1. (a) The provisions of §329.1 of this title (relating to General Licensing Procedure) apply to foreign-trained applicants.
2. (b) If required by §343 of the U.S. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, the foreign-trained applicant must present a prescreening certificate issued by a board-approved prescreening entity. The board will establish by policy a list of board-approved prescreening entities, which will be made available to foreign-trained applicants on request.
3. (c) The foreign-trained applicant's educational credentials and qualifications will be evaluated by a board-approved credentialing entity in accordance with the requirements of subsection (f) of this section. The board will establish by policy a list of approved credentialing entities. In the event that the credentialer does not adhere to the guidelines of subsection (f) of this section, the Board may override the evaluation. An evaluation by a board-approved education credentialing entity is valid for the purpose of licensing in this state for not more than two years after the date of issuance of the evaluation.
4. (d) After arrival in the United States, the applicant must submit a United States residential address and pay all remaining fees. Only after the applicant has arrived in the United States will the board approve registration for the national exam.

5. (e) Designated representative letter.

   1. (1) An applicant may designate a person as a representative by providing in writing to the board the name, telephone number, and address of the person and by stating in the letter that the person will be the designated representative for the applicant.
   2. (2) This letter must be notarized by a notary of the country in which the applicant resides and sent directly to the board. A copy should be sent to the representative by the applicant.
   3. (3) A designated representative may obtain confidential information regarding the application.
   4. (4) A designated representative of an applicant will remain so until the applicant receives his permanent license or until the board is notified in writing by the applicant that the designated representative has been eliminated or replaced. An applicant may have only one designated representative at any time.
   5. (5) The designated representative is not required by the board to have power of attorney for the applicant. A person who does have power of attorney for an applicant may not submit any document that is required by the board to be signed by the applicant and notarized. Documents submitted by a person with power of attorney for the applicant must be submitted in accordance with all requirements set by the Act and rules regarding these documents. Any falsification of documents required for licensing submitted by a designated representative or a person with power of attorney for the applicant may result in denial of license or other penalties to the applicant.

6. (f) Guidelines for board-approved education credentialing entities.

   1. (1) The credentialing entity will review all of an applicant's post-secondary professional education credentials earned outside of the United States. The entity will evaluate allowable transfer credit for the 13th year based on recommendations of the National Council on the Evaluation of Educational Credentials or on current published reference materials. The applicant must have completed, with a passing grade of A, B, C, Pass or Credit, 60 semester hours credit or the equivalent in general education courses from an accredited institution of higher learning. This requirement may be met by credits earned at U.S. colleges or universities, by College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits, or Advanced Placement (AP) according to standards of the American Council on Education. The number of credits earned by CLEP or AP may not exceed 12 semester credits.
   2. (2) The credentialing entity must attest that the institution attended by the applicant has the recognition of the Ministry of Education or the equivalent in that country.

   3. (3) All foreign-trained applicants must demonstrate the ability to communicate in English by making the minimum score accepted by the board on the TOEFL tests. This requirement is waived for graduates of entry-level physical therapy programs in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. For graduates of entry-level physical therapy programs in other foreign countries, the Board may grant an exception to the TOEFL tests if the applicant holds a current license in physical therapy in another state and has been licensed in the U.S. for 10 years prior to application. The Board also may grant an exception to the TOEFL tests to an applicant who submits satisfactory proof that he/she is a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States, and has attended four or more years of secondary or post-secondary education in the U.S. Regarding the Paper-based and Computer-based TOEFL tests: If an applicant makes a score of 50 on the TSE, the board will allow the applicant to submit three original, notarized letters of recommendation from individuals who have practical knowledge of the applicant's ability to communicate successfully in spoken English. Individuals who provide this written testimony must be native English speakers, cannot be related by blood or marriage to the applicant, and at least one of the letters must be from a PT licensed to practice in Texas. These letters must be submitted by their authors directly to the board. At the board's discretion, the letters may be considered satisfactory evidence of proficiency in spoken English. Minimum acceptable scores for the TOEFL tests are as follow:

      1. (A) Paper based TOEFL tests (pbt): TOEFL (reading/comprehension) 580; TWE (writing/essay) 5.0; TSE (speaking) 55.
      2. (B) Computer-based TOEFL tests (cbt): TOEFL (reading/comprehension) 237; TWE (writing/essay) 5.0; TSE (speaking) 55.
      3. (C) Internet-based (ibt): Writing 24; Speaking 26; Reading Comprehension 18; Listening Comprehension 21.

   4. (4) The credentialing entity must attest that the applicant is or was licensed or authorized to practice in the country in which the entry-level degree in physical therapy was granted. If there is no licensure or authorization in such country, the applicant must be eligible for unrestricted practice there. The Board may waive this requirement for an applicant who is not licensed in the country of education due to a citizenship requirement of that country.

      1. (A) If the application is by examination, the license or authorization in such country must be in good standing and the licensure current.
      2. (B) If the application is by endorsement, and the applicant has passed the exam according to Texas standards, the license or other authorization must have been in good standing at the time the license or authorization in such country expired.
   5. (5) The credentialing entity adopts the policy of "scaling" as defined by the National Council on the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials, American Association of Collegiate Registrar and Admissions Officers, Washington D.C.; i.e., a year of foreign study is worth no more than a year of American study, regardless of contact hours, or general education is converted to equate to approximately 30-32 United States semester credit hours per year, and professional education to approximately 36 semester credit hours per year.
   6. (6) The credentialing entity must use a method to convert classroom hours to semester units which has a ratio no greater than the following: 15 contact lecture hours = one semester unit/hour; 45 contact laboratory hours = one semester unit/hour. When lecture/lab hours are not delineated on the transcript or syllabi, the evaluator may use an appropriate ratio and indicate the ratio used in the evaluation.
   7. (7) The credentialing entity must list and assign a grade for each course taken by the applicant, by assigning the grade of A, B, C, D, F, Pass, Fail, Credit or No Credit. Those grades assigned by the credentialing entity must be the grades that are converted to the U.S. equivalent, in accordance with the most current version of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs Handbook on the Placement of Foreign Graduate Students. The credentialing entity must identify and list those courses which would not transfer to the U.S. as a C or above or Pass or Credit in accordance with the most current version of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs Handbook on the Placement of Foreign Graduate Students. An applicant must earn a grade of A, B, C, or Pass or Credit in any professional physical therapy education courses. An applicant with a grade of D, F, Fail, or no credit appearing for a professional physical therapy education course on his/her evaluation who has not successfully retaken the course with a grade of A, B, C, Pass or Credit is not eligible for licensure in Texas.
   8. (8) The credentialing entity must attest that the applicant has successfully completed an educational program substantially equivalent to U.S. programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and has earned the equivalent of a minimum of 72 semester hours of professional physical therapy education. The applicant must have completed courses in each of the following broad areas: basic sciences, clinical science, and physical therapy theory and procedures. The applicant must have also successfully completed United States required equivalent courses/hours in clinical education. The applicant must have successfully completed at least 15 semester credit hours in clinical education (upper division level) but will receive credit for no more than 23 semester hours. If the applicant has completed the required course work in clinical education but the transcript does not reflect the required credit hours then the credentialing entity may use the conversion formula of 60 contact hours per one semester credit.
   9. (9) If the degree awarded is substantially equivalent to a degree in physical therapy as awarded by CAPTE-accredited programs in regionally accredited colleges and universities in the United States, the credentialing entity must use one version of the Coursework Evaluation Tool for Foreign Educated Physical Therapists (Coursework Evaluation Tool) developed by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy when evaluating an applicant's credentials. The version of the tool used must correspond at minimum to the year the entry-level degree was awarded. Deficiencies must be identified and must show the subjects and credit hours necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Coursework Evaluation Tool. If the degree received is from a CAPTE-accredited program located outside the U.S., the program is considered equivalent to a domestic CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program, and the applicant is exempt from meeting the requirements of the Coursework Evaluation Tool.
   10. (10) The credentialing entity must submit to the board the resumes of any and all credential analysts and the physical therapy consultants involved in the evaluation of foreign-trained applicants for licensure in Texas. This must be submitted to the council at least 30 days prior to any analysis performed by that person.
   11. (11) The credentialing entity must submit to the board a board-approved form, properly signed and notarized, in which it agrees to use the board's guidelines and the Coursework Evaluation Tool to evaluate transcripts of applicants seeking licensure in Texas.

Source Note:The provisions of this §329.5 adopted to be effective November 11, 1993, 18 TexReg 7546; amended to be effective October 26, 1994, 19 TexReg 8112; amended to be effective January 3, 1995, 19 TexReg 10099; amended to be effective April 12, 1995, 20 TexReg 2385; amended to be effective November 6, 1995, 20 TexReg 8794; amended to be effective May 8, 1996, 21 TexReg 3709; amended to be effective July 12, 1996, 21 TexReg 6079; amended to be effective April 28, 1997, 22 TexReg 3589; amended to be effective October 29, 1997, 22 TexReg 10508; amended to be effective April 19, 1999, 24 TexReg 2936; amended to be effective October 21, 1999,24TexReg8977; amended to be effective February 18, 2001, 26 TexReg 1338; amended to be effective August 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 6021; amended to be effective October 13, 2002, 27 TexReg 9327; amended to be effective March 29, 2004, 29 TexReg 3175; amended to be effective March 15, 2006, 31 TexReg 1299.