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Department of Education Revokes 150% Rule for Title IV Funding Eligibility Massage Schools and Education Programs Affected

November 28, 2023

Department of Education Revokes 150% Rule for Title IV Funding Eligibility

Massage Schools and Education Programs Affected

On October 31, 2023, The Department of Education (DoE) published final rulemaking that will greatly impact clock-hour programs in states with minimum clock-hour requirements for licensure or certification, including massage therapy. The press release can be found here.

Currently, and until June 30, 2024, clock-hour based education programs are allowed to offer 50% more education than their state’s minimum requirements and students would remain eligible for financial aid (150% Rule). So, if a state’s minimum requirement is 500 hours, a school may offer a program for up to 750 hours and remain eligible to offer federal student loans.

Effective July 1, 2024, for massage schools and programs to remain eligible for Title IV student loan funding, the program length must be exactly what the state minimum requires (100% Rule). Schools cannot deviate from this number, or the entire program becomes ineligible. There is no grandparenting provision, so there will be a transition period where some students in massage programs will be subject to different hour requirements. A DoE Fact Sheet regarding the rulemaking can be found here. This change applies to all programs that fall under “Gainful Employment” which generally include for-profit career schools and non-degree programs at non-profit and public institutions. 

FSMTB is providing the membership with information on the rule change, as massage regulatory boards and agencies may receive requests to approve or recognize revised programs to comply with this rule and/or may receive requests to change the minimum hours of education required. Alternatively, some schools may choose to start the process of closing their program.

The massage professional associations, ABMP and AMTA, have communicated with their membership regarding advocacy efforts that can be undertaken. COMTA is also aware of the situation. FSMTB is collaborating with these massage therapy organizations to educate constituents and address this issue, as appropriate.

FSMTB supports the position that 625 hours of education is the minimum required for entry-level competence pursuant to the ELME Blueprint from the ELAP and recommended in the Model Practice Act. This is an empirically based standard supported by the Coalition of Massage Therapy Organizations that includes FSMTB, COMTA, AMTA, ABMP, NCBTMB, AFMTE, and the MTF.

Please contact FSMTB’s Government Relations team at gr@fsmtb.org if you have any questions or for further information. FSMTB plans to provide an update on any developments as they become available.