N.C. Schools Exempt from Massage-Board Oversight

Massage-therapy education programs taught through the North Carolina community-college system are now exempt from the oversight of the state’s Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy, despite objections from the board.

According to Rick Rosen, co-director of the Bodywork Therapy Institute massage school and a founding board chairman, “this kind of categorical exemption for massage programs is unprecedented in the massage-therapy field nationwide.”

The law came as a result of a last-minute provision added to the state’s budget appropriations bill, after earlier attempts to pass the legislation were thwarted.

On its Web site, the board lists 11 “not approved” massage-therapy programs whose graduates are eligible for state licensure because of the new law. The exemption went into effect July 1.

Fourteen institutes of massage are still required to have board approval for their graduates to apply for state massage-and-bodywork licenses.

All applicants for state licensure must also have a passing score on the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and be certified by the National Certification Board.

“The losers in this deal are the general public, the board, and the 14 proprietary massage-therapy schools. The public can no longer be assured that all schools are training their students to the same basic standards; nor can they be confident that all licensed massage and bodywork therapists possess sufficient knowledge and skills to practice in a safe and effective manner,” Rosen wrote in a summary of the legislative action.