1. (a) Each massage school that operates a massage therapy educational program shall follow the curriculum outline prescribed by the department for the minimum 500-hour supervised course of instruction.
2. (b) A student must successfully complete the first 250 hours of the supervised course of instruction, including the successful completion of at least 100 hours of massage therapy techniques and theory, before the student is eligible to enter the internship program.
3. (c) A classroom hour shall include at least 50 clock minutes of actual classroom time and may include a maximum of 10 minutes of break time. Break time for hours which are taught consecutively in one sitting (i.e., in one evening) may be aggregated into a single break time during those consecutive hours, not to exceed 3 hour blocks of instruction, but not at the end of those hours. The 10 minutes of break time may not be accumulated and used in lieu of lunch or dinner breaks.
4. (d) An instructor must be physically present with the student(s) during the classroom hours, including make-up work.
5. (e) 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. A student enrolled at an additional location shall not be required to travel to another location to complete the internship.
6. (f) During the hands-on experience, a massage therapy instructor must be available on the premises of the educational program and be immediately available to the student(s).
7. (g) A massage school shall not require a student to advertise for clients or to obtain clients as part of the internship program. At the student's option and with the educational program's permission, a student may obtain clients for the student's hands-on massage therapy experience.
8. (h) A massage school must provide all of the minimum 500 hours of the supervised course of instruction at the site where the student enrolled, unless otherwise agreed to by both the student and the massage therapy educational program.
9. (i) A massage school shall schedule classes 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. No evening class may be scheduled to extend beyond a reasonable time.
10. (j) Approved internship programs may not exceed 120 hours. Individuals who have completed the required minimum 500-hour supervised course of instruction, including the 50-hour internship, are eligible for examination and licensure. For the purposes of Texas Occupations Code, §455.053(7), 50 hours is the maximum number of hours a student can accumulate in an internship before the student is required to be licensed unless the student is enrolled in a massage school with an internship of up to 120 hours which has been approved by the department in accordance with subsection (m) of this section. No student may complete more than one internship program.
11. (k) A massage school shall not allow an unlicensed student to receive any form of compensation for massage therapy or other massage therapy services.
12. (l) A massage school shall not allow, authorize, or contract with an unlicensed student enrolled in any course or portion of a course offered by the school to provide massage therapy or other massage therapy services to the public for compensation in excess of the internship approved by the department.

13. (m) A massage school shall request and receive approval to offer a course of instruction designed as a massage therapy educational program which exceeds the 500-hour minimum required for licensure and is otherwise conducted in accordance with all rules pertaining to a massage therapy educational program. A massage school shall not offer a massage therapy educational program which exceeds the 500-hour minimum required for licensure without receiving approval in writing from the department. Such approval shall only be granted by the department if:

    1. (1) the massage school is accredited by an accrediting body approved by the U.S. Department of Education; or

    2. (2) the massage school is approved by the department and meets the following requirements:

       1. (A) the massage school also offers the 500-hour minimum course of instruction required for licensure concurrently and the student is allowed to choose whether or not to enroll in a program that exceeds the minimum number of hours required for licensure;
       2. (B) the massage therapy educational program shall follow the curriculum outline prescribed by the department for the minimum 500 hour supervised course of instruction;
       3. (C) all classroom hours in excess of 450 hours are structured to achieve specific educational goals approved by the department which are directly related to one or more of the competencies included in the curriculum approved by the department;
       4. (D) all internship hours in excess of 50 hours are structured to achieve specific educational goals approved by the department which are directly related to the clinical application of theory pertaining to the practice of massage therapy and the manipulation of soft tissue;
       5. (E) the total number of classroom hours does not exceed 880 hours;
       6. (F) the total number of internship hours does not exceed 120 hours;

       7. (G) the massage school:

          1. (i) provides the student with a department form designed to inform the student that the massage therapy educational program exceeds the minimum number of hours required by law for licensure;
          2. (ii) obtains the student's signature on the form before enrollment;
          3. (iii) provides a copy of the signed form to the student; and
          4. (iv) maintains a copy of the signed form in the student's file; and
       8. (H) Failure to comply with this subchapter shall constitute grounds for the department to deny or withdraw approval of programs or to take disciplinary action against a massage school.

Source Note:The provisions of this §117.59 adopted to be effective November 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 4991.