(A) An "internationally-educated
applicant" is a person whose physical therapist or physical therapist
assistant education was obtained in a program not accredited by the commission
on accreditation of physical therapy education and located in a country other
than the United States.
(B) All internationally-educated
applicants applying to be licensed as a physical therapist must show an
educational background deemed by the physical therapy section to be reasonably
equivalent to the requirements established in section 4755.42 of the Revised
Code, division (A)(4) of section 4755.45 of the Revised Code, and paragraph (A)
of rule 4755-23-02 of the Administrative Code.
(C) All internationally-educated
applicants applying to be licensed as a physical therapist assistant must show
an educational background deemed by the physical therapy section to be
reasonably equivalent to the requirements established in section 4755.421 of
the Revised Code, division (A)(4) of section 4755.451 of the Revised Code, and
paragraph (B) of rule 4755-23-02 of the Administrative Code.
(D) All internationally-educated applicants must submit to
the section an evaluation of education credentials prepared by a professional
education evaluating service approved by the section.
(1) Evaluations of the
applicant's international education coursework content and required
semester credits shall be completed utilizing the appropriate coursework
evaluation tool adopted by the federation of state boards of physical therapy.
The appropriate coursework evaluation tool means the latest edition coursework
evaluation tool that applies to either of the following:
(a) The period when the applicant was initially licensed or
registered as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant in the
initial country of license; or
(b) The period when the applicant completed their physical
therapist or physical therapist assistant education program if the country in
which the education program was completed does not issue a physical therapist
license or registration.
(2) The section may
accept an evaluation completed for another state if the other state's
educational requirements for licensure, including the coursework tool used,
were substantially equivalent to Ohio's for the period of
review.
(3) The following
professional education evaluating services are approved by the section to
conduct and submit an evaluation of education credentials to the
section:
(a) Foreign credentialing commission on physical therapy,
inc. (FCCPT).
(b) International consultants of Delaware, inc.
(ICD).
(c) International education research foundation, inc.
(IERF).
(4) A list of approved
professional education evaluating services shall also be available on the
board's website (http://otptat.ohio.gov).
(E) To be considered reasonably equivalent to the
requirements established in rule 4755-23-02 of the Administrative Code, the
applicant's international education must contain evidence of the content
and distribution of coursework identified in the appropriate coursework
evaluation tool identified in paragraph (D)(1) of this rule.
(F) The general education requirements established in rule
4755-23-02 of the Administrative Code may be satisfied by credits earned
through successful completion of college level examination program (CLEP) or
advanced placement (AP) credits.
(G) Evaluations prepared pursuant to paragraph (D) of this
rule reflect only the findings and conclusions of the evaluating service and
shall not be binding upon the physical therapy section. In accordance with
division (B) of section 4755.45 of the Revised Code or division (B) of section
4755.451 of the Revised Code, if the physical therapy section determines that
an applicant's education does not meet the conditions of division (A)(4)
of section 4755.45 or division (A)(4) of section 4755.451, the physical therapy
section shall send written notice via certified mail stating the reasons why
the applicant's education is not reasonably equivalent.
(H) All internationally-educated applicants shall
demonstrate a working knowledge of English by obtaining:
(1) Scores of at
least:
(a) 4.5 on the test of written English (TWE);
(b) Fifty on the test of spoken English (TSE);
and
(c) Two hundred twenty on the computer based test of
English as a foreign language (TOEFL) or five hundred sixty on the paper based
TOEFL; or
(2) Scores on the TOEFL
iBT of at least:
(a) Twenty-four on the writing section;
(b) Twenty-six on the speaking section;
(c) Twenty-one on the reading comprehension
section;
(d) Eighteen on the listening comprehension section;
and
(e) Eighty-nine on the overall examination.
(3) An
internationally-educated applicant whose native language is English and who
graduated from a physical therapy or physical therapist assistant education
program located in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand, or
the United Kingdom shall not be required to demonstrate a working knowledge of
English.
(I) An applicant must meet the
requirements established in paragraph (H) of this rule prior to the board
making the applicant eligible to sit for the examinations specified in rule
4755-23-03 of the Administrative Code.
(J) An internationally-educated applicant
who is a candidate for licensure by endorsement may request a waiver for the
TOEFL requirements established in paragraph (H) of this rule. In order to
qualify for a waiver, the applicant must show proof of completion of a minimum
of one thousand hours of clinical practice each year in a state or territory of
the United States or in a country listed in paragraph (H)(3) of this rule for
three of the last ten years immediately prior to application. No more than five
years can have elapsed since the applicant has been actively engaged in the
practice of physical therapy. The physical therapy section may, at its
discretion, grant a waiver of the TOEFL requirement.
