PRESS RELEASE

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Approves CLE Teleconference Pilot Project

MECHANICSBURG, August 2, 2006 - The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has approved a pilot project for the Continuing Legal Education Board to explore the accreditation of teleconferences as an additional form of distance learning.

The pilot project, which will extend for two years beginning October 1, 2006, will allow lawyers the option of earning CLE credit through participation in pre-approved telephone seminars.

"The CLE Board is pleased and excited that the Supreme Court has authorized the potential expansion of the options to assist lawyers in meeting their CLE requirement," said Judge Thomas M. Golden, board chair. "These activities provide flexibility and scheduling options for learners and increase the convenience for lawyers to participate in meaningful programs of interest."

The teleconference pilot project is seen as a natural follow up to a previously successful initiative conducted in 2003-2005 that evaluated computer based/Internet CLE programs. Since the original distance-learning pilot project, the board has engaged in the review of programs delivered over the telephone to individual learners. These activities may be capable of employing equivalent methods of interactivity and instruction. The existing Rules for Continuing Legal Education offer lawyers the option of completing up to four hours of instruction per compliance year by participating in pre-approved, interactive, Internet or computer-based CLE programs. This pilot project will expand the distance-learning options to include pre-approved telephone seminars. Credits earned in this method will be considered distance-learning credit and contribute to the four-hour distance learning cap.

Additional accreditation and standards relative to the pilot project include:

• Only distance learning courses pre-approved by the PA CLE Board may be taken for PA CLE credit.
• Courses must provide mechanisms to ensure interactivity and/or monitor course participation - Participants must complete the program in such a manner that certification of attendance is controlled by the provider. Individual log-in access codes will be provided by the course sponsor.
• Course providers shall agree to report, to the PA CLE Board, on a monthly basis, the course attendance and course evaluation data for each participant who successfully completed distance learning program(s) within (30) days of completion. This information shall be reported in a format determined by the PA CLE Board.

Additional information on the pilot project, including instructions on how to become an approved provider, is available on the Pennsylvania CLE website at www.pacle.org.

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