This article covers the Enhanced Continuing Education (CE) required of California real estate license holders and provides an overview of the first tuesday Coming Implicit Bias Course and video programming presenting the new legislated interactive participation component, Access for All: A Game for Fair Housing™.
A California for all
Real estate agents and brokers who expire after 2022 will soon find themselves studying new and innovative course content.
Passed in late 2021, Senate Bill (SB) 263 requires that two hours of implicit bias training be incorporated into continuing education (CE) and pre-licensing Classes. In addition, the mandatory three hours Fair housing (Where Survey) renewal course and Legal aspects of real estate Pre-licensing courses must include an interactive participatory component.
The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) recently clarified that the new course requirements will apply to real estate agents and brokers whose licenses are expiring on or after January 1, 2023.
Further away, late renewals – license holders with an expiry date prior to January 1, 2023, but renewing after the implementation date – will also need to take the supplement Implicit bias course and updated Fair housing which includes the interactive participatory component.
Editor’s Note – The California Legislature is currently considering SB 1495to push back the implementation of the course requirements on implicit biases for pre-licensing course until January 1, 2024, and change the distribution of content among multiple pre-licensing courses. In a webinar with course providers on March 17and2022, the DRE gave the impression that passage of SB 1495 was likely, and has since limited all of its commentary on upcoming educational changes exclusively to the CE context.
Regardless, SB 1495 does not affect the implied continuing education course requirements, which remain in place for agents and brokers whose licenses expire on or after January 1, 2023.
first tuesday has been in active production on this new education since the SB 263 was offered. Since April 2022, the first tuesday New Implicit bias and improved Fair housing courses have been submitted to ERD and are awaiting approval.
DRE has made it clear to course providers that it intends to get “fast track” approvals. However, he clarified that he will not approve the courses or allow them to be available to students. until July 2022 at the earliest.
What this means for real estate dealers
Rest assured – we’ve got you covered.
All first tuesday students whose license expires after 2022 and who complete their renewal before the approval of the new training will have access to the additional material on no additional costs upon approval by DRE in July. For current students, you will be notified when we add the courses to your student account.
For licenses expiring before 2023, you do not need to complete this additional training until your next renewal.
When your license expires after 2022 and you are currently enrolled in a renewal package, you can complete your enrollment now and return to complete the new training in July. However, it is recommended to wait for the improved update Fair housing was re-approved prior to completing this course.
If you are not a first tuesday student and need the updated CE, you can register for these new offerings separately after July 2022 approval by DRE. New Implicit bias and improved Fair housing classes are priced as a combo at $17.50.
Content of the Implicit Bias course – a look into the future
Implicit bias training is now taking place across all industries – in healthcare, policing and now real estate, thanks to the passage in 2021 of SB 263.
Editor’s note — Bookmark our Legislative gossip page for regular updates on new and pending laws affecting your California real estate practice.
The term implicit bias refers to discriminatory thoughts or attitudes of which a person is not fully aware. These thought patterns are subtle, subliminal and below the level of direct awareness. Think of the portion of an iceberg that rests below the surface of freezing water: not immediately apparent, but extremely impactful to those outside of its reach.
Alternately, explicit bias describes the same type of discriminatory thoughts or attitudes, but associated with an awareness of their existence and their influence on behavior. Explicit bias is the steep piece of the iceberg that juts out above the surface of the water, fully visible to all. For example, a real estate agent or landlord who consciously and deliberately refuses to show properties or accept requests from members of a protected group is guilty of explicit discrimination.
It marks the difference between being aware of a stereotype and allowing it to color behavior, or letting it motivate unconsciously – implicitly.
the first tuesday two o’clock Implicit bias training will prepare real estate professionals to identify and counter the elements of systemic racism — conscious and unconscious — in real estate transactions.
Specifically, the course will cover:
- federal and state fair housing law in the context of explicit and implicit bias;
- predatory lending and redlining from both a contemporary and historical perspective;
- the wealth and property gap between white, black, and Latino households, and how it is perpetuated by discriminatory lending and real estate practices;
- the proper implementation of fair employment practices;
- report discriminatory practices observed in the sector;
- adhering to advertising guidelines to avoid discrimination in marketing; and
- the need for greater financial literacy to create a more stable housing market.
Access for All: A Game for Fair Housing™
SB 263 requires the fair housing course to include an “…interactive participatory component that allows the candidate to play a role as both a consumer and a real estate professional.”
To best fulfill the spirit of this law, first tuesday created Access for All: A Game for Fair Housing™ for inclusion in the Fair housing Classes.
Access for All™ presents a variety of interactive scenarios. In some, students will play the role of a real estate dealer. In others, students will play the role of director. Depending on the decisions made by the students, the scenarios change – bad choices give negative results and virtuous choices give positive results.
Access for all™ combines video, animation, text and voice in an engaging educational experience that puts the student directly in the shoes of the participants in the transaction.
Access for all™ was created by the first tuesday diverse team of writers, videographers, designers, programmers, and voice actors, and is hosted by frequent contributor Summer Goralik. Summer was employed as a special investigator for the DRE for six years and worked closely with former Property commissioner Wayne Bell. Summer is a licensed real estate broker with extensive real estate experience that includes private sector, regulatory and law enforcement experience.
The ultimate goal of Access for All™ is to illustrate how fair housing, discrimination, and unspoken bias play out in real-world practice, so students can recognize it and take appropriate action to ensure that the California real estate market remains, well, golden.
While we await DRE approval for our new offerings, DRE licensees whose licenses expire in 2023 can continue to take their renewal courses as usual. Students who have completed their CE with us for their next renewal will not be charged for the Implicit Bias and Fair Housing combo required to renew a DRE license expiring after 2022.
