Two Plano massage schools were abruptly ordered to halt classes this week after state investigators said the programs were churning out credentials that students did not earn and failing to properly supervise trainees. The emergency orders, which closed Harvard Massage Institute and American Massage Academy, throw large numbers of reported student hours into doubt and, according to officials, are meant to protect public safety while the state pursues possible license revocations and other enforcement.
According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Harvard Massage Institute (MS1127) and American Massage Academy (MS1125) now appear on the list of schools shut down by emergency order as of Monday. On its student resources page, the agency warns that education hours reported by those schools will not be automatically credited toward licensure and details the forms and steps students must complete to either verify or surrender those hours.
Investigators, state materials and local reporting say inspectors found inaccurate and inconsistent attendance and internship logs, instruction provided by people who did not hold the required licenses, and distance education practices that made real supervision nearly impossible. Regulators said those findings lined up with what they consider diploma mill behavior. The closures followed probes that linked some students or graduates to illicit massage establishments, and investigators reported indicators of human trafficking at related sites, according to News4SA. It also reports that the state revoked the massage therapist and instructor licenses of the schools’ owner, Michael Chao Ma.
What Students Are Told To Do Next
TDLR says affected students have two main options. They can submit independent, verifiable documentation that they personally completed the required training hours, or they can voluntarily surrender the reported hours and start over at another approved school. The agency’s student resources include an Affidavit of Self Certification of Education Hours and a Verification of Education Hours questionnaire, and students are instructed to email completed forms and supporting evidence to [email protected], according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Part Of A Wider Enforcement Push
The Plano shutdowns are part of a broader state campaign that targets illicit massage businesses and credentialing schemes that regulators say help trafficking and fraud flourish. That crackdown has already produced dozens of emergency orders in recent months, as reported by ABC13 Houston. ABC13 Houston notes that the agency has also taken steps such as changing massage exam availability, which TDLR says is intended to disrupt organized criminal networks, while critics warn those moves can hit immigrant communities especially hard.
A hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings may be scheduled to decide whether the emergency orders are upheld, modified or thrown out, News4SA reported. In the meantime, TDLR says it plans to work with students who enrolled in good faith to help them verify legitimate hours and stay on track for licensure, even as the agency pursues enforcement against those it accuses of fraudulent conduct.
