Rule 21 Standards Governing Approval of Continuing Education Programs

The following standards will govern the approval of continuing education programs by the Board.

a) The program must have significant intellectual or practical content and its primary objective must be to increase the court reporter’s professional competence as a reporter.

b) The program must be offered by a sponsor having substantial, recent experience in offering continuing court reporter education of demonstrated ability to organize and present effectively continuing court reporter education. Demonstrated ability arises partly from the extent to which individuals with court reporter and/or legal training or educational experience are involved in the planning, instruction and supervision of the program.

c) The program itself must be conducted by an individual or group qualified by practical or academic experience. The program including the named advertised participants must be conducted substantially as planned, subject to emergency withdrawals and alterations.

d) Thorough, high quality, readable, and carefully prepared written materials must be made available to all participants at or before the time the course is presented, unless the absence of such materials is recognized as reasonable and approved by the Board. A mere outline without citations or explanatory notations will not be sufficient.

e) The program must be conducted in a comfortable physical setting, conducive to learning and equipped with suitable writing surfaces.

Approval for credit may be given for programs where audiovisual recorded or reproduced material is used. Television video programs and motion picture programs with sound shall qualify for continuing education credit in the same manner as a live continuing education program provided: (a) the original program was approved for continuing education credit as provided in these rules, or the visual recorded program has been approved by the Board under these rules, and (b) each person attending the video presentation is furnished written materials which meet the requirements set forth above.

f) Approval for credit may be granted for computer-based or other technology-based continuing education programs which otherwise meet the criteria established in these rules, subject to standard course approval procedures and appropriate certification of course completion.

g) Continuing education programs sponsored by the following organizations are presumptively approved for credit, provided that the standards set out in these rules are met:

1) The National Court Reporters Association. This presumption shall include programs approved by the National Court Reporters Association for credit and not conducted by the Association.

2) Effective with an amendment of 20 O.S.§ 106.4(A)(1) (last amended by Laws 2023, SB 296, c. 100, §1, eff. 11/1/2023), eliminating the prohibition against the exclusive use of a steno-mask for court reporting, the National Verbatim Reporters Association. This presumption shall include programs approved by the National Verbatim Reporters Association for credit and not conducted by the Association.

3) The Oklahoma Court Reporters Association.

h) Approved seminars may be advertised in informational brochures and program materials provided by the sponsoring body. The organizations whose programs are presumptively approved shall give adequate notice that a program or seminar it conducts is not approved for continuing education credit in the event the program or seminar does not meet the standards set forth above. The Board may at any time re-evaluate and grant or revoke presumptive approval of a provider.

i) Any organization not included in paragraph g and h above, desiring approval of a course or program shall apply to the Board by submitting an application in letter form with supporting documentation at least ninety (90) days prior to the date for which the course or program is scheduled. The Secretary of the Board will advise the applicant in writing by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved.

j) The application required by paragraph i, above, must contain the following information, in written form:

1) The location of the training;

2) The date of the training; and

3) A complete agenda of the training, to include the faculty;

k) A court reporter desiring approval of a course or program which has not otherwise been approved shall apply to the Board by submitting an application in letter form with supporting documentation as follows:

1) If approval is requested before the course or program is presented, the application and supporting documentation shall be submitted at least sixty (60) days prior to the date for which the course or program is scheduled

2) If approval is requested after the applicant has attended a course or program, the application and supporting documentation shall be submitted within ninety (90) days after the date the course or program was presented or prior to the end of the calendar year in which the course or program was presented, whichever is earlier.

The Secretary of the Board shall advise the court reporter by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved. If the course is approved, the court reporter(s) attending the course for credit must arrange with the provider to provide directly to the Board a list of attendees as provided in paragraph n below. No verification of attendance will be accepted directly from the court reporter.

The provider of an approved continuing education program may announce or indicate as follows:

This course has been approved by the State Board of Examiners of Certified Court Reporters for ________ hours of CE credit.

m) The Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts, upon approval of a continuing education program or the announcement of a continuing education program by an approved sponsor, may submit to the program provider a list of name and address information of certified, court reporters or mailing labels for those reporters. It is the responsibility of the sponsor to notify court reporters of the training and to request the mailing labels.

n) Within thirty days (30) days following an approved continuing education program, the sponsor or accrediting entity shall furnish to the Board and/or the Administrative Office of the Courts an alphabetized list of attendees. No other verification of attendance at any continuing education program will be accepted, unless such verification is recognized as reasonable and approved by the Board.

o) Sponsors of the seminars or courses qualifying for continuing education credits shall keep records of attendance for a period of two (2) years following the date of the course or seminar.