AN ACT TO MODIFY THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE LICENSURE AND PRACTICE OF CHIROPRACTIC and to establish acupuncture certification standards.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 90‑139(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is created to consist of eight members appointed by the Governor and General Assembly. Six of the members shall be practicing doctors of chiropractic, who are residents of this State and who have actively practiced chiropractic in the State for at least eight consecutive years immediately preceding their appointments; four of these six members shall be appointed by the Governor, and two by the General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 120‑121, one each upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No more than three members of the Board may be graduates of the same college college, program, or school of chiropractic. The other two members shall be persons chosen by the Governor to represent the public at large. The public members shall not be health care providers nor the spouses of health care providers. For purposes of Board membership, health care provider means any licensed health care professional and any agent or employee of any health care institution, health care insurer, health care professional school, or a member of any allied health profession. For purposes of this section, a person enrolled in a program to prepare him to be a licensed health care professional or an allied health professional shall be deemed a health care provider. For purposes of this section, any person with significant financial interest in a health service or profession is not a public member.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 90‑142 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(13)    Establish certification standards for the practice of acupuncture by doctors of chiropractic.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 90‑142.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 90‑142.1.  Supervised training programs authorized.

(a)        As used in this section, preceptorship program means a clinical program of an approved chiropractic college program in which a student of chiropractic, under the direct supervision of a licensed chiropractor, observes the licensed chiropractor and may perform chiropractic services as defined in G.S. 90‑143(a) and subject to G.S. 90‑151. For the purposes of this section, direct supervision means that the supervising licensed chiropractor must be within the immediate patient treatment area and available to the student at all times.

(b)        Each student enrolled in a chiropractic college program that meets the accreditation requirements of G.S. 90‑143 may participate in a preceptorship program.

SECTION 4.  G.S. 90‑143 reads as rewritten:

§ 90‑143.  Definitions of chiropractic; examinations; educational requirements.

(a)        Chiropractic is herein defined to be the science of adjusting the cause of disease by realigning the spine, releasing pressure on nerves radiating from the spine to all parts of the body, and allowing the nerves to carry their full quota of health current (nerve energy) from the brain to all parts of the body.

(b)        It shall be the duty of the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners (hereinafter referred to as Board) to examine for licensure to practice chiropractic in this State any applicant who is or will become, within 60 days of examination, a graduate of a four‑year an accredited chiropractic college program that is either accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education or deemed by the Board to be the equivalent of such a college program and who furnishes to the Board, in the manner prescribed by the Board, all of the following:

(1)        Satisfactory evidence of good moral character.

(2)        Proof that the applicant has received a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accreditation body recognized by the United States Department of Education.Education or its international equivalent.

(3)        A transcript confirming that the applicant has received at least 4,200 hours of accredited chiropractic education. The Board shall not count any hours earned at an institution that was not accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education or was not, as determined by the Board, the equivalent of such an institution at the time the hours were earned.a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from an accredited chiropractic program.

The examination shall include the following studies: neurology, chemistry, pathology, anatomy, histology, physiology, embryology, dermatology, diagnosis, microscopy, gynecology, hygiene, eye, ear, nose and throat, orthopody, diagnostic radiology, North Carolina jurisprudence, palpation, nerve tracing, chiropractic philosophy, theory, teaching and practice of chiropractic, jurisprudence and any other related studies as the Board may consider necessary to determine an applicant's fitness to practice. The Board may include as part of the examination any examination developed and administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners or its successor organization that the Board considers appropriate, and the examination may be administered by a national testing service. The Board shall set the passing scores for all parts of the examination.

(c)        The Board shall not issue a license to any applicant until the applicant exhibits a diploma or other proof that the Doctor of Chiropractic degree has been conferred.

(d)       The Board may grant a license to an applicant if the applicant's scores on all parts of the examination required by the Board equal or exceed passing scores set by the Board and the applicant satisfies all other requirements for licensure as provided in this Article.

SECTION 5.  G.S. 90‑146 reads as rewritten:

§ 90‑146.  Graduates from other states.

A graduate of a regular an accredited chiropractic school program who comes into this State from another state may be granted a license by the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners as required in this Article.

SECTION 6.  G.S. 90‑151 reads as rewritten:

§ 90‑151.  Extent and limitation of license.

Any person obtaining a license from the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners shall have the right to practice the science known as chiropractic, in accordance with the method, thought, and practice of chiropractors, as taught in recognized chiropractic schools schools, programs, and colleges, but shall not prescribe for or administer to any person any medicine or drugs, drugs requiring a prescription as defined by the Food and Drug Administration, nor practice osteopathy or surgery.

SECTION 7.  G.S. 90‑154.3(b) reads as rewritten:

(b)      For purposes of disciplinary action, the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners may adopt rules that establish and define standards of acceptable care with respect to:

(1)        Examination and diagnosis.

(2)        The use of chiropractic treatment.

(3)        Physiological therapeutic agents.

(4)        Diagnostic radiology.imaging.

(5)        The maintenance of patient records.

(6)        Sanitation, safety, and the adequacy of clinical equipment.

SECTION 8.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2025.