Two bills recently introduced in the Washington State Legislature would open a pathway for applicants who attended certain massage schools that are not approved by the Washington Massage Board, including out-of-state schools, to obtain a Washington state massage license. Under the bills, HB 2781 and SB 6399, the Board would be required to adopt rules to allow Board-approved massage education programs to establish transfer programs that accept a person’s credits or clock hours from schools that have not been approved by the Board. The non-approved school must be a school that is either accredited by a national or regional accreditation organization, approved by a state authority with responsibility for oversight of vocational programs; or approved by a state agency that regulates massage programs and is a member of the federation of state massage therapy boards.
ABMP will keep you updated on the status of these bills.