CE APPROVAL

Rule 21. Continuing Education
a) All certified shorthand court reporters and every court reporter temporarily employed by
the District Courts of Oklahoma, Workers’ Compensation Court, or Corporation
Commission must complete a total of four (4) hours of continuing education per calendar
year.
All official court reporters and all court reporters temporarily employed by the District
Courts of Oklahoma, the Workers’ Compensation Court and the Corporation
Commission must complete one (1) hour of continuing education per calendar year
relating to Oklahoma Court Rules and Procedures. This shall be included in the required
four (4) hours of continuing education.
Certified shorthand reporters must meet these continuing education requirements
beginning the first year after the court reporter is enrolled or admitted by reciprocity.
Temporary court reporters must meet these requirements during any year in which they
are employed by the District Courts of Oklahoma, Workers’ Compensation Court, or
Corporation Commission if they do not successfully pass the Oklahoma certified
shorthand reporter examination during that same year.
b) A court reporter may seek an exemption from the continuing education requirement by
filing with the Board a written statement, verified under oath, setting forth one of the
following grounds for exemption:
1) The reporter has attained the age of sixty-five (65) before or during the calendar
year for which the reporter seeks an exemption;
2) The reporter was a member of the armed forces on full-time active duty during the
entire calendar year for which the reporter seeks an exemption;
3) A medical condition has prevented the court reporter from working as a court
reporter and completing continuing education for the calendar year for which the
reporter seeks an exemption. Written verification by a licensed physician must
accompany such an exemption request.
All exemption requests must be approved by the Board.
Rule 22. 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) Programs that cross academic lines may be considered for approval except for that
portion of the education which must relate to Oklahoma Court Rules and
Procedures.
h) 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) The Oklahoma Court Reporters Association.
i) 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.
j) Any organization not included paragraph j 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.
k) The application required by paragraph j, above, must contain the following
information, in written form:
1) The location of the training;
2) The date of the training;
3) A complete agenda of the training, to include the faculty; and
4) The number of hours of training to be dedicated to Oklahoma Court Rules
and Procedures.
l) 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 q below.
No verification of attendance will be accepted directly from the court reporter.
m) 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 Shorthand Reporters for ________ hours of CE credit.
n) 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.
o) 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.
p) 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.
Rule 23. Annual Continuing Education Report
a) Hours Must be Earned During Calendar Year: Unless an exemption request, as provided
for in Section 1503.1 of Title 20 of the Oklahoma Statutes, has been approved by the
Board, the required number of continuing education hours must be earned during the
calendar year, defined as January 1 through December 31. Failure to obtain the requisite
number of continuing education hours on or before December 31 of the year in which
they are required shall result in a continuing education penalty fee. The amount of the
continuing education penalty fee shall be set by the Board, with the approval of the
Supreme Court.
b) Annual Continuing Education Compliance Report: On or before February 15 of each
year, all court reporters required to earn continuing education hours shall file a
compliance report documenting the previous year’s continuing education, on a form to be
provided by the Board, through the office of the Administrative Director of the Courts.
If the compliance report includes any continuing education hours which were earned after
December 31 of the previous year, the report shall be accompanied by payment of the
continuing education penalty fee. In no case may continuing education hours be used for
more than one calendar year’s compliance report.
c) Due Date: The continuing education compliance report, and any applicable continuing
education penalty fee, must be submitted to the office of the Administrative Director of
the Courts on or before February 15 of each year. No fewer than fourteen (14) days
before February 15, the Board shall send notification to those court reporters who have
not fulfilled the continuing education requirement for the previous year and/or submitted
the continuing education compliance report. Such notification shall be sent by certified
mail to the last known address of the reporter as provided to the Secretary of the Board or
the Administrative Office of the Courts.

d) Suspension: Failure to earn the required continuing education hours, to submit a
completed compliance report, and/or to pay any applicable continuing education penalty
fee on or before February 15 shall result in administrative suspension on that date. In
such case, the Board shall provide a list to the Supreme Court of those court reporters and
shall recommend the suspension of each court reporter’s certificate. The order of the
Supreme Court approving the recommendation of the Board shall operate to suspend the
certificate of the court reporter without necessity of a hearing. Such suspension shall be
effective on February 15 of that year. The court reporter shall be notified of the
suspension by certified mail to the last known address of the reporter as provided to the
Secretary of the Board or the Administrative Office of the Courts.

e) Continuing Education Suspension Fee: Any court reporter whose certificate has been
suspended for failure to earn the required number of continuing education hours, to
submit a completed compliance report, and/or to pay any applicable penalty fee on or
before February 15 shall be subject to a continuing education suspension fee. The
amount of the continuing education suspension fee shall be set by the Board, with the
approval of the Supreme Court.
f) Revocation: Within two (2) months of the administrative suspension, but not later than
April 15 of that year, a suspended certificate may be administratively reinstated, without
need for application or hearing, by submission of a completed compliance report
indicating fulfillment of all continuing education requirements for the previous calendar
year, payment of any applicable penalty fee, and payment of the continuing education
suspension fee. A suspended certificate which has not been reinstated on or before April
15 shall be administratively revoked on that date. In such case, the Board shall provide a
list to the Supreme Court of those court reporters and shall recommend the revocation of
each court reporter’s certificate. The order of the Supreme Court approving the
recommendation of the Board shall operate to revoke the certificate of the court reporter
without necessity of a hearing. Such revocation shall be effective on April 15 of that
year. The court reporter shall be notified of the revocation by certified mail to the last
known address of the reporter as provided to the Secretary of the Board or the
Administrative Office of the Courts.
g) Date of Submission: For purposes of this Rule, the continuing education compliance
report and any required penalty fee or suspension fee shall be considered submitted to the
office of the Administrative Director of the Courts on the date the materials are received
in the Administrative Office of the Courts. In all instances where the date of submission
is at issue, the court reporter shall have the burden of proving the date the materials were
received in the Administrative Office of the Courts. Though it may consider other proof,
the Board will accept the following as conclusive proof of the date of receipt: a return
receipt of delivery for registered or certified mail from the United States Postal Service; a
completed certificate of delivery from a private delivery or courier service other than the
United States Postal Service; or the date the materials are stamped received in the office
of the Administrative Director.
h) Administrative Procedure: Administrative suspension and revocation of a court
reporter’s certificate for noncompliance with continuing education requirements shall be
accomplished as set forth in this Rule. Bona fide hardship exceptions may be considered
on a case-by-case basis by the Board. The formal procedures provided for by the Rules
Governing Disciplinary Proceedings of the State Board of Examiners of Certified
Shorthand Reporters, including the notice and hearing requirements, have no application
to administrative suspensions and revocations based solely on failure to meet continuing
education requirements.
i) Reinstatement after Revocation: Any court reporter who has had his or her certificate
revoked pursuant to this Rule may seek reinstatement only as set forth in Rule 10 of the
Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings of the State Board of Examiners of Certified
Shorthand Reporters.

Continuing education programs by the NCRA and OCRA are presumptively approved for credit, provided the standards set out in the Rules for approval are met.  If a court reporter is requesting credit for approval of other courses, the following rules apply :

l) 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 q below.
No verification of attendance will be accepted directly from the court reporter.