earned by attending or presenting at A&P.

Bottom line: ~30 hours max per 2-year cycle, or ~60% of the WA requirement. The remaining ≥20 hours (including the mandatory 25 hrs of Category 1) must come from outside the A&P Group.

All caps reflect the WAC chapter as last reviewed 10/17/2025. This summary is not legal advice; each licensee remains responsible for category selection and audit defense under WAC 246-851-120.

Overview & Mission Statement

The A&P Group is for the presentation of low or no-cost synchronous in-person continuing education to optometrists, with each A&P member, on a rotating schedule, presenting the CE to the group.

There is no need to facilitate asynchronous or virtual CE.

The A&P Group is formed intentionally in a way to keep the group collegial and fun. People are invited individually — to help manage how fast the group grows, who to invite, how many to invite, manage the presentation schedule, and preserve discretion and influence over the culture of the group.

Member Advantages

Low or no cost — 1 hour CE for attending, up to 3 hours for presenting CE (Category 3, first-time-only, 10 hr cap per cycle).
Get required synchronous in-person CE without traveling away from home town.
Meet with fellow ODs regularly.
Learn about far-away lectures without attending them.
Learn about eye topics without reading a journal or listening online.
Learn colleagues' experience and point of view.
Each OD is personally invited to join.
Brush up on organizational and public speaking skills.

Cost

Present 1–2 hours of CE as your name rotates through the membership roster. Rotating schedule example: if 6 ODs are in A&P, each OD presents CE every 6th meeting.

No fee is charged for CE as long as possible, but things may change with a growing group. Administering a larger group may someday run into costs, so a minimal fee might be needed — examples include projector and screen rental, room rental, snacks, and organizational time.

Member Responsibilities

A commitment to give or arrange a presentation each time your name rotates around.
Either personally present the material (up to 3 hours Category 3 CE per hour of presentation, first time the course is taught — WAC 246-851-150), or arrange a 1-hour presentation by a non-A&P person.
Presenting is a commitment you make to the other members when you attend a presentation.
Presenter arranges the lecture location, date, time, and topic.
Presenter brings signed CE certificates to the meeting for all attendees, each containing — at minimum — the licensee's name, course title, date of attendance, hours earned, and the course title or subject, per WAC 246-851-090(3).
Presenter carries the list of upcoming presenters. Add new attendees to the list when they make contact. Pass the list to the next presenter at each meeting.
Arrive early and stay for at least 50 minutes of each hour of presentation to qualify for 1 hour CE. The "50 minutes = 1 hour" rule is the ARBO/COPE contact-hour convention the Board has historically accepted as the practical standard; WAC 246-851 itself does not define a "credit hour" in minutes for Categories 1, 2, or 3, relying instead on the program sponsor's stated hours and the licensee's good-faith documentation under WAC 246-851-090(3).
Attendance is encouraged (to provide an audience for the presenter) but optional.

Date of Meeting

The 2nd Monday of the month is the aim, to make long-range planning easier for presenters and attendees. Always subject to change as needed.

Start & End Time

On-time starting and ending is important — it respects everyone's time and plans. Start time is typically 6:00 p.m.; 50 minutes of presentation qualifies for 1 hour of CE, so 45 minutes of presentation, 5 minutes of Q&A, then discussion of the next meeting — hopefully ending at 7:00 p.m.

For meetings with 2 hours of CE:

Option A — 1st hour: start 6 p.m., 45 min presentation, 5 min Q&A, 10 min break. 2nd hour: start 7 p.m., 45 min presentation, 5 min Q&A, discussion of next meeting, finish 8 p.m.
Option B — Back-to-back: start 6 p.m., 1.5 hr presentation, 10 min Q&A (finish 7:40 p.m.), discussion of next meeting, finish 7:50–8 p.m.

Food

Since meetings are at dinner time, attendees are encouraged to bring a snack or food. No food is served by the group. If food service ever becomes desirable, the half-way break makes room for a sponsor to give a 10-minute promo and provide food (sandwiches, pizza) for the group. Many vendors would welcome a chance to speak to a group of ODs for the price of take-out food.

Scheduling a Presentation

Getting a commitment to speak may be the biggest initial hurdle for ODs. In that light, a new attendee is scheduled to present at the very next meeting after their initial attendance.

Example: if the next meeting is April, and prior to it an OD says they want to join A&P, they are welcome to attend in April and are scheduled to present in May. This right-away approach shows how seriously the commitment is taken.

When two people wish to join within one month, both can be scheduled to present consecutively at a two-hour meeting.

CE Topic

Topic is the presenter's choice. Examples:

A discussion of recent self-research.
A review of an interesting article.
A review of an interesting lecture.
A review of an interesting patient.
A lecture (or co-lecture) by a non-A&P person arranged by the presenting OD.

The presentation must qualify for CE according to WAC 246-851-120: "All continuing education courses must contribute to the professional knowledge and development of the practitioner, enhance services provided to patients, and contribute to the practitioner's ability to deliver current standards of care."

app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-851-120

Presentation Night

Every effort is made to start the meeting on time.
Presenter brings the A&P binder containing the list of upcoming presenters; it is passed to next month's presenter.
Presenter brings copies of the updated list of participating ODs and phone numbers, and gives one to each OD.
At the start of the presentation, next month's presenter announces date, time, place, and topic of next month's presentation. No other reminders are sent (to minimize work).
Presenter makes CE certificates available after 50 minutes of presentation.

Retain Presentation Notes

In the event of a WA state board audit, the presenter should maintain a copy of presentation notes.

Under WAC 246-12-210, licensees must retain CE documentation for the period the Board may audit (currently at least four years, covering two full reporting periods). Tri-Cities A&P Group recommends retaining the slide deck or outline, the signed sign-in roster, and a copy of every certificate issued — see Article 9 below for the full audit checklist.

Presentation Tips

Bring a clock to watch your time.
Someone will make you aware that there are 5 minutes left.
A presentation is 50 minutes: 45 minutes of speaking, 5 minutes for questions and discussion. 130–140 words per minute for clarity, emphasis, and audience comprehension — about 6,075 words for 45 minutes.
Each slide or visual aid adds 15–30 seconds, reducing the words you need.
Better to have slightly less content than to rush. Quality delivery at a comfortable pace is more effective than cramming.
When first used, spell out acronyms and abbreviations; assume the audience does not know.
If appropriate, review basic anatomy before discussion of complex topics. Assume everyone needs a review.
Stay on time. Start talking at 6:00 p.m. and let the room quiet down naturally. Don't wait for everyone's attention. Finish 45 minutes later and allow 5 minutes for questions and discussion.
Start preparing for your presentation a month early — hiccups and delays in the work are nearly unavoidable.

New Attendees

Contact the presenter.
Presenter adds new attendee name to the "Coming Presenters" list.
Presenter gives the new attendee a date for their presentation.
Presenter emails the new attendee a copy of "The A&P Group" handbook.

Washington CE Rules in Detail

The articles below paraphrase and cite Washington Administrative Code (WAC) Chapter 246-851 and guidance from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Board of Optometry. They are provided for Tri-Cities A&P Group members and are not legal advice. The controlling text is the WAC itself — each licensee is personally responsible for compliance and for retaining documentation for audit. Last reviewed against WAC chapter update of 10/17/2025.

Article 1

The 50-hour requirement (WAC 246-851-090)

A licensed Washington optometrist must complete and document 50 total hours of continuing education every two years in compliance with WAC 246-851-090 and WAC 246-12-170 through 246-12-235.

Within those 50 hours, the following format rules apply:

Minimum 10 hours synchronous in-person — instructor physically in the same room as the learner.
Maximum 25 hours asynchronous — no real-time interaction, learner-paced.
Remaining hours may be any combination of synchronous in-person or synchronous virtual (live, real-time, instructor able to give immediate feedback).
During a declared state or federal emergency affecting Washington, all hours may be completed synchronous-virtual or asynchronous.

One-time and recurring required trainings (jurisprudence exam, suicide prevention, health equity) count toward the 50 hours but are not optional — see Article 6.

Source: WAC 246-851-090 · DOH Optometrist CE page

Article 2

The Board does not pre-approve courses (WAC 246-851-120)

Washington is a licensee-attestation state. Under WAC 246-851-120, the Board of Optometry expressly states that it will not authorize or approve specific continuing education courses or materials. Instead, every course must:

contribute to the professional knowledge and development of the practitioner,
enhance services provided to patients, and
contribute to the practitioner's ability to deliver current standards of care.

The Board relies on the integrity of the licensee and the program sponsor. It reserves the right, on audit, to reject credits from any category if the course did not provide appropriate information or training. This is why non-COPE coursework — including peer-led lectures like those hosted by Tri-Cities A&P Group — is permissible: COPE accreditation is one acceptable source, not the only one.

Source: WAC 246-851-120

Article 3

Category 1 — Optometry-specific education (WAC 246-851-125)

Minimum 25 of the 50 hours must be Category 1. Category 1 credit may be obtained from any of the following optometry-specific sources — note that COPE is only one of six listed sources:

The American Optometric Association (AOA) and its state affiliates (e.g., Optometric Physicians of Washington).
Educational institutions accredited by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).
ARBO's Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) — Accredited education.
ARBO member boards (state boards of optometry).
Nationally recognized academic and scholarly optometric organizations, including but not limited to the American Academy of Optometry, the Optometric Extension Program, and the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.
Ophthalmic referral centers and secondary/tertiary ophthalmic specialty providers.

Source: WAC 246-851-125

Article 4

Category 2 — Non-optometric education (WAC 246-851-140)

Maximum 20 hours per two-year period. Acceptable sources:

AMA-approved Category 1 and Category 2 CME courses (or affiliate-approved).
First aid, CPR, and other emergency-related courses.
Industry-sponsored scientific courses that enhance knowledge of ocular conditions, diseases, and their treatments.

Source: WAC 246-851-140

Article 5

Categories 3–5, practice management, cultural competency

Category 3 — Teaching (WAC 246-851-150): Maximum 10 hours. Three credit hours are granted for each course hour taught, but only the first time a course is taught, and the course must be presented to practitioners or allied health professionals. This is directly relevant to Tri-Cities A&P Group presenters.

Category 4 — Publishing & exhibiting (WAC 246-851-155): Maximum 10 hours. Five credits for each paper, exhibit, publication, or book chapter authored and published in a recognized optometric, scientific, or medical journal. Credit may be claimed only once per work.

Category 5 — Self-study (WAC 246-851-170): Maximum 10 hours. Two credit hours per self-study completed. Each self-study must include a copy of the article (with publication source and date) and a two-page typewritten and dated synopsis of what was learned. Material must come from professional optometric or medical literature.

Practice management (WAC 246-851-230): Maximum 10 hours per two-year period.

Cultural competency in clinical care (WAC 246-851-235): Maximum 2 hours per two-year period.

Sources: WAC 246-851-150, 246-851-155, 246-851-170, 246-851-230, 246-851-235.

Article 6

Mandatory trainings (count toward the 50)

Jurisprudence examination (WAC 246-851-090(2)(a)): Must be completed and passed during the first full CE reporting period after initial licensure. Worth 3 hours of CE.

Suicide prevention (WAC 246-851-245): A one-time, board-approved training of at least 3 hours that includes screening and referral. Must be on the DOH model list (WAC 246-12-601 through 246-12-650). Required by the end of the first full CE reporting period after August 1, 2021, or after initial licensure, whichever is later.

Health equity (WAC 246-851-225): Minimum 2 hours every four years, completed under WAC 246-12-800 through 246-12-830. Must be completed by the end of the second full CE reporting period after January 1, 2024, or after initial licensure, whichever is later. The board may randomly audit up to 25% of licensees every two years.

Sources: WAC 246-851-225, 246-851-245.

Article 7

Documentation each licensee must retain (WAC 246-851-090(3))

Documentation of each CE credit must be a certificate of completion, letter, or other document that:

verifies attendance or completion (except Category 5 self-study, which uses the article + synopsis),
is provided by the organization offering the activity, and
contains at minimum: date of attendance/completion, hours earned, and course title or subject.

Records must be retained for audit per WAC 246-12-210. The Board may audit and disallow credits that do not meet the standards of WAC 246-851-120.

Article 8

How Tri-Cities A&P Group lectures map to these rules

Tri-Cities A&P Group does not seek COPE accreditation and does not represent its lectures as COPE-approved. Lectures are designed so that members may, in good faith and consistent with WAC 246-851-120, claim credit in the following ways:

Presenters may claim Category 3 teaching credit (3 hours per course hour taught, first presentation only) under WAC 246-851-150, provided the audience is practitioners or allied health professionals.
Attenders may claim credit under Category 1 (WAC 246-851-125) when the lecture is presented by, or under the auspices of, a qualifying optometry-specific source listed in that section, or under Category 2 (WAC 246-851-140) if the content fits that category. Otherwise, attenders may consider whether the activity fits Category 5 self-study, which has its own documentation requirements.
Each lecture issues a certificate that includes date, hours, course title, presenter, and the sponsoring source — meeting the minimum fields required by WAC 246-851-090(3).
Live in-person lectures count toward the 10-hour synchronous in-person minimum; live online lectures count as synchronous virtual; recorded lectures count as asynchronous (subject to the 25-hour asynchronous cap).

Final determination of whether any specific Tri-Cities A&P Group lecture qualifies for credit — and in which category — rests with the individual licensee. Members should review WAC 246-851-120 before claiming credit and should not rely on Tri-Cities A&P Group's certificate alone.

Article 9

What a lecture must contain to pass a state audit

The Department of Health may, under WAC 246-12-190, request that any licensee produce records substantiating every claimed CE hour. When the underlying activity is a non-COPE peer lecture (such as one hosted by Tri-Cities A&P Group), an auditor evaluates whether the lecture, as delivered and documented, satisfies WAC 246-851-120 and the recordkeeping standard of WAC 246-851-090(3). The following checklist reflects what auditors look for in practice.

1. A defined, optometry-relevant learning objective. WAC 246-851-120 requires that the activity contribute to the practitioner's professional knowledge, enhance patient services, and contribute to delivery of current standards of care. The lecture should open with written learning objectives that map to one of those three purposes. Vague topics ("interesting cases") without stated objectives are routinely disallowed.

2. Subject matter within the scope of optometric practice. For Category 1 credit (WAC 246-851-125), the content must be optometry-specific — diagnosis, treatment, pharmacology, ocular disease, optics, contact lenses, binocular vision, low vision, pediatrics, jurisprudence, etc. Practice management may be claimed but is capped at 10 hours per period (WAC 246-851-230). Cultural competency in clinical care is capped at 2 hours (WAC 246-851-235). Topics outside these scopes (e.g., marketing, general business) generally do not qualify.

3. A qualified presenter. The presenter should be an optometrist, ophthalmologist, physician, PhD scientist, or similarly credentialed professional whose qualifications match the subject matter. Presenter name and credentials must appear on the certificate and on the syllabus or announcement retained in the audit file.

4. Sufficient depth for the hours claimed. One CE hour equals at least 50 minutes of substantive instruction (the standard contact-hour definition used by ARBO/COPE and routinely applied by the Board). Breaks, meals, introductions, and Q&A unrelated to content do not count toward the hour. A one-hour claim should reflect at least 50 minutes of teaching plus a defined Q&A or interactive period for synchronous formats.

5. Correct format classification. The lecture must be correctly identified as one of:

Synchronous in-person — instructor and learner physically in the same room. Counts toward the 10-hour in-person minimum.
Synchronous virtual — live, real-time video where the instructor can give immediate feedback. Attendance must be verifiable (login records, polls, or sign-in).
Asynchronous — recorded, learner-paced. Subject to the 25-hour asynchronous cap, and must include a mechanism that confirms completion (e.g., post-test or completion timestamp).

6. Verifiable proof of attendance. For synchronous lectures, a signed in-person roster or a platform-generated attendance log (Zoom report, etc.) should be retained by the sponsor. The licensee's certificate alone is sufficient for the licensee's audit file, but Tri-Cities A&P Group retains the sponsor-side roster in case the Department requests corroboration.

7. A certificate that meets WAC 246-851-090(3). Every certificate issued for an A&P lecture must contain, at minimum:

full name of the attending licensee,
course title (matching the announced title),
date(s) of attendance or completion,
number of CE hours earned,
format (in-person, synchronous virtual, or asynchronous),
presenter name and credentials,
sponsoring organization (Tri-Cities A&P Group) and a statement of the CE category being offered (e.g., "Category 1, WAC 246-851-125" or "Category 3 — Teaching, WAC 246-851-150" for the presenter), and
signature or verifiable issuance from the sponsor.

8. A retained syllabus or outline. While not expressly required for every category, auditors frequently ask for the lecture outline, slide handout, or agenda when a non-COPE activity is claimed. Tri-Cities A&P Group retains a copy of every presenter's slide deck or outline so a member under audit can produce it on request.

9. Honest, defensible category placement. Under WAC 246-851-120 the Board reserves the right to reject credits from any category on audit. Before claiming credit, the licensee should be able to answer:

Which WAC section authorizes this credit?
Which Category (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) is it being claimed under?
Does the source (sponsor or my own teaching) fit that section's listed sources?
Am I within the per-category cap for this two-year cycle (e.g., 20 hr Cat 2, 10 hr Cat 3, 10 hr Cat 4, 10 hr Cat 5, 10 hr practice mgmt, 2 hr cultural competency)?

10. Records retained for at least the audit window. Under WAC 246-12-210, licensees must retain CE documentation for audit. Tri-Cities A&P Group recommends retaining all certificates, syllabi, and (for Category 5) the article plus two-page synopsis for at least four years — covering two full reporting periods.

Sources: WAC 246-851-090, 246-851-120, 246-12-190, 246-12-210.

Article 10

Alternative compliance & audits

Under WAC 246-851-090(4), a licensee may alternatively meet CE requirements by holding current American Board of Optometry certification (or substantially equivalent program recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties), or by practicing solely outside Washington and meeting that jurisdiction's CE requirements. These alternatives do not waive the suicide prevention, health equity, or jurisprudence requirements.

The Department of Health audits licensees under WAC 246-12-190. If selected, the licensee — not Tri-Cities A&P Group — must produce records sufficient to substantiate every claimed hour.

Founded by Dr. Alan Homestead

This handbook is the founding document of the Tri-Cities A&P Group, authored 4-13-2026. For current internal policies or to suggest a revision, contact the group's administrator on the Contact page.