Minimum massage education hours are the hot-button topic in the legislative and regulatory world. States across the country are taking action by increasing minimum program lengths to protect student access to federal aid.
How does increasing hours accomplish this? Recent changes to Gainful Employment rules in late 2023 now require massage therapy schools offering clock-hour programs to align their program length with their state’s minimum-hour education requirements. At the beginning of 2024, 23 states had a 500-hour minimum education requirement. The problem is that a school must offer a program of at least 600 hours to receive federal funding.
Six months into 2024, bills have been introduced, rules have been proposed, and there has been significant progress to ensure students retain access to federal aid.
- Colorado signed into law Senate Bill 24-201, raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 500 to 650.
- Louisiana enacted Senate Bill 353, raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 500 to 625.
- Missouri issued an emergency rule (page 952), raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 500 to 625 until February 27, 2025, with a permanent rule in the works.
- Nevada issued final rules, raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 550 to 625.
- Tennessee signed into law House Bill 1610 and Senate Bill 1588, raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 500 to 650.
We’re only halfway through 2024 and there are proposed rules and bills still active in Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington that would increase massage education program lengths between 600–650 hours.
ABMP has been at the forefront advocating for increasing minimum education hours as a necessary measure to:
- Save federal funding for the benefit of students
- Safeguard student enrollment for the benefit of schools
- Reduce barriers of entry into the profession
- Increase portability; more states now land within the 600–650 minimum education hour requirement, simplifying license reciprocity
If you have questions about what’s going on in your state or how to start grassroots efforts to increase massage education hours, reach out to ABMP’s Government Relations team at gr@abmp.com.