An act TO ESTABLISH A STATE EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE 10 OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS, the official text

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.

1 State of Arkansas            As Engrossed: H4/9/25
2 95th General Assembly
                                    A Bill

3 Regular Session, 2025                                         SENATE BILL 168

4

5 By: Senator Rice

6 By: Representative K. Brown

7

8                              For An Act To Be Entitled

9   AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STATE EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE

10  OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

11

12

13                             Subtitle

14                       TO ESTABLISH A STATE EXAMINATION FOR

15                       LICENSURE OF MASSAGE THERAPISTS.

16

17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

18

19  SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 86, Subchapter 3, is

20 amended to add an additional section to read as follows:

21  17-86-315. State examination for licensure.

22  (a)(1) The Department of Health shall administer a state examination

23 for licensure as a massage therapist that shall be administered at the time

24 and place designated by the department.

25  (2) The state examination under this section is an additional

26 option to licensure in this state and does not replace or negate a national

27 examination.

28  (3) The state examination under this section shall be offered as

29 an optional pathway to licensure and shall only be offered to unlicensed

30 graduates of an approved massage therapy school or students enrolled in a

31 massage therapy apprenticeship program in this state who have completed the

32 educational requirements under � 17-86-306(e).

33  (b)(1) The state examination shall be a one hundred (100) question

34 examination and be proportionate to educational requirements and classroom

35 hours based on the Massage Therapy Act, � 17-86-101 et seq.

36  (2) The state examination shall include:

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    As Engrossed: H4/9/25                                                  SB168

1                     (A) Nine (9) questions concerning anatomy and physiology;

2                     (B) Nine (9) questions concerning kinesiology;

3                     (C) Twenty (20) questions concerning pathology,

4 contraindications, and special populations;

5                     (D) Forty-five (45) questions concerning massage

6 techniques;

7                     (E) Five (5) questions concerning hydrotherapy,

8 electrotherapy, and heliotherapy;

9                     (F) Five (5) questions concerning hygiene and infection

10 control; and

11                    (G) Seven (7) questions concerning massage therapy law,

12 business management, and personal ethics.

13      (c) A passing grade of seventy percent (70%) on the state examination

14 is required for licensure.

15      (d) The state examination shall not be computer adaptive.

16      (e)(1) The department may require massage therapy instructors who

17 currently provide instruction in an approved massage therapy school in this

18 state or a massage therapy apprenticeship program in this state to submit

19 examination questions for the state examination.

20             (2) An examination question submitted by a massage therapy

21 instructor shall:

22                    (A)(i) Be derived from a textbook that the massage therapy

23 instructor is currently utilizing to provide instruction to massage therapy

24 students under subdivision (e) of this section.

25                         (ii) Material from the Massage and Bodywork

26 Licensing Examination shall not be considered a textbook under this section;

27 and

28                    (B) Include:

29                         (i) The title of the textbook;

30                         (ii) The author of the textbook;

31                         (iii) The edition of the textbook;

32                         (iv) The page number and line number from which the

33 examination question was derived or obtained; and

34                         (v) The date when the examination question was

35 created.

36

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         As Engrossed: H4/9/25           SB168

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