1962-63 — In an effort to help chiropractors cope with basic science statutes, the Council of State Chiropractic Examining Boards of the United States and Canada (COSCEB; now know as the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards/FCLB) organized the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE).

Led by COSCEB officials Devere Biser, DC, Robert Runnells, DC, Gordon L. Homan, DC and Edward M. Saunders, DC and others, this initiative crossed traditional philosophical-political lines within the profession and produced cooperative action to establish a testing agency whose examinations would be accepted in lieu of basic science testing.

Dr. Devere Biser	Dr. Robert Runnells	Dr. Gordon L. Holman

Basic science laws, first introduced in Connecticut and Wisconsin in 1925, eventually spread to 24 American states and several Canadian provinces and had devastated the ranks of the profession by requiring chiropractors (and others) to pass examinations prepared by medically dominated basic science boards (BSBs).

Joseph Janse, DC, ND, president since 1945 of the National College of Chiropractic, had participated in several annual meetings of the national federation of BSBs, and reported back to COSCEB that these BSBs had begun to accept the test results of the National Board of Medical Examiners. Janse urged COSCEB to establish a similar agency and seek the same privileges.

The COSCEB made its decision to establish the NBCE at its annual meeting in 1962 and the new agency was chartered in 1963. Test construction brought together faculty from the feuding chiropractic schools, who worked harmoniously in preparation of test items.

The first NBCE exams were administered in 1963 and test results were gradually accepted by various BSBs and by the chiropractic licensing authorities in various American and Canadian jurisdictions. Basic science laws were repeated during 1967-1979.