AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DIETITIAN/NUTRITIONIST LICENSURE ACT.

This Act is a Substitute for House Bill No. 449. Like House Bill No. 449, this Substitute Act comprehensively amends Chapter 38 of Title 24 of the Delaware Code, the Dietitian/Nutritionist Licensure Act, to modernize the regulation of dietitians and nutritionists in this State by doing all of the following: (1) Replacing the single “licensed dietitian/nutritionist” license with 2 distinct licensure categories—“licensed dietitian” and “licensed nutritionist”—each with its own defined scope of practice, educational pathway, supervised practice requirements, examination standards, and protected professional titles. Licensed dietitians are authorized to provide medical nutrition therapy for complex and non-complex disease states and medical conditions, including in inpatient and high-acuity settings, while licensed nutritionists are authorized to provide medical nutrition therapy for non-complex conditions in low-acuity outpatient settings. (2) Updating the definitions in Chapter 38 of Title 24 to add defined terms, including “medical nutrition therapy”, “complex”, “non-complex”, “practice of dietetics”, “practice of nutrition”, “nutrition care process”, “therapeutic diet”, “qualified supervisor”, “telehealth”, and “registered dietitian”. (3) Raising the minimum educational requirement for licensed dietitian applicants from a baccalaureate degree to a master’s degree with a program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, increases the required supervised practice experience from 900 to 1,000 hours, and modernizes examination requirements by tying them to the Commission on Dietetic Registration. This Substitute Act establishes a parallel licensure pathway for licensed nutritionists based on a master’s or doctoral degree in nutrition with a supervised practice experience of at least 1,000 hours and passage of the certified nutrition specialist examination administered by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists. (4