3.3 School Licensing, Records, Distance Learning, and Student Protection

School license and locations

Unless exempt, a person or entity providing at least the minimum licensure course to one or more students operates a massage therapy educational program and must obtain a massage school license. The application under section 117.50 includes the approved form, proof of ownership or a lease covering the first 12 months, a current accountant-reviewed financial statement finalized within 180 days, the $1,500 initial fee, a criminal-history check, adequate space and equipment, health-and-safety compliance, and designated-contact information when applicable. TDLR must inspect and approve the school before operation.

Each approved instructional location needs its own license. Instruction cannot begin at an additional location until TDLR issues that location's license, subject to the narrow prior-inspection or public-facility provision in section 117.51. A location change must be approved before the new site is used, and instruction stops at the old site after approval. An emergency approval can address documented circumstances such as fire, flood, or loss of lease, but required documents still must be submitted.

A school license cannot be sold or transferred. A new owner applies within 30 days before the ownership change and assumes the prior owner's refund liabilities. The school license lasts two years; the renewal fee is $1,000. Hours taught while the license is expired do not count toward the 500-hour course.

Facilities, staff, and instruction

A school must have adequate equipment in good working order and enough suitable classroom and laboratory space for current enrollment. Section 117.53 calls its listed laboratory and classroom ratios recommended maximums that a school may vary for conditions; candidates should not misstate recommendations as absolute caps. The license and required human-trafficking sign must be conspicuously displayed.

The designated contact person oversees organization of classes, distance instruction, physical and instructional sites, and administrative records. The owner or contact person must be available during scheduled TDLR inspections. Schools must use qualified teachers and accurately account for student hours. They may not grant hours that were not earned.

Distance learning requires advance written TDLR approval. The school must verify identity, track hours, monitor participation, provide interaction and academic engagement, document compliance, and supply materials. The hands-on technique category and internship cannot be delivered at a distance.

Disclosures before enrollment

Before a prospective student signs, the school provides a program outline, admission requirements, all tuition and other charges, cancellation and refund policy, expected completion time including internship, class and break schedule, attendance and progress rules, make-up requirements and fees, grievance and conduct policies, student-teacher ratio, loan-versus-grant explanation when relevant, the proposed enrollment agreement, the 500-hour licensure notice, instructor list and qualifications, access to the Act and rules, and the statutory licensure-ineligibility warning.

The person gets reasonable review time and an opportunity to tour and inspect equipment. The school uses the department-approved acknowledgment and gives the student a signed copy. The executed enrollment agreement states the parties, location, program, costs, payment terms, hours by classroom and distance method, dates, schedule, and receipt of disclosures. The school and student each keep a copy.

Records and student protections

A school permanently maintains the student's academic transcript. When financial obligations under the enrollment agreement are satisfied, the official transcript must be available within ten calendar days at a reasonable charge. Enrollment agreements, prior-education evaluations, and prior official transcripts are kept at least three years. For inspection, attendance, time-clock, distance-learning, and hour-accounting documents remain available throughout enrollment and for 36 months after completion, withdrawal, or termination.

The school must evaluate qualifying previous education through the department process and cannot require a student to repeat subjects already completed that meet licensure requirements. Sections 117.63 through 117.68 add tuition safeguards, conduct and grievance rules, detailed cancellation and refund formulas, progress standards, and attendance policies. Apply the exact refund rule to the facts; do not substitute an invented flat percentage.

Closure and accountability

A school must protect students when it closes and comply with the records and refund duties in section 117.66. Current anti-trafficking enforcement can also affect the creditability of hours. TDLR may require independent, verifiable evidence before accepting hours associated with an unlawfully operating school. A student's payment receipt alone does not prove attendance or instruction.

Scenario review

• A school opens a second campus before licensure: instruction there is not authorized.
• A new owner buys the license: invalid, because the license is nontransferable and the new owner applies.
• A school reports unearned hours: direct violation, even if intended to help a student graduate.
• A school delivers Swedish technique entirely online: prohibited.
• A financially cleared graduate requests a transcript: the school must make it available within ten calendar days.
• A school hides refund terms until after signature: enrollment disclosures are deficient.

Organizing principle

The school rules create an evidence chain: licensed site, qualified instructor, valid permit, documented participation, accurate hours, permanent transcript, and transparent contract. Break any link and TDLR can question whether the education satisfies licensure.