Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners Forms Workgroup, Tightens Renewal Testing, But National Groups Say Gaps Remain

NEWARK, N.J.—What started as temporary, pandemic-era adjustments by the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners (KBOE) to reduce student travel and in-person testing has become an extended licensing dispute within the Kentucky optometric community. The controversy, which centers on reports that 21 optometry graduates were licensed between 2020 and 2023 without having passed one or more parts of their three part licensure exam, encompasses the KBOE, National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO), the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO), state officials and legislators, and includes successive regulatory filings, public testimony and renewed concerns about transparency and patient safety.