October 2021
From the President
May allied health programs require their students to be COVID-19 vaccinated?
In my role as CEO and Legal Counsel of the American Association of Medical Assistants, I have been receiving questions from program directors of CAAHEP-accredited medical assisting programs about the legality of requiring students to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as a condition for entering or completing the program. Fully answering this question requires an analysis of both federal and state law. In this article, I will address the relevant provisions of federal law.
In its publication What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act], the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws (updated June 28, 2021), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stated that covered employers are generally permitted to require employees to be vaccinated. However, the EEOC hastened to add that covered employers—to avoid legal liability—must grant reasonable accommodations to employees who: (1) have a qualifying disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); or (2) refuse to be vaccinated because of “a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance” protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Examples of reasonable accommodations are allowing “an unvaccinated employee entering the workplace [to] wear a face mask, work at a social distance from coworkers or non-employees, work a modified shift, get periodic tests for COVID-19, be given the opportunity to telework, or finally, accept a reassignment.”
Employers are not required to grant an accommodation to employees who are not vaccinated because of a disability or a religious belief if an accommodation would place an “undue hardship” on an employer. In the case of a disability under the ADA, an accommodation is an undue hardship if it imposes “significant cost or difficulty” on an employer. A religious accommodation under Title VII is defined as an undue hardship if it places “more than minimal cost or difficulty” on an employer.
What federal laws and legal principles are applicable to schools that require their students to be vaccinated? Public and private schools are generally covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Therefore, the same reasonable accommodations principles applicable to employers are applicable to schools. In addition, in recent months several lawsuits have been filed against state universities by students claiming that their substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution have been violated by their schools’ mandatory vaccination policies.
A representative case is Klaassen v. Indiana University. On May 21, 2021, Indiana University mandated that all students receive COVID-19 vaccinations before the fall 2021 semester. Religious and medical exemptions are granted to qualifying students. Exempt students must practice social distancing, wear a mask, and be tested periodically for COVID-19. Eight students sued Indiana University, asserting that their substantive due process rights of bodily integrity, autonomy, and refusal of unwanted medical treatment were being violated by the vaccination policy—even with its exemptions.
In denying the students’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the United States District Court of the Northern District of Indiana opined that the United States Constitution “preserves the power of the states, within constitutional limits, to adopt laws to provide for public health and safety.” The court cited two United States Supreme Court decisions and declared that the power of states to “compel reasonable vaccinations” is constitutional. The court concluded that “…the Fourteenth Amendment permits Indiana University to pursue a reasonable and due process of vaccination in the legitimate interest of public health for its students, faculty, and staff.” The students appealed and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court did not overturn the District Court’s decision.
Don
Donald A. Balasa, JD, MBA
CEO and Legal Counsel, American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA)
2021-2022 CAAHEP President
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CAAHEP Achieves Continued Recognition from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) |
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By Kathleen Megivern, JD, Executive Director
At the CHEA Board meeting on October 4, 2021, CAAHEP was awarded continued recognition for the full seven-year period with an interim report due at the halfway mark.
CHEA “accredits the accreditors,” so the process was similar to what we put our programs through! The process began with the submission of an Application Narrative (much like a self-study). CAAHEP Staff received many documents from our CoAs that helped support our narrative about how we meet each CHEA Criterion. There was the usual “back and forth” which was made easier for us because the CHEA Vice President for Recognition is Dr. Lori Schroeder, who worked for CAAHEP for several years and had a good understanding of our complicated structure.
The next step was an “Observation Visit.” Because of COVID-19, this was conducted via Zoom. Our CHEA Observer sat in on a meeting of the Recommendation Review Committee on December 21, 2020, and then the Board meeting in January 2021. She submitted her report on January 22, 2021. While the report was very positive, we needed to clarify a couple of points, much the way our programs can respond to their site-visit report.
Four CAAHEP representatives (Kathleen Megivern, Executive Director; Glen Mayhew, President; Donald Balasa, Chair, Performance Oversight Committee; and, Kathryn Kuntz, Chair, Recommendation Review Committee) appeared (again via Zoom) at the March 9, 2021, public meeting of CHEA’s Committee on Recognition (COR) to answer questions and address concerns from the COR members. Having cleared that hurdle, the positive recommendation from COR was sent to the CHEA Board for final action at their October 4, 2021, meeting.
It took a lot of work on the part of CAAHEP staff and we owe many folks a debt of gratitude for their assistance. Special thanks go to Katie Davis who is the keeper of the report on outcomes URLs for our 2,000+ programs!
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By Gerry Magat, MS, Executive Director, JRC-DMS
Fall heralds in a season of change. Halloween, colder weather, shorter days, and a revised set of Diagnostic Medical Sonography Standards!! The 2020 DMS Standards went into effect on September 1, 2021, for all DMS Programs accredited by CAAHEP through the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). The main highlights of the new Standards are the elimination of the General Concentration and the subsequent creation of 2 separate and independent learning concentrations: Abdomen-Extended and Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB/GYN) Sonography. DMS Programs accredited in the General Concentration were automatically accredited in the Abdomen-Extended and OB/GYN learning concentrations.
The separation of Abdomen-Extended and OB/GYN from the General Concentration allows for greater flexibility and adaptability to DMS programs. Over the past decade, the JRC-DMS has noticed significant changes where diagnostic medical sonography is performed, particularly in obstetrics. Nationwide obstetrics is being performed in maternal fetal medicine centers and rarely is occurring in the medical imaging (radiology) departments. This has posed challenges for many programs in securing sufficient clinical affiliates for student rotations and more importantly, the ability to develop clinical competency.
There is also a trend of vascular sonography being performed in imaging departments with employers seeking a multi-specialty sonographer in abdominal and vascular. Visceral vascular exams of the abdomen can be performed in either medical imaging or a dedicated vascular lab; however, more often, the dedicated vascular sonographer is less experienced in the abdominal work than a general sonographer. The General Concentration separation would provide the opportunity for vascular programs to offer an Abdomen-Extended concentration, and thus, enhance the graduates’ scanning skills in the abdomen and superficial structures. This could potentially increase the graduates’ employment opportunities, and most importantly, enhance their competency level for maximal patient outcomes.
The JRC-DMS hopes that the revised DMS Standards will provide clearer guidance for programs to come into compliance and to ensure the achievement of their program’s goals and outcomes.
A list of affected Diagnostic Medical Sonography programs can be viewed here.
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The CAAHEP volunteers and staff have been very busy behind the scenes with projects and special interest activities, as well as planning upcoming meetings. Here's an overview of our activities and accomplishments.
The newly-appointed International Accreditation Review Committee (IARC) has been making headway in designing the system for international programs to follow when seeking CAAHEP accreditation. This is continuation of the earlier work done to develop vetting questions and processes for international programs to begin the accreditation process. The IARC have been consulting with experts in international accreditation to assist in developing CAAHEP's international procedures. Watch for updates from the IARC in the future.
After a year of research and collaboration with communities of interests, the CAAHEP Distance Education Task Force (DETF) published a White Paper on Distance Education in March 2021. The White Paper includes best practices recommendations in distance education as related to professional accreditation policies, practices, and standards in relation to resources and outcomes. Since then, the DETF has been defining policies and definitions. There will be a session with the DETF at the January Leadership Conference, and we plan to develop educational webinars on distance education topics, in the future. Stay tuned...
In July 2020, a Recent Graduate Task Force (RGTF) was formed to assure that CAAHEP was engaged with this important community of interest. The Task Force is chaired by Recent Graduate Commissioner Kevin M. Sloss, BS, RMA (AMT), MHA(c). Since its formation, the RGFT members assisted with the new CAAHEP website project by providing feedback on the site's user experience. In addition, members will host a panel discussion at the 2022 Annual Meeting in January on their project to "Promote CAAHEP Professions in Underrepresented Communities."
The CAAHEP Standards Committee continues to meet monthly to work with our Committees on Accreditation as they move through the Standards development and/or review process. Earlier this year, a new Standards Template was approved by the CAAHEP Board, and all professions in CAAHEP must transition to the new template by December 31, 2026. The Standards Committee has conducted six open hearings in 2021, culminating in approval of the Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Exercise Sciences, Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring, and Kinesiotherapy Standards thus far. All Standards are posted on the CAAHEP website.
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Special Meeting of the Commission
There is a Special Meeting of the CAAHEP Commission on Friday, October 22, 2021, at 3:00 PM Eastern to vote on two potential new Sponsoring Organizations. The agenda for this virtual meeting, along with registration details, is available on the CAAHEP website.
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2022 CAAHEP Leadership Conference
The 2022 CAAHEP Leadership Conference will be held on January 21, 2022, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. This meeting is specifically for the CAAHEP leaders including the Chairs of the Committees on Accreditation (CoA), Executive CoA Staff, the CAAHEP Board, and Liaisons. Details are available on the CAAHEP website.
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2022 CAAHEP Annual Meeting
The 2022 Annual Meeting will be held on January 22, 2022, at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida. With a theme of "CAAHEP's Future Direction: Defining Excellence in the New Normal," this will be a blended meeting both in-person and virtually for those under travel restrictions. The agenda includes a Hot Topic Breakfast; Introduction of the new CAAHEP Executive Director; a Washington Update with Jay Vaughn, JD, with Cooley, LLC; Recent Graduate Task Force panel on their “Project to Promote CAAHEP Professions in Underrepresented Communities”; and more. To see the full agenda and register for the 2022 Annual Meeting, please visit the CAAHEP website.
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Each profession in the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) system has a Committee on Accreditation (CoA) that consists of experts in the profession that are responsible for reviewing programs and making appropriate recommendations for accreditation to CAAHEP. CAAHEP reviews recommendations received from its CoAs in each profession, assures due process was followed, and takes final action on an accreditation status.
CAAHEP took the following actions on September 17, 2021. Actions are identified by profession, action taken, date of the next comprehensive evaluation, and whether a progress report to improve program compliance is required. In some cases, the concentration and/or degree are also specified. Where available, a link to the program is provided below. To view a copy of the most recent accreditation award letter for a program, which includes information about the accreditation decision, visit the program’s listing on the Find An Accredited Program section of the CAAHEP website.
The following program was found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and was granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2023. This action requires no progress report and was approved on the consent agenda.
Emergency Medical Services-Paramedic
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Emergency Medical Services-Paramedic
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2030. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2031. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Surgical Technology
The following program was found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The program was granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026.
Cardiovascular Technology
The following programs were found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2030.
Medical Assisting
The following programs were found to be in compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines and were granted initial accreditation with the next evaluation to occur no later than 2026. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Anesthesiologist Assistant
Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Medical Assisting
Specialist Blood Bank Technology/Transfusion Medicine
Surgical Technology
The following programs were found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The programs were granted initial accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2026.
Medical Assisting
Recreational Therapy
The following program was found to be in substantial compliance with the accreditation Standards and Guidelines, with one or more Standards requiring a progress report to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA). The program was granted initial accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2029.
Art Therapy
The following program had a transfer of sponsorship approved, with a status of continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2022. This action requires no progress report and was approved on the consent agenda.
Surgical Technology
The following programs had a transfer of sponsorship approved, with a status of continuing accreditation, with the next comprehensive evaluation to occur no later than 2023. These actions require no progress report and were approved on the consent agenda.
Cardiovascular Technology
The following program was placed on probationary accreditation, with one or more Standards requiring critical attention and timely resolution to bring the program into compliance with the Standards and Guidelines and a progress report required to be submitted to the appropriate Committee on Accreditation (CoA).
Medical Assisting
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Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
9355 - 113th St. N, #7709, Seminole, FL 33775-7709
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