NY A10089

Authorizes the Department of Health to develop and certify funeral director apprenticeships as an alternative to licensing examinations for individuals with collegiate-level funeral service education.

Requires certified apprenticeships to be one to four years long, led by a licensed funeral director, and include a one-year residency with curriculum covering embalming techniques, funeral arrangement procedures, regulatory compliance, ethics, and industry best practices.

Allows applicants to apply for apprenticeships through a department-administered process and requires posting a certificate of registration at the business location where the apprenticeship is conducted.

Permits individuals who complete a certified apprenticeship to be licensed as funeral directors and as undertakers and embalmers upon payment of applicable fees, without taking the standard licensing examinations.

Takes effect 180 days after becoming law, with authority granted for implementing regulations to be completed by that effective date.