Student Enrollment
All massage therapy schools in Texas are required to provide prospective students with information regarding the content of a massage therapy course of instruction including but not limited to:
- the length of time required for completion of the program
- a notice stating the minimum number of hours of instruction required for the student to become eligible for licensure, and other details including internship hours.
- the schedule of tuition, fees, and other charges
After providing this information to the prospective student, the school is required to give the prospective student a reasonable amount of time to review the materials before signing the enrollment agreement and department-approved acknowledgement form used to verify receipt of all required information.
School Curriculum
TDLR approves only the minimum 500-hour course of instruction required for licensure as a massage therapist as provided in Tex. Occ. Code § 455.156. Upon approval, TDLR generates a certificate of approval for the school’s 500-hour curriculum, along with the massage therapy school license. In accordance with 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 117.59, a school is required to follow the curriculum outline prescribed for the minimum 500-hour supervised course of instruction.
Payment of Tuition
A massage school is required to develop and implement a written policy relating to the methods of payment available to enrolling students. Students cannot be held liable for any tuition, fees or other charges not disclosed in the policy at the time of enrollment.
If student financing is available through any form of arrangement or agreement between the school and a lending institution, the complete terms of the arrangement must be disclosed in the policy:
- all charges
- true annual percentage rates
- name, and address of the lending institutions must be disclosed in the policy.
Scholarships
A licensed massage school may offer scholarships to prospective students to reduce the cost of attendance. A scholarship may be provided at the time of enrollment and cannot include conditions or a commitment to perform massage therapy or other massage therapy services. Scholarships may be based upon need, academics, or other qualifying criteria set forth by the school. Terms of the scholarship must be published and disclosed to prospective students by the school in the written policy relating to the methods of payment available to enrolling students. A scholarship may be in the form of a grant, payment, or discount to the scholarship awardee to be used for payment of tuition, fees, and related expenses.
A licensed massage school may not require repayment of a scholarship or condition a scholarship on terms that require the student to agree to an extended internship or to work in a specific licensed massage establishment. A scholarship is a grant, payment, or discount that is not required to be repaid.
Any funds received from the student, or on behalf of the student, must be recorded in a format that is current and readily accessible to department representatives. Receipts shall be issued to the student. The funding source and the reason for the charges shall be clearly identified on both the school’s record and the student’s receipt.
A massage school may not allow a student to engage in the unlicensed practice of massage to pay for tuition, fees, or other charges associated with the student’s massage therapy education. A massage school shall not allow a student to receive any form of compensation for massage therapy or other massage services.
Internships
An internship program must provide a student with a minimum of 40 hours of hands-on massage therapy experience at the location of the student’s enrollment. The internship must be completed at a licensed massage school. The student may not begin any internship hours prior to the successful completion of 250 hours of supervised course instruction, including successful completion of at least 100 hours of massage therapy techniques and theory. During the hands-on experience during the internship, a TDLR-licensed massage therapy instructor must be available on the premises of the massage school and be immediately available to the students.
A massage school shall not require a student to advertise for clients or to obtain clients as part of the internship program. A massage school shall schedule instruction and internship clients so that the students will be able to complete the program during the length of time stipulated in the pre-enrollment information.
Advertisements seeking prospective students must include the full, correct name of the school and the license number and indicate that only training is being offered not that the school is seeking prospective employees. A massage therapy school cannot require students to enter into a commitment to work for specific establishments for payment of tuition, fees or any other charges, upon their graduation from a massage therapy school.