California Alliance of Massage & Bodywork Schools

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08 October 2006

CAMBS Meeting 03 November 2006

CAMBS is holding a meeting open to all California Massage School Owners and Administrators to discuss the implications of the failure of SB 412 and possible future attempts at licensure. Also, at this meeting there will be a report on the activities of the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards which will possibly have positive effects on massage schools and massage therapists. We will also discuss other concerns of massage schools, including Latest Anticipated Legislative changes in BPPVE Procedures, the current status of the BPPVE, Registered and Hybrid Schools, and much more. We encourage all of you to attend this meeting!

The meeting will be hosted by the Body Institute and will be held at the Rocklin Park Hotel, 5450 China Garden Rd., Rocklin, CA 95677 (916) 630-9400.

The nearest airport is Sacramento, and Rocklin is about a 30 minute drive east of Sacramento on Highway 80 (toward Reno.) Other nearby hotels include the following:

• Howard Johnson, 916-624-4500
• Comfort suites916-315-1300
• Ramada Limited, 916-632-3366

01 September 2006

SB 412 Refused Assembly Passage

Last night ended the 2005-2006 legislative session. As many bills had their last turn on the Assembly floor, there was the gong opening voting on a bill and the call of “All members vote who desire to vote” called repeatedly by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. There was a call on SB 412 at about 7:45 pm. At that point the vote was about 27 Ayes and 29 Noes, falling well short of the 41 Ayes required for passage. The official status and history continues to show that the bill was refused passage on 31 August, The final vote count was 24 Ayes and 38 Noes. Bills not passed by the end of the legislative session are automatically dead, as is apparently the case with SB 412.

This is unlikely to be the last attempt at state legislation, but it appears that massage schools won't have SB 412's phase-out of the 250 hour tier over their heads in the immediate future. The landscape of the next legislative session is uncertain. Senator Figueroa, author of SB 412, will be termed out of office. She was also head of both the Joint Committee on Boards, Commissions, and Consumer Protection and of the Senate Business and Professions Committee. Listening to the Assembly last night, Speaker Núñez was recognizing the service of some 35 members who won't be there next session. The make-up of the committees any bill will see is guaranteed to be different and any bill would have to have a new author.

15 August 2006

SB 412 to the Assembly Floor

SB 412 has passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will likely be voted on by the full assembly this Thursday. There is a possibility of amendments that might require fast reaction by massage schools.

The California Chiropractic Association is still trying to add language restricting use of passive movement. Their proposals continue to be ill-founded both in orthopedics and evidence base. There is no evidence that current use of passive movements are resulting in harm. Restricting a passive movement to the active range of motion is basing a restriction on a barrier not present during a passive movement.

CAPPS has proposed an amendment that would shift control of the proposed massage organization to large corporate schools and spas. This latter amendment would greatly shift the focus of the organization to vested business interests rather than those of the public and practitioners. It's unclear if such a move could fall afoul of current Federal Trade Commission concerns about anti-competitive state actions.

16 June 2006

Resources for Stop SB 412 letter writing

To aid our schools and their students in stopping SB 412, stopping blind credentialism, and preserving the 250 hour tier, we have put together a number of resources. Here is a contact directory for the Assembly Committee on Appropriations and a contact directory for the entire Assembly. These directories include links to web pages, email addresses, and PDF files for envelopes. You can find out your own district and representative by using the 9-digit zip-code search at the top of the navigation column of Project Vote Smart. We also have templates for letters from schools and letters from individual students and practitioners (Word documents). Here's a copy (PDF file) of the letter that CAMBS sent to Judy Chu, chair of the Appropriations Committee. We've also provided an example and guidelines for writing a press release.

Your efforts will have a substantial effect on the future and form of massage education in California.

11 June 2006

SB 412 has been amended

The anticipated amendment of SB 412 has occurred. Unfortunately, the news is not good news for the supermajority of California's dedicated massage schools and for the students whose needs they match and serve. The amendments to SB 412 have eliminated creation of a permanent 250 hour entry tier. CAMBS continues to believe that this tier provides a vital educational-economic niche for many students and massage schools. The CAMBS perspective is well-supported by recent statistics. CAMBS thus urges schools and their students to oppose SB 412. The next hurdle for the bill will be the Assembly Committee on Appropriations. We have contact and background information for urging members of this committee to stop SB 412.

The situation with SB 412 is unfortunate. A number of people in CAMBS and other organizations, particularly ABMP, have worked to arrive at a consensus solution. If these efforts had been successful in establishing a permanent 250 hour tier, it would have freed all of us from a lot of uncertainty and allowed us all to shift our focus to educational quality and economic vitality. There is no objective evidence-based need to force all schools to compete for the same student market. There are no specifically identified safety issues nor any specific competence outcomes mandated and monitored by the higher 500 hour tier.

The decision by Senator Figueroa and her staff to eliminate the 250 hour tier was an arbitrary one, motivated by lobbying by CAPPS, a large organization of general postsecondary and vocational schools. CAMBS does not believe that all career colleges with massage programs necessarily share CAPPS's adversarial attitude toward smaller schools and programs. We believe that smaller schools and career colleges can work together to serve different student needs in different market niches.

While, technically, SB 412 is a title act establishing a voluntary certification by a state-reviewed private organization, such certification both creates exemptions from local regulation and sets precedence for regulation of the uncertified. In effect, when local regulation adjusts to the availability of certification, SB 412 is likely to act as a licensing (i.e. practice) act. CAMBS believes that the ‘voluntary’ nature of SB 412 is illusionary.

CAMBS anticipates that career colleges will continue to grow and become dominant in the 600+ hour, single-program market. The federal program length minimums are 600 hours for loans and 720 hours for certain grants. Access to these Title IV funds also requires accreditation, a process that can be lengthy, costly, and effect the minimum viable facility and student-body sizes. Career colleges can accredit by school rather than by program; they simply have more classes, programs, and facilities to leverage this market. The 500-599 hour region is likely to become an economic dead zone for entry programs — it's too expensive for pay-as-you-go students and too near the financial aid minimums.

CAMBS believes that both career colleges and small schools should have viable niches. California is a large and diverse state. Some students benefit from a single program model. Others, particularly adults making career transitions or those seeking focused part-time massage practices, benefit from a more flexible modular approach. For a student taking two nights a week for school, away from family and community responsibilities, each 250 hours of training takes about a year. Having all schools compete head-to-head in a single economic niche isn't the best policy for either small schools or larger business colleges. Flexibility of regulation and diversity of programs benefit all of us; small schools, career colleges, students, and communities.

Finally, the presence of smaller schools adds to the completeness of massage education available, including availability of post-entry modules of training. Because of years of experience in massage practice, education, and business and because of differentiation of focus, smaller schools are able to cover a larger diversity of techniques and concepts of somatic awareness than would otherwise be available. Shorter entry modules can imply more long-term education rather than less. Our schools also often provide a resource for care-givers in the community to learn massage techniques to help their family members.

For best serving the needs of California students and schools, CAMBS urges schools and their alumni to contact the Assembly Appropriations Committee, their own legislators, and the Governor urging them to Stop SB 412. Letters to the editor of newspapers would also be helpful. As amended, this bill does not well-suit the diversity of student needs and backgrounds.

16 May 2006

• SB 412
• SB 1473

While we are hopeful that several legislative issues can be resolved this year, allowing CAMBS and our members schools to return focus to providing quality, modular massage training and to enhancing our economic viability, making our combined voice heard on these legislative issues is vital to our futures.

SB 412

New language could go to the legislative counsel as early as next week, or it could take another couple of months. Although it appears nothing much is going on, there is significant activity behind the scenes. The legislative staff people in charge of writing the bill, Bill Gage and Robin Hartley, are hearing consistently from the major players and their lobbyists, including chiropractors, physical therapists, cities and counties, large schools that want a 500 hour minimum, rather than massage therapists. Even though everyone has written lots of letters, it isn't enough to outweigh the influence of the lobbyists and the cities and counties. We need another round of letters!!!

Please write letters to Senator Figueroa again — address a specific issue in each letter — and send a copy to Judy Chu, the chair person for the Assembly Appropriations committee. The bill will be voted on in the appropriations committee next, then the general Assembly will vote on it. Anyone who has an Assembly representative who is on the Assembly committee on appropriations (search here) should definitely contact their representative personally and discuss the bill in person if possible. Contact information for Figueroa and Chu is listed below.

Major issues with SB 412:

• Retaining the 250 hour tier and economic viability
• Lack of representation for unaffiliated massage therapists
• Scope of practice limitations pushd by chiropractic & PT assoc.
• Limitations on grandfathering
• Lack of evidence that massage therapists harm the public
• No outcome-based evidence that 500 hours of training is needed or justifiable on any basis other than "the other states are doing it."

Without the 250 hour tier, the pay-as-you-go student market is likely to dry up. Recent statistics (Fig. 6 and following text) indicate that 53% of entering students are highly sensitive to first program length. Without the 250 hour tier, competitive market realities, will likely force all schools to become accredited and teach programs with a minimum of 600 hours; the requirements for access to Title IV financial aid. Being right below qualification for federal financial aid, the 500-599 hour region is likely to be an economic dead zone. A recent legislature requested report by the California Research Bureau, comparing state approval with accreditation, notes that accreditation is both labor intensive and expensive (p. 20).

The accreditation process is labor-intensive; it involves the considerable investment of both time and resources. The process for initial accreditation can take from several months up to four years. Accreditation status is typically granted for a period of five to ten years, depending upon the accreditation agency and the institution. Regional accrediting agencies typically grant longer accreditation periods. Once an institution is accredited, accreditation becomes an ongoing process.

In addition to the labor costs associated with the accreditation process, there are substantial monetary costs. Costs vary among accrediting agencies; regional accreditation is generally more costly than national accreditation. Institutions pay the accrediting agency for the initial accreditation and reaccreditation (including the review team expenses), annual membership dues, fees for workshops and training, and other costs. These costs generally amount to several thousands of dollars per year.

California massage schools need to seriously consider the likely impacts on their economic viability; whether their physical facility and staff could effectively handle the additional load. Keeping a permanent 250 hour tier allows greater diversity in targeting student needs and markets, allowing both long and modular programs to exist without competing head-on. Voice your opinion and needs. If you don't speak, others will.

Contact information:

Senator Liz Figueroa
State Capitol, Room 4061
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 651-4010 phone
(916) 327-2433 fax
Sen.Figueroa@sen.ca.gov

Assemblymember Judy Chu, Chair Committee on Appropriations
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0049
Phone: 916-319-2049
FAX: 916-319-2149
Assemblymember.Chu@asm.ca.gov

SB 1473: 

SB 1473 (Figueroa) would repeal the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989 and recast its provisions as the Private Postsecondary Education and Student  Protection Act.  The purpose of the bill is to streamline and improve the oversight of California's private postsecondary and vocational education. The complexity of the issues almost guarantees that there will be intentional and inadvertent side-effects.

The bill is currently suspended in the senate appropriations committee, but may be acted on by the end of May. School owners and managers should read the bill as soon as possible, paying particular attention to Chapters 6 and 12, which apply to non-degree granting massage schools.

Prior to looking at the details in bill text, look at the summary of content by the Business & Professions Committee and at the analysis of effects on BPPVE oversight written for the Appropriations Committee.

After the summary of SB 1473 itself, The B&P committee analysis contains an extensive comment section reviewing the history and failures of private postsecondary regulation. The BBPVE Operations and Administrative Monitor report, mandated by the sunset review committee, outlines history and difficulties in postsecondary regulation. The comments in the Appropriations Committee summary raise issues on automatically approving accredited schools without additional state oversight. There is a comparison of regulation versus accreditation done by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC). There is also a December 2005 CPEC Working paper on proposed changes. There is another comparison of state oversight versus accreditation that was commissioned by Lou Correa in 2004 when he was head of the Assembly Business & Professions Committee.

Again, it's important that you express your views to Senator Figueroa (see above) and the Senate Appropriations Committee. The issues and language are complex, but reorganization of school governance is going to happen. SB 1473 or a similar bill will both change and set the laws and fees under which we operate our schools. If you don't use your voice, someone will claim to speak for you.

23 February 2006

Update on AB 213

AB 213 Health care coverage for lymphedema Introduced by Assembly Member Liu. This bill requires insurance to cover treatment for lymphedema disease. Sections 1367.666 (d), and 10123.175(d) both say that "The MLD shall be performed by a therapist who is trained and certified in the specialized treatment of lymphedema from a recognized training program with a minimum of 135 hours."

Comment: Although this bill seems to be very positive, requiring health care coverage for the treatment of lymphedema disease, the reference to "recognized training program" twice in the bill, referring to training in lymph drainage massage, is of concern because this is not defined. Recognized by whom? By what agency? Does it include recognition by the BPPVE? Or, does it refer to organizations such as the National Lymphedema Network which is specifically mentioned in the bill? What would the effect of this bill be on schools that offer training in lymph drainage massage? Contact Assembly Member Carol Liu to express your concerns about this issue which would definitely affect massage schools in California. In a communication from Robert Weiss of the National Lymphedema Network, Mr. Weiss said, "This additional training is available on a continuing education basis from approximately eight schools in the U.S., most of which schedule classes in California." Mr. Weiss is ignoring or is ignorant of the training in lymph drainage massage that is already offered in California massage schools, which is also a concern. Massage schools which offer training in lymph drainage massage should definitely contact Assembly Member Carol Liu about this bill.

February 07, 2006 update on SB 412

There are several issues that CAMBS considers as critical for massage schools to be aware of  and on which to provide feedback to Senator Figueroa. One of these is an attempt by the California Chiropractic Association (CCA) to severely limit the ability of massage practitioners and therapists to use passive stretching. The definition of massage recently proposed by the CCA includes the following restrictions.

(1)…"Massage" does not include the prescription of legend drugs or controlled substances, spinal joint manipulation, movement of a joint beyond the normal physiological active range of motion for that joint, the diagnosis of illness or disease, or treatment for which a license to practice medicine, chiropractic, physical therapy, or podiatry is required.

(2) Notwithstanding (1), A massage therapist and massage practitioner may move a joint within its normal physiological range of motion for that joint if under the prescription of a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy or doctor of chiropractic.

CAMBS is in strong agreement with the following statement by ABMP President Bob Benson regarding the restriction on movement of any joint beyond the active range of motion. We believe that it is extremely important for schools to express to Senator Figueroa support for ABMP's and CAMBS's stand.

Part of the good faith effort mentioned above was an extensive resource document on established practices, training, and safety that was used in summary by ABMP lobbyist Kathryn Austin Scott (Foley & Lardner) for discussions with legislative staff and CCA representatives.

The other major issue is to continue to provide input to Senator Figueroa supporting the 250 hour tier. The extent of grandfathering proposed for SB 412 is the remaining issue on which to inform the good Senator of your views.

January 25, 2006 update on SB 412

Teresa Nead, James Mally, Keith Grant and Ramona Moody had a teleconference yesterday with Robin Hartley, who currently is working on the revising the language of SB 412. What we found out is that she isn't anywhere near ready to actually write the revisions to the bill, and it won't go to the Appropriations Committee for vote until she finishes the revisions. She is currently talking with the California League of Cities and California counties, as well as the AMTA, ABMP, CAPPS, and other stakeholders. Ms. Hartley will let us know when she has some new language to review. We have asked to meet directly with Senator Figueroa before new bill language becomes final. In the meantime, It is very important to keep writing letters to Senator Figueroa about your concerns. The key issues are the 250-hour tier of licensing, grandfathering, and representation on the Board of Directors when/if the new licensing organization is formed. For more information read the report below, and click on the links above for sample letters and contact information.

December 7, 2005 update on SB 412

Dear Massage School Owners and Managers,

After a few months of inactivity, the time has come for more action on Senate Bill 412. Last week CAMBS legislative committee members attended a meeting in Sacramento with Bob Benson of the ABMP and Kathryn Scott of Foley:Larnder to discuss proposed changes to SB 412, the bill which would create a massage certifying organization in California. Some of the proposed changes are discussed below. Remember that these changes have not been accepted by Senator Figueroa, the author of the bill, and have not yet been published. We have a short period of time to let her know our concerns before the bill is officially changed. There are a few issues of concern in the proposed changes to the bill, and we feel that it is important for massage school owners to write to Senator Figueroa right away to express their opinions about the proposed changes. CAMBS has also directly written a letter to Senator Figueroa. There is more information on ABMP's Website and Keith Grant's Blog.

1. The most important issue is the 250-hour Massage Practitioner Tier. A group of stakeholders is seeking to raise the educational requirements to 500 hours within four years, eliminating the 250 hour tier entirely. ABMP is countering with language that would phase out the 250-hour Practitioner tier at the end of 2012. Although anyone who holds a practitioner certificate at that time would be allowed to renew indefinitely (as long as they didn't lapse), no new massage practitioner certificates would be added. In discussion at the meeting last week, we developed an alternative proposal that keep the 250-hour tier as a permanent transition level. Under this proposal, after 2012 anyone who applies for and receives a practitioner certificate would have a continuing education requirement of at least 50 hours per year until they reach the level of 500 total hours of education. Whenever they reached 500 hours, they would receive the massage therapist certificate.

Senator Figueroa and her staff take the position that (a) 500 hours is the national standard, and (b) that one of the purposes of this bill is to “professionalize” the industry. We as school owners do not object to education requirements and we don’t object to “professionalizing” the industry. However, many of our students cannot afford the time and/or money to take a long course and they need to take a short course and begin earning an income as soon as possible. We don’t want this law to close the door of economic opportunity for a diverse group of low income people.

2. Chiropractors and physical therapists have expressed concern about the definition of massage in the bill (Chapter 10.5 section 4600 (c) of the Business and Professions Code.) We feel it is important for the definition of the practice of massage to reflect the actual practice of massage and not take away anything that massage therapists have been safely practicing all along. Keith Grant, a CAMBS member from the McKinnon School of Massage, has done extensive research and written a definitive paper outline the usual practice of massage which has been used as a basis for discussion with chiropractors and physical therapists.

3. Section 4604 deals with grandfathering. Currently 4604 (a)(1)(B) would require proof of at least 250 hours of massage to members of the public for compensation each year for the previous 5 years in order for an applicant to be grandfathered, in addition to education and licensing requirements. And 4604 (a)(2) would require documentation of at least 400 hours of massage to the public for each year for the previous 5 years in addition to education requirements for anyone who works where a license is not now required, such as some counties in northern California. Those requirements are stringent. Encourage your students to write letters telling Senator Figueroa what those grandfathering requirements would do to them. Also, suggest that instead section (B) should require “at least 500 hours of massage to the members of the public during the previous three years.”

What should you do now?

1. The first thing to do is to concentrate on writing letters to Senator Figueroa in December with the objective being to make the next official bill draft as helpful as possible. In January we will need to write letters to the members of the Assembly Appropriations committee, but right now they have not seen the proposed revisions to the bill.

a. School owners and managers should write to Senator Figueroa concerning the phase-out of the 250 hour tier of certification. In your letters, stress the effect that phasing out the 250 hour tier would have on your students, and the importance of retaining the 250 hour tier in order to keep the door of educational and economical opportunity open for low income students, and for those whose responsibilities (family and job) prevent them from going to school full time.

b. Encourage your staff, students, graduates and customers to write letters telling how the higher education requirements and stringent grandfathering requirements would negatively affect them. Personal stories can be very effective in helping the legislators to understand the issues.

2. In about mid-January the bill will be voted on by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. We will need to write letters to each member of the committee then, but it is too soon to do so now.

Try to generate about 100 letters per school, from school owners and management, staff, students and graduates. Please send copies to me (Ramona Moody) so that I can keep track of the response. Sample letters can be found here.

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Portability of Transcripts

CAMBS is committed to encouraging portability of training hours between member schools. This was an important item of discussion at the 7-8 November semiannual meeting. The basic consideration is that something like 50% of equivalent hours filed as a transcript from any state approved school would be transferable to a member school. Transcripts from schools approved by other states would be included. Transcripts from nonregistered workshops would not be transferable.

The 50% requirement is similar to the policies at colleges and universities. It means that the school issuing the final transcript will have an opportunity to provide supervision and evaluation of skills, knowledge, and abilities before issuing a certificate of completion or final transcript and that the graduate will be significantly representative of their training.

You can comment on this policy and other CAMBS activities in our new guestbook.

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CAMBS Guestbook

You can leave us comments in our online guestbook.

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Annoucement Archives

If you are looking for previous annoucements and information on AB 1388, it's still here and available. To keep our home page from becoming cluttered, we periodically move earlier material into our archives.

 

© California Alliance of Massage & Bodywork Schools, 2003-2006

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Last Modified — 01 September 2006