In 2011, the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) established the National Boating Education Standards Panel (ESP) to advance national agreement in boating program content and course delivery, while also promoting safe recreational boating. ESP adopted an open, consensus-based process to develop boating education standards. In 2014, NASBLA received recognition as an Accredited Standards Developer from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the ESP has been charged with developing standards in adherence with ANSI since that time.
On October 3, 2022, with NASBLA Executive Board approval, the ESP took the first step to certify NASBLA Standard 500-2022: Investigative Training for Boating Incidents as an ANSI standard. This Standard was initially developed by the NASBLA Boating Incident Investigation Workgroup. Given the experience the ESP has with ANSI, the Panel was tasked with guiding this Standard through the ANSI process. The Standard is out for public review until February 23, 2023. With the inclusion of the Investigative Standard, the ESP was charged with administering its first standard that does not strictly pertain to education but still aligns with the mission of the Panel.
On January 31, 2023, the NASBLA Executive Board approved a name change for the ESP based on the expanding scope of the standards it will develop and manage. The new name for the panel is the “National Boating Standards Panel.”