Tennessee Raises Minimum Education Hours for Massage Therapists

Through the hard work and strong advocacy from school owners across the state, Governor Lee recently signed into law pivotal legislation which increases minimum education hours from 500 to 650 hours. This new law is in direct response to the recent changes to the U.S. Department of Education regulations and will allow schools to continue to offer all of the financial support available to massage therapy students.

Without this new law, federal financial aid would have been in jeopardy for Title IV schools with massage therapy programs above 500 education hours in Tennessee. The state licensing requirement of 650 education hours will now allow massage programs with up to this many hours, continued access to federal financial aid, under the new Title IV regulations recently imposed by the U.S. Department of Education.

In addition, protecting massage program hours is a positive step towards ensuring the highest standards of education and training for massage therapists in Tennessee. By raising the minimum required education hours to 650 hours, this new law maintains the professionalism and competency of massage therapy practitioners for a rapidly emerging healthcare profession, helping ensure improved patient/client outcomes and safety.

Thank you to everyone who advocated for this change in state law while supporting Tennessee’s massage schools and students!