The mission of the North Dakota Board of Nursing (NDBON) is to assure ND citizens quality nursing care and promote public safety through the regulation of standards for nursing education, licensure and practice. The North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) Chapter 43-12.1 Nurse Practices Act contains legislative statutes that regulate nursing in ND. Section 43-12.1-17 Nursing Education Programs, Subsection 1, legally imparts the duty to regulate nursing education in ND to the NDBON. “The board shall adopt and enforce rules establishing standards for in-state nursing education programs leading to initial or advanced licensure.

Section 43-12.1-17 Nursing Education Programs, Subsection 1, also imparts the duty to regulate out-of-state programs by detailing that “Out-of-state programs must be approved by the state board of nursing of the jurisdiction in which the program is headquartered.” Section 43-12.1-04 Persons exempt from provisions of chapter, Subsection 12, includes “students practicing nursing as part of an out-of-state board-recognized nursing education program, upon written notification to the board and contingent upon clinical site availability.” The NDBON adheres to a distance nursing education program recognition process to accomplish this. The process facilitates collaborations between the NDBON and distance nursing education programs seeking clinical placements of pre-licensure (leading to LPN, RN, or APRN licensure) students in ND facilities for clinical practice experiences.