Getting Involved In Your State

 

The IASI Law & Regulation Committee can help you if you want to know what’s going on if you want to get involved and be a voice, if you want to work to make changes in your state, or if you want to take a leadership role. This web page aims to provide information so you can feel informed and confident.

There are many ways to become active:

1. Be Informed
   You can become well-informed about the laws and current legislative activities that may have an impact on SI in your state. Just choose your state below and it will take you to a page that will give you as much information as we currently have on that state.
   
   
2. Show Up 
   If you decide you want to attend your state board meetings, we want to prepare you with as much information as we can, even if you decide only to go, listen, and report back to IASI. In fact, the best way to begin is by attending a meeting and observing and making contacts. Things you should read before you go:
   
   • Your state’s laws & regulations and how they relate to structural Integration,
   • The IASI definition, and scope of practice statement for SI, what is structural integration,
   • The IASI Position Statement on appropriate regulation of SI and what it means
   • The IASI Code of Ethics
   • What the CESI Certification Examination for Structural Integration is and why it matters. 
     

    

3. Make a Change 
   Every state has unique laws and regulations and will need a customized approach for effective change. Usually, however, the best way to start to make changes is by addressing the board or requesting an audience. Here is a template for how you could prepare and a list of things to include in an information packet.
   
   • IASI’s position is for appropriate regulation. So what does that mean? SI is regulated in 34 states in the US. When we are regulated by a state, Structural Integration should be addressed as a distinct profession. What this means in practice may differ from state to state. Although an SI board with regulations specific to SI may seem ideal, we recognize that states can no longer support independent boards for very small numbers of practitioners. We are often regulated by the board of another profession. In most regulated states this is a massage therapy board, and legal practice of SI requires a massage therapy license. 
     
     
   • Inappropriate regulation creates barriers to SI practice. Not all SI education programs require massage licensure as a prerequisite to enrollment. Only a few prepare graduates for massage licensure. Many SI practitioners complete massage education programs only so they may legally practice SI in their states. The education, continuing education, and certification examination for structural integration should be recognized, but generally are not. 
     
     
   • Ways in which Structural Integration can be appropriately regulated
     
     1. Exemption from regulation
     2. Appropriate regulation in statute with appropriate administrative rules: i.e., unique license designation
     3. Possible Structural Integration endorsement addition to the state's currently required license, e.g., Massage Therapy or Bodywork License with an SI endorsement. The designation would give SI practitioners name protection, disallowing non-IASI school graduates from claiming to practice any form or level of SI.
     4. Appropriate regulation within another professional license designation: i.e., no unique license designation, but with IASI approved schools recognized, continuing education requirements specific to SI accepted, and our own licensing exam accepted (e.g., regulated as another profession, such as massage, but with some SI appropriate rules.)
   
   
4. What do you say to the board?
   

   • Introduce yourself as a Structural Integration Practitioner who is interested in being more involved in the processes of the board.

   • Ask for inclusion in the process, for a meeting with the Board staffer, or any legislative experts (from Secretary of State's office) who are present at the meeting. There may be time after meetings to make contact with all of these people.

   • Come with these documents. They will help support SI as a separate profession:

     • IASI Definition and Scope of Practice
     • IASI Code of Ethics
     • Board Certification
     • List of SI Schools and Educational Requirements

      

5. Interested in getting more involved? 

Read more about your state for in-depth specifications on the laws and regulations regarding Structural Integrators. 

Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska

Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming