2012 Arkansas Code
Title 17 - Professions, Occupations, and Businesses
Subtitle 3 - Medical Professions
Chapter 86 - Massage Therapists
Subchapter 3 - -- Registration
§ 17-86-306 - Massage therapy school.

(a) A person shall not establish, operate, or maintain a massage therapy school without first having obtained a certificate of massage therapy school licensure issued by the Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapy.

(b) A massage therapy school shall not be approved by the board or granted a certificate of licensure until the appropriate application and inspection forms as prescribed by the board have been completed and approved and the licensure fee has been paid.

(c) (1) Inspection of the school premises will be made by a board member and required forms completed and returned to the Executive Director of the Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapy with approval or recommendations.

(2) Should the school facilities not pass the first inspection and, after recommendations, failures are corrected, a second inspection will be made within thirty (30) days to determine the school's eligibility.

(d) (1) Schools shall require a physical examination by a medical doctor that the student poses no health risk to give and receive massage and a tuberculosis test verifying that the licensee is free from contagious tuberculosis.

(2) The school shall be required to maintain proof of the examination and the tuberculosis test and furnish additional information and documents as may be required by the board or its appointee during the inspection.

(e) The board may certify the school and provide for licensure thereof if the school follows a curriculum approved by the board consisting of not fewer than five hundred (500) hours of in-classroom instruction over a term of not fewer than four (4) months consisting of the following subjects:

(1) One hundred seventy-five (175) hours of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and contraindications to massage therapy;

(2) Two hundred twenty-five (225) hours of technique;

(3) Twenty-five (25) hours of hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, and heliotherapy;

(4) Twenty-five (25) hours of hygiene and infection control;

(5) Twenty-five (25) hours of massage therapy law, business management, and professional ethics; and

(6) Twenty-five (25) hours of related subjects as approved by the board.

(f) (1) The fee for establishing a school shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).

(2) The initial inspection fee for each school shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).

(3) The annual renewal and inspection fee for each school shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).

(g) The curriculum established in subsection (e) of this section shall be followed for all massage therapy programs.