Senate Bill 2711

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 75-60-5, 73-7-16 AND 73-67-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN NATIONALLY ACCREDITED PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS ARE AUTHORIZED TO FOLLOW FEDERAL STANDARDS FOR HIRING AND TRAINING FACULTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 75-60-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

75-60-5. (1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the following categories of courses, schools or colleges:

(a) Tuition-free courses or schools conducted by employers exclusively for their own employees;

(b) Schools, colleges, technical institutes, community colleges, junior colleges or universities under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning or the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges;

(c) Schools or courses of instruction under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Cosmetology, State Board of Barber Examiners or the State Board of Massage Therapy;

(d) Courses of instruction required by law to be approved or licensed, or given by institutions approved or licensed, by a state board or agency other than the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration; however, a school so approved or licensed may apply to the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration for a certificate of registration to be issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;

(e) Correspondence courses;

(f) Nonprofit private schools offering academic credits at primary or secondary levels, or conducting classes for exceptional education as defined by regulations of the State Department of Education;

(g) Private nonprofit colleges and universities or any private school offering academic credits at primary, secondary or postsecondary levels;

(h) Courses of instruction conducted by a public school district or a combination of public school districts;

(i) Courses of instruction conducted outside the United States;

(j) A school that offers only instruction in subjects that the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration determines are primarily for avocational, personal improvement or cultural purposes and that does not represent to the public that its course of study or instruction will or may produce income for those who take that study or instruction;

(k) Courses conducted primarily on an individual tutorial basis, where not more than one (1) student is involved at any one (1) time, except in those instances where the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration determines that the course is for the purpose of preparing for a vocational objective;

(l) Kindergartens or similar programs for preschool-age children.

(2) Nationally accredited schools shall follow accreditation standards for hiring and training faculty and any state statute that contradicts those federal standards are not applicable to nationally accredited schools. All other schools must comply fully with the applicable state statutes.

SECTION 2. Section 73-7-16, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

73-7-16. All schools of cosmetology or school owners shall have a school license and shall pay to the board the required license fee annually therefor. A grace period of sixty (60) days will be given in which to renew the license, and upon the expiration of the grace period of sixty (60) days, any applicant for the renewal of a school license will be required to pay a delinquent fee in addition to the renewal fee. The board is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate necessary and reasonable rules and regulations for the issuance and renewal of school licenses. However, the board shall not refuse to issue or renew a school's license because of the number of schools already in that area of the state, and any rule promulgated by the board for that purpose shall be null and void.

Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64, Mississippi Code of 1972.

Nationally accredited schools shall follow accreditation standards for hiring and training faculty and any state statute that contradicts those federal standards are not applicable to nationally accredited schools. All other schools must comply fully with the applicable state statutes.

SECTION 3. Section 73-67-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

73-67-35. (1) To obtain a massage therapy license, an applicant must submit to the board the applicant's official and certified transcript(s) from the applicant's massage therapy school. The transcript must verify that the applicant has completed a board-approved training program of not less than six hundred (600) hours of supervised in-class massage therapy instruction, and at least one hundred (100) hours of student clinic, with a minimum grade requirement of "C" or better in every course of instruction, in the following subjects:

(a) Two hundred (200) hours in massage theory and practicum;

(b) Two hundred (200) hours in science of the human body;

(d) One hundred (100) hours in supervised student clinic.

(2) "Massage theory and practicum" must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:

(a) Ten (10) hours in legalities including Mississippi massage law and ethics;

(b) Twenty (20) hours in history, benefits, indications and contraindications;

(c) One hundred (100) hours in massage demonstration and supervised practice, which must include, but is not limited to, client evaluation, stroking, kneading, stretching, friction, percussion, vibration, range of motion, hand held tools and devices designated as t-bars or knobbies, and draping and turning; and

(d) The remaining seventy (70) hours may expand on any or all of the previous three (3) subject areas and/or be related to practical massage.

(3) "Science of the human body" must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:

(a) Twenty (20) hours in anatomy, including all body systems;

(b) Twenty (20) hours in physiology, including all body systems;

(d) Twenty (20) hours in neurology;

(e) Twenty (20) hours in pathology, including medical terminology; and

(f) The remaining one hundred (100) hours may expand on any or all of the previous six (6) subject areas and/or be related to the science of the human body.

(4) "Allied modalities" must include, but are not limited to, a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:

(a) Seven (7) hours in Eastern, European and Western theory/methods;

(b) Eight (8) hours in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid;

(d) Twenty-five (25) hours in hydrotherapy and infrared heat;

(e) Twenty (20) hours in referral methods within the health care system; and

(f) The remaining one hundred thirty (130) hours may expand on any or all of the previous five (5) subject areas, including the Americans With Disabilities Act, and/or be devoted to any approach to massage therapy and wellness, such as trigger points, management, communication, safety, oriental or Eastern massage techniques and specialized populations. Schools with a temporary or probationary board status license must include a comprehensive review class of no less than sixteen (16) hours and three (3) hours to sit for and pass the board comprehensive exam.

(5) "Student clinic" must include at least fifty (50) practical hands-on one-hour massage therapy sessions to be evaluated on documents filed and kept on record at the school for a minimum of six (6) months. These evaluations are to be completed by the clients of the massage therapy sessions and shall include the client's name, address, reason for session, indications and contraindications, date and signature. Each completed session shall constitute two (2) hours of student clinic. The hands-on session must be supervised by an instructor, board licensed in the area being supervised.

(6) A massage therapy program shall not operate in the State of Mississippi unless it meets the minimum standards of curriculum for licensure as stated in this chapter. Massage schools and massage curriculums for licensure preparation must obtain a national accreditation from such agencies as the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation or programs with the same or greater requirements. Existing massage schools will have five (5) years from July 1, 2001, to obtain that accreditation. New massage schools will have five (5) years from the opening of the massage school to show conformance with the accreditation requirements.

(7) No massage therapy program shall consist of more than forty (40) in-class clock hours per week.

(8) Hours credited through transfer credit shall not be recognized by the board unless the following transfer standards are met:

(a) The school shall be provided with a certified transcript from a school licensed or approved in that state;

(b) Courses for which credit is granted shall parallel in content and intensity to the course offered by the school;

(9) Nationally accredited schools shall follow accreditation standards for hiring and training faculty and any state statute that contradicts those federal standards are not applicable to nationally accredited schools. All other schools must comply fully with the applicable state statutes.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.