1. (a) Each massage school 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 massage school 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 massage school'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) Individuals who have completed the required minimum 500-hour supervised course of instruction, including the 50-hour internship, are eligible for examination and licensure.
11. (k) A massage school shall not allow a 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 a 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.

Source Note:The provisions of this §117.59 adopted to be effective November 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 4991; amended to be effective February 1, 2020, 45 TexReg 543.