(a) Any person desiring to apprentice in the business of funeral directing in this state shall:
- (1) Be eighteen (18) years of age;
(2) Have graduated from an accredited high school or have been issued a certificate of equivalency issued by:
- (A) The public school system;
- (B) The military service; or
- (C) An accredited college or university.
- (b) He or she shall serve eighteen (18) months in an Arkansas-licensed establishment under a funeral director licensed by the State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services and shall actively assist in the arranging and conducting of fifty (50) services.
- (c) This apprenticeship shall be registered with the board, on forms provided by the board, and individual case reports must be signed by both the apprentice and the licensed funeral director under whose supervision the work was done and filed with the board by the tenth day of the following month.
- (d) If any person is a graduate of an accredited school of mortuary science and has passed the National Conference Exam, that person shall be required to serve only one (1) year as an apprentice funeral director.
- (e) Any person serving a funeral director apprenticeship must obtain at least six (6) hours of classroom instruction during the apprenticeship.
- (f) These hours must be attained in the subject matters of funeral service practices and ethics, laws, and rules affecting funeral service.
- (g) The continuing education courses shall be taken from a provider approved by the board and cover instruction in funeral service practices and ethics, laws, and rules affecting funeral service.