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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 173 / Friday, September 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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licensed customs brokers to pick up prior to the end of the conference.
Additionally, because one of the factors to become a CBP-selected accreditor will be to design and develop certificates for approved education providers to use as needed, certificates of attendance will also be available for any qualifying continuing broker education offered by private, non-profit, or foreign government entities.14
CBP will work with its PGAs to make them aware of the new continuing education requirements, if finalized, so that the PGAs can consider making available certificates of attendance or completion, whether in electronic or paper form. However, CBP is unable to require its PGAs to provide certificates of attendance or completion. Proposed 111.102d1iv thus only requires an individual broker to retain any documentation that the individual broker received from the provider or host of the qualifying continuing broker education that evidences the individual brokers registration for, attendance at, completion of, or other activity bearing upon the individual brokers participation in and completion of the qualifying continuing broker education.
Therefore, the language in proposed 111.102d1iv accounts for the possibility that certificates of attendance or completion may not be issued for all qualifying training or educational activities provided by its PGAs.
2. Recognized Training or Educational Activities CBP is proposing that only certain categories of training or educational activities may be considered qualifying continuing broker education. The list of recognized categories of training or educational activities is contained in paragraphs a2i through iv of proposed 111.103. Paragraph a2i provides that the first category consists of coursework, seminars, or workshops, whether online or in-person, that are conducted by an instructor, discussion leader, or speaker. This category would include most webinars, in-house training, university or college courses, or similar educational programs.
Paragraph a2ii provides that the second category includes symposia and conventions, whether online or inperson. This category would include the annual CBP Trade Symposium and similar educational programs. However, meetings that are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the 14 As part of the RFP process, applicants will be required to provide CBP with information how they plan to handle the post-course certification process for those course providers who apply for accreditation.

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Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended 5 U.S.C. App. FACA, are expressly excluded from this category.
As such, individual brokers would not be permitted to claim continuing education credit for their participation in committees, subcommittees, workgroups, and any other group organized under the auspices of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee COAC, as well as public COAC meetings. CBP is proposing to exclude FACA meetings because these meetings do not serve an educational purpose. FACA meetings are intended, instead, to solicit advice from advisory committee members and to receive input from the public that may later form the basis for government decisions.
The last two categories of recognized training or educational activities are set forth in paragraphs a2iii and iv which will permit individual brokers serving as instructors, discussion leaders, or speakers to receive continuing education credit for the time spent preparing a subject matter for presentation and presenting a subject matter hereinafter, referred to as special allowance. Paragraphs a2iii and iv provide that the subject matter must be presented as part of a training or educational activity that falls within one of the first two recognized categories of training or educational activities that is, the categories described in paragraphs a2i and ii of proposed 111.103, and the special allowance for instructors, discussion leaders, or speakers is subject to the conditions and limitations set forth in proposed 111.103b.
While CBP is proposing to carve out a special allowance for certain instructors, discussion leaders, or speakers, CBP is not proposing to permit individual brokers to claim continuing education credit for authoring articles, books, or other publications. CBP
believes that the learning involved in the authoring of a publication does not necessarily equate to the knowledge derived from a continuing education program that is current and developed by an individual or organization qualified in the relevant subject matter, as the learning does not necessarily include an interactive component. For this reason, CBP is also not including credit hours for independently reading articles, books, or other publications or for paid subscriptions to these types of materials. If these materials are part of an accredited course, then the course hours may be eligible for continuing education credit.

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3. Special Allowance for Instructors, Discussion Leaders, and Speakers Proposed 111.103b sets forth additional requirements and limitations pertaining to the special allowance for instructors, discussion leaders, and speakers. In proposed paragraph b1, CBP sets forth that, contingent upon the approval by a CBP-selected accreditor, an individual broker may claim one continuing education credit for each full 60 minutes spent presenting subject matter, or preparing subject matter for presentation, as a discussion leader, or speaker at a training or educational activity described in paragraphs a2i and ii of this section.
However, the special allowance for instructors, discussion leaders, and speakers is subject to limitations, which are set forth in proposed 111.103b2
and 3. Specifically, proposed 111.103b2i provides that, for any session of presentation given at one time, regardless of the duration of that session, an individual broker may claim, at a maximum, one continuing education credit for the time spent preparing subject matter for that presentation pursuant to paragraph b1ii. Further, proposed 111.103b2ii also imposes a limit on the total number of continuing education credits that an individual broker can earn based on his or her activities as an instructor, discussion leader, or speaker. This limit is 12
continuing education credits per triennial period. CBP is proposing these limitations to ensure that individual brokers receive education in a broad variety of subject matters, not just provide instructions, possibly exclusively on the same subject matter.
As specified in proposed 111.103b3, any instructor, discussion leader, or speaker seeking to claim continuing education credit for the preparation of a subject matter for presentation, or the presentation of a subject matter, at one of a training or educational activity described in paragraph a2i or ii of proposed 111.103, must obtain approval by a CBP-selected accreditor, regardless of whether the training or educational activity is offered by a U.S. Government agency or another provider. CBP is proposing this requirement in order to ensure that the effort and quality of the educational experience derived from the activities as an instructor, discussion leader, or speaker is commensurate with the award of continuing education credit.
Like content providers, the means by which an individual broker claiming continuing education credits under the
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