In this News Brief:
As you plan for 2026, please keep these membership meeting dates in mind.
Regulatory Workshop
Leadership Issues Forum
Annual Education Meeting
The Healthcare Regulatory Research Institute (HRRI) has released two new research articles offering fresh insight into health workforce data and community health access.
Social Work Cross‑Profession Minimum Data Set (SW‑CPMDS)
HRRI introduces the new Social Work Cross‑Profession Minimum Data Set, a standardized suite of workforce questions designed to strengthen the consistency and comparability of social work workforce data across states. The SW‑CPMDS builds on the nationally endorsed CPMDS framework and supports improved workforce planning by ensuring data collection aligns across all levels of social work practice—from entry-level to advanced roles. The creation of the SW-CPMDS was led and hosted by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) and, similar to the PT-CPMDS, provides profession-specific response options for areas such as practice setting and education.
Beyond Supply: A New Framework for Identifying Healthcare Deserts in the United States
HRRI’s second new article examines the concept of healthcare deserts and proposes a refined approach that accounts not only for healthcare supply but also for health outcomes. Using life expectancy and OB/GYN availability as key indicators, the research identifies more than 8,500 census tracts nationwide as healthcare deserts—but finds that only 22% of these are rural, challenging common assumptions about where gaps in access occur.
The web address for the FSBPT Member Portal has changed. If you are getting to the portal through the FSBPT website or recent emails, you should be fine! However, please update any personal bookmarks or saved links to ensure uninterrupted access to the portal. Please reach out if you have any questions or run into any problems.
Licensure testing remains a focal point of regulatory discussions, especially as some jurisdictions explore alternative pathways or raise concerns about standardized assessments. At the 2025 Leadership Issues Forum, FSBPT reaffirmed its commitment to the NPTE as a reliable and fair benchmark for entry into the profession. Leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining rigorous standards while remaining open to constructive dialogue about evolving testing needs.
Support is available for jurisdictions navigating candidate concerns. FSBPT remains dedicated to ensuring that testing continues to serve the public interest, balancing high-quality assessments with adaptability to future challenges.
Each month, we will focus on a different statute section from the Model Practice Act and its accompanying commentary. Learn more by reading the Model Practice Act.
Article 4: Regulation of Physical Therapy 4.12 Rights of Consumers
A. The public shall have access to the following information:
B. Each licensee [and certificate holder] shall display a copy of his or her license [or certificate] in a location accessible to public view or produce a copy immediately upon request.
C. Each licensee [and certificate holder] shall provide the public with information on how to file a complaint with the board against a licensee [or certificate holder].
D. Any person may submit a complaint regarding any licensee, [certificate holder] or any other person potentially in violation of this [act]. Confidentiality shall be maintained subject to law.
E. The home address, email address and home telephone numbers of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are not public records and shall be kept confidential by the board unless they are the only addresses and telephone numbers of record.
F. A patient/client has freedom of choice in selection of services and products.
G. Information relating to the physical therapist-patient/client relationship is confidential and shall not be communicated to a third party who is not involved in that patient’s/client’s care without the written authorization of the patient/client. The physical therapist-patient/client privilege does not extend to cases in which the physical therapist has a duty to report or disclose information as required by law.
H. Information relating to the physical therapist assistant-patient/client relationship is confidential and shall not be communicated to a third party who is not involved in that patient’s/client’s care without the written authorization of the patient/client. The physical therapist assistant-patient/client privilege does not extend to cases in which the physical therapist assistant has a duty to report or disclose information as required by law.
The FSBPT Board is committed to supporting its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. Join the ranks of states, including Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, and the Virgin Islands, that have all taken a big step toward both administrative efficiency and protecting the public. They are currently leveraging FSBPT Grants to enhance the ELDD, improve compact privilege implementation, and collect workforce data.
Your state should be next! Learn more about our available grants to help jurisdictions with enhancing your participation in or communication with our Examination, Licensure, and Disciplinary Database (ELDD), improving compact privilege implementation, or collecting workforce data.
FSBPT offers grant funding to support its member jurisdictions in their mission to protect the public. If you are interested in receiving a grant, please send an email to FSBPT's CEO, William A. Hatherill summarizing what you would like to have funded and why it is important or how it can improve efficiencies for your board.
One of the prominent challenges facing healthcare services is the high rate of occupational stress that leads to turnover and the intention among professionals to leave the profession. The increased healthcare needs of an aging population, the need to adapt to technological advances, the financial constraints of the healthcare environment, and workforce shortages result in high patient loads and long work hours. Healthcare professional exhaustion, cynicism, and decreased productivity can lead to diminished quality of care, negative healthcare outcomes, reduced patient satisfaction, and considerable increases in healthcare costs... Continue reading the President's Perspective.
In an era of continuous changes in healthcare, FSBPT spearheaded a collaborative effort with six healthcare regulatory organizations to develop a document called Changes in Healthcare Professions’ Scope of Practice: Legislative Considerations.
This month, we thank our generous volunteer members for their support of our mission.
FSBPT provides the following links for your education and awareness, but does not endorse the content.
"Proposal to Implement Loan Caps Threatens Access to Professional Degree Programs," CJ Powell, Association of American Universities, November 14, 2025
"Earlier this month, a Department of Education-convened committee negotiated and reached consensus on draft regulations to implement student loan provisions in a bill (H.R.1) that Congress passed earlier this year. The new regulations will limit the number of degree programs that can be considered as “professional,” thereby curtailing the number of programs that will be eligible for higher loan limits set under H.R.1."
"APTA Adopts New Code of Ethics for Physical Therapy Profession," APTA, November 25, 2025
"On July 14, 2025, the APTA House of Delegates officially adopted The Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapy Profession. This updated Code combines into one document the current Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant."
"U.S. Department of Education Proposal Jeopardizes Physical Therapy Professional Recognition and the Future Health Care Workforce," APTA, November 24, 2025
"APTA is deeply concerned by the recent recommendation from the Reimagining and Improving Student Education, or RISE, Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, which, if enacted, would designate the doctor of physical therapy degree — and dozens of other health care professional degrees — as a graduate degree rather than a professional degree."
"Trump signs order to block states from enforcing own AI rules," Peter Hoskins and Lily Jamali, BBC, December 12, 2025
"While the US currently has no national laws regulating AI, more than 1,000 separate AI bills have been introduced in states across the US, according to the White House. This year alone, 38 states including California, home to many of the world's biggest technology companies, have adopted some 100 AI regulations, the National Conference of State Legislatures says. Those rules range widely."
Recently, to advance the business of FSBPT, the board approved the motions listed. Please contact your jurisdiction board liaison if you have any questions or would like additional information.
Motion 25-12-01
To adopt the FSBPT 2026 FSBPT Policies Manual with updated language concerning News Briefs.
Motion 25-12-02
To appoint the following persons to the following Committees:
Continuing Competence Committee
Education Committee
Ethics & Legislation Committee
Finance Committee
Resolutions Committee
Sexual Misconduct & Boundaries Committee
Motion 25-12-03
To appoint Mira Mariano, VA, as the Chair of the Model Language for Code of Ethics for PT Regulatory Boards Task Force.
Members of the board of directors serve as liaisons to multiple jurisdictions.
Stephen Curley Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia
Craig Miller Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah
David Relling Hawaii, New Jersey, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Virgin Islands
Steven Scherger Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas
Michelle Sigmund-Gaines Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming
Michele Thorman Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, Virginia, and Wisconsin
Krista Wolfe Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont
Charles E. Reiter The public member of the board does not serve as a liaison to jurisdictions
FSBPT’s Board of Directors wants members to know staff is available to assist any jurisdiction with writing statutory or regulatory language. When you are crafting new laws or regulations/rules, especially involving FSBPT products such as the NPTE or Coursework Tool, or controversial topics such as dry needling, FSBPT is a resource to remember!
Subject
Point of Contact/Email Address
ADA accommodations
Christine Sousa
Assessment or examination development questions
Lorin Mueller npte@fsbpt.org
Continuing competence
Jeffrey M. Rosa
Credentials review
Jaime Nolan, FCCPT
ELDD- Exam, Licensure and Disciplinary Database participation
eldd@fsbpt.org
Exam registration processing
Foreign educated issues
Leslie Adrian
Immigration
Jamie Nolan
JAM- Jurisprudence Assessment Module
JAM@fsbpt.org
Legislation or Model Practice Act
Meeting arrangements
Paul Delaney
NPDB reports/questions
Angela Burnham
PTC- Physical Therapy Compact
compact@fsbpt.org
PEAT®- Practice Exam & Assessment Tool
peat@fsbpt.org
Reimbursement of expenses and other financial matters
David Sigman, ext. 226
School reports
schoolreports@fsbpt.org
Score transfer & reporting
SCP PET- Supervised Clinical Practice Performance Evaluation Tool
scppet@fsbpt.org
Security issues
Susan Newman security@fsbpt.org
Anything else, including news to share with members
William A. Hatherill Caitlin Jennings Communications@fsbpt.org
From the retiring winter banks of the Potomac, where the fish were faster, the boats were longer, and the fishermen are still full of stories.
I wish to express my appreciation for the opportunities and the privilege to serve our boards, members, and staff. It has been a pleasure to work with so many wonderful individuals over the many years (28+). I owe much to FSBPT’s staff who have carried the heavy load in the successful implementation of our many related organizations and projects. I recognize the successes of our many organizations are far greater than any one individual, and without our volunteers, leadership, and staff, we would not have been successful. A special thanks to our past presidents whom I had the privilege of serving: John Wadsworth, Blair Packard, Dargan Ervin, Maggie Donahue, Nancy Kirsch, and David Relling. And a special acknowledgment to Richard McDougal and the Honorary Members.
I am proud of our many initiatives and transitions. Our first initiative was transferring the NPTE from an outside vendor to being brought in-house, along with all of the related functions. We responded to our membership’s need for a balanced review of non-US-educated physical therapists by creating FCCPT and gaining recognition from our member jurisdictions and USCIS. In addition, our decision to develop in collaboration with CAPTE and maintain the Course Work Tool as an asset of FSBPT, while making the CWT available to other credentialing agencies, is an attempt to allow competitiveness and uniformity in the credential evaluation process.
FSBPT partnered with our membership and began the exploration of the PT Compact, which has more recently reached financial break-even and increased the ease for practitioner mobility. Our foundational structure to enhance public protection by requiring Compact States to provide timely reporting of disciplinary data and the FSBPT ID serves as an ongoing model for other mobility Compacts. The creation of HRRI and the many research projects should allow for greater and broader support in the healthcare regulatory research arena. We should be very proud of the work in the Healthy Practice Initiative and the ongoing efforts to address workforce data collection. The creation of King West Properties has allowed FSBPT & FCCPT to have expanded capacity, along with allowing tenant occupancy to assist in supporting the financial equity of our real estate.
These accomplishments and others are the result of the successful volunteers who have contributed to our organizations for many decades. You have individually given hours of time and insights to bring these initiatives to life. You have missed family events, struggled with travel inconveniences, consumed less-than-appealing food, and even gotten stranded in strange cities due to the weather. Volunteers have served on our various boards, committees, task forces, as speakers at Annual Education Meetings, the Leadership Issues Forum, and Regulatory Training with little to no compensation. We are fortunate to have individuals with such a deep-seated belief in stewardship and public protection who have chosen to contribute to our organization. Volunteers have been critical to the advancement of FSBPT and our related entities; all without broad recognition for their small and grand successes.
I am humbled by everyone’s commitment and service and the relationships that have developed over the years with staff, volunteers, and our leadership. I wish all of our organizations well and know that a great future lies ahead. I bid farewell to all.