On June 6, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law Senate Bill 201 (SB 201), raising the state’s minimum massage education hours from 500 to 650.
The new law increases the minimum total hours of coursework and clinical work that an applicant for massage licensure must complete at an approved massage school to be eligible for licensure. Due to changes issued last fall in the federal Gainful Employment rules, aid-eligible massage schools would not have been able to offer programs in excess of the 500-hour state requirement and continue to offer students federal aid. The new minimum state licensing requirement of 650 hours will allow programs at that length to maintain aid eligibility under the new Federal Title IV regulations.
ABMP is here to support you through this change which was implemented to protect student access to federal aid and to reduce barriers to entry into the massage profession. If you have any questions about what this means for your school or need help adjusting your program to meet the new state requirement, please reach out to ABMP school liaison Amber Edwards at AmberE@abmp.com.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024.