An IntroductionI. TDLR StatementsII. Conclusions - OperationalIII. Conclusions - StrategicIV. TDLR ActionsV. Facts and Assumptions Table
I. TDLR Statements and Determination of their Accuracy
T1: PALMS is considered a transcript acceptable to the department.
TDLR to the Office of Rep. Angie Chen Button: 2/24/2021
Determination: TRUE
Rationale: PALMS meets the definitions of 117.62(d), assuming the most casual of definitions for “pass/fail score” and “list of subjects”. However, this only meets the definition of a transcript when TDLR receives the data. When a school receives data from PALMS, it is missing the “name and license number of massage therapy educational program,”. The the “pass/fail score” can be assumed if all hours are considered “pass”.
T2: The hours entered in PALMS will be used in lieu of an official transcript for the purpose of obtaining a license or transferring to another licensed Texas school.
TDLR Education: 11/12/2020
Determination: FALSE
Rationale: Prior to April 1, 2021, 117.20 did not permit anything to be used in lieu of a transcript for the purposes of licensure. This is not being used in lieu of a transcript; it is a transcript. Transferring to another school is not possible with PALMS without additional documentation due to requirements of 117.61(d) to confirm full-coverage of required learning stated in TDLR’s ‘Massage Therapy Basic Curriculum Outline - 500 Hour Course’
T3: “This change allows for massage schools in Texas to send a record of coursework electronically to the Department, through the new PALMS system for reporting hours and enrolled students.”
Published by TDLR in the Texas Register: 11/20/2020
Determination: FALSE
Rationale: No change was required. Schools were already being required (not allowed) to send this information through PALMS prior to the proposed rules going into effect on 4/1/2021. This data was being used for licensure.
Rationale Per TDLR Statement 2, Additional Documentation is required to correctly transfer a student over to ensure 11761(d) requirements, and to confirm full-coverage of TDLR’s required curriculum all schools are required to follow per 117.59(a)
T4: “The most important part of the student permit is tracking the student. I would say that it is enormously successful. Students are free to transfer between schools should they relocate within Texas, hours now have a place to be tracked and verified electronically, clearing any burdens of “paper only” type requirements. I can share a story of another office that contacted me regarding a student who did in fact have to move during schooling. The student easily enrolled in the new school and all previous hours earned were credited, allowing the student to immediately continue progressing towards licensure.”
TDLR to the Office of Senator Angela Paxton: 3/3/2021
Determination: FALSE
Rationale: Per TDLR Statement 2 and Operational Conclusion 4, without additional coordination, the mentioned student move would have been performed without proper checks in place to ensure it was done correctly.
T5: “However, PALMS is only to be utilized for the enrollment of students and the reporting of hours. We do not collect tuition information or transcript information for students.”
TDLR Education to Ke Kino Massage Academy: 4/1/2021
Determination: FALSE
Rationale: Directly contradicts TDLR Statment T1. Additionally, if this were true, TDLR would have been exceeding their legal authority (ACT1, ACT2).
T6: “16 Texas Admin. Code 117.67(b) requires licensed massage schools to report each student’s accrued hours every month to TDLR. These hours are reported through PALMS. This allows schools to fulfill their obligation under Texas Occupation Code 455.2035(a) to report student hours to TDLR”
Notice from TDLR: 4/23/2021
Determination: FALSE/Misleading
Rationale: TDLR is substituting the word 'attendance' for the word 'hours', they are not the same thing. Also per Operational Conclusion 2 and 3, PALMS has no mechanism for reporting attendance.
T7: “TDLR is required to confirm the student has completed the required 500-hour massage therapy course to meet the licensure requirements for a massage therapist license. Now, licensed massage schools must use PALMS to report a student’s completed hours and the licensed massage school is no longer required to submit a paper transcript to TDLR for the verification of the student’s hours.”
Notice from TDLR: 4/23/2021
Determination: TRUE
Rationale: PALMS submissions are considered a transcript per TDLR Statement 1. Students are required to complete a minimum 500-hour course per 117.20.
T8: “Licensed massage schools may not withhold the reporting of hours in PALMS because a student owes money or has unfulfilled financial obligations to the licensed massage school. The issue of a student owing money is a civil dispute in which TDLR is not involved. Licensed massage schools must report successfully completed hours in PALMS regardless of the student’s financial standing with their school.”
Notice from TDLR: 4/23/2021
Determination: Evaluation in Progress
Rationale: This is a recent statement, analysis is ongoing to determine the accuracy and ability of TDLR to make this determination. These reports constitute a transcript release per Statement 1, so exploration is ongoing to determine if there is a conflict with Federal transcript release rules.