According to correspondence from the CCE, the following groups were invited by the CCE to attend the stakeholders meeting:
- American Chiropractic Association
- Association of Chiropractic Colleges
- Congress of Chiropractic State Associations
- Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards
- National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
- International Chiropractors Association
Opposition stakeholders who are known to be attending the meeting include:
- International Federation of Chiropractors & Organizations (IFCO)
- Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation (FVS)
- Movement for Chiropractic Quality & Integrity (MCQI)
There was no indication that any student organization was invited to attend. For example, the World Congress of Chiropractic Students (WCCS) which represents approximately 12,000 students attending chiropractic schools was not listed.
At the end of the December 2011 Hearing held by (NACIQI) to consider the CCE’s petition for continued recognition by the Federal Government, NACIQI added one final recommendation that created serious concerns at the CCE.
That recommendation was that the CCE demonstrate compliance with section 602.13 dealing with the wide acceptance of its standards, policies, procedures and decisions. Just eight days after the hearing, David Wickes MA, DC Chair of the CCE sent a letter to the Assistant Secretary of Education, Eduardo M. Ochoa, asking him to remove this language.
In a move that shocked the conservative faction of the chiropractic profession, the Assistant Secretary honored the CCE’s request stating:
"I disagree with NACIQI’s concern about lack of wide acceptance of the agency’s standards in the field. The dissenting voices in my judgment are a small minority within the profession. Generally, I agree with the arguments presented by the agency in this regard. Accordingly, I am not requiring that CCE address 34 C.F.R. 602.13, or how the agency’s standards advance quality in chiropractic education, in its compliance report.”
Ochoa noted that the recommendations of the Department staff and of NACIQI differed and that he had received written comments from the CCE that opposed NACIQI’s additional recommendation. Ochoa told the CCE:
“I disagree with NACIQI’s concern about lack of wide acceptance of the agency’s standards in the field. The dissenting voices in my judgment are a small minority within the profession. Generally, I agree with the arguments presented by the agency in this regard. Accordingly, I am not requiring that CCE address 34 C.F.R 602.13, or how the agency’s standards advance quality in chiropractic education, in its compliance report.”
Secretary Ochoa has refused requests from several parties for a meeting with him to discuss the rationale behind his decision.
It was during the first stakeholder’s meeting held this Spring in Las Vegas during the Association of Chiropractic Colleges Annual Convention that the CCE revealed Ochoa’s letter absolving them of any responsibility to demonstrate widespread support from the profession. Reports from those attending that meeting revealed widespread disbelief regarding the extent of the arrogance and anger displayed by CCE leadership toward the concerns held by the conservative, traditional faction of the profession that is seeking to ensure, among other things, that vertebral subluxation and “without drugs and surgery” are returned to the accreditation standards.
The Stakeholder meeting is to be held on July 12, 2012 from 8 am to 12 noon at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, Arizona. According to the CCE, the discussion will focus on concerns regarding subluxation terminology and pharmacology and there will be a public comment period.
