1. (a) A qualifying massage therapy school shall:

   1. (1) Be authorized to conduct business as a massage therapy school under all applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which the school is located;
   2. (2) Keep all records of practical hours described in Plc 904.04 on file for not less than 3 years after the student’s completion of the massage therapy program, either as originals or copies stored electronically;
   3. (3) Make all school logs as described in Plc 904.04(c) available and subject to inspection by the OPLC and the advisory board for massage therapists and the post-secondary education agency in the jurisdiction in which the school is located; and

   4. (4) Subject to (b), below, be accredited by:

      1. a. The Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation (COMTA);
      2. b. The Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES); or
      3. c. The Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET).

2. (b) A qualifying massage therapy school that is not accredited as required by (a)(4), above, shall require study for at least 725 hours over a period of not less than 6.5 months of the following topics for not less than the stated number of hours:

   1. (1) Anatomy and physiology, 150 hours;
   2. (2) History, theory, practice, benefits, and contraindications of massage therapy, related modalities, and adjunct therapies within the scope of practice of a massage therapist, including but not limited to Swedish massage and hydrotherapy, 375 hours;
   3. (3) Hygiene and sanitary practices, including blood-borne pathogen standards and adult CPR and first aid, 50 hours;
   4. (4) Health service management, business practices, and ethics of massage, 50 hours; and
   5. (5) Not less than 100 practical hours that are verifiably documented in accordance with Plc 904.04.

3. (c) The program offered by a qualifying massage therapy school may include one or more courses offered via the Internet as distance learning, provided that:

   1. (1) The distance learning courses are not palpation dependent, hands-on courses;
   2. (2) All palpation dependent, hands-on courses are taken in person at the qualifying massage school;
   3. (3) Specific learning goals for each course are posted online;

   4. (4) All distance learning courses provide students with on-going access to interaction between faculty and students through use of online communications tools that include:

      1. a. Online discussion board;
      2. b. Virtual classroom;
      3. c. Responsive email; and
      4. d. Live chat;
   5. (5) Each course includes a weekly scheduled time for students to communicate live with the course instructor;
   6. (6) Each course provides timely and reliable feedback to students; and
   7. (7) Each distance learning course includes the use of an online gradebook to allow students to monitor their progress throughout the course that is updated within 10 working days after each activity that affects a student’s grade.

Source. #14387, eff 10-17-25, EXPIRES: 10-17-35