In this News Brief:
The FSBPT Council of Board Administrators (CBA) is excited to announce an open leadership position for the upcoming term. This year, two opportunities are available to serve from Fall 2026 to Fall 2028.
We encourage all members to get involved and help lead this vital community. Your participation will guide our ongoing discussions and the implementation of our shared vision.
If you are interested in nominating yourself or someone else, please send names to cbanominating@fsbpt.org by Thursday, April 30, 2026.
In February, FCCPT unveiled a redesigned website that strengthens support for foreign-educated physical therapists pursuing US licensure and immigration. The updated site reflects FCCPT’s ongoing commitment to improving access, clarity, and efficiency throughout the credentialing process.
One of the most notable improvements is the enhanced usability of the website. With a modern, intuitive design, users can easily locate important information. The new interactive jurisdiction requirements map provides a dynamic experience that allows applicants to more easily understand the credentialing requirements of each jurisdiction.
FCCPT also introduces a dedicated self-service section where applicants can read articles from a knowledge base. FCCPT designed this self-service resource to address common questions and concerns, enabling applicants to find answers and guidance efficiently at any stage of their credentialing journey.
We encourage you to explore the new website at www.fccpt.org to see the enhancements.
The Excellence in Regulation Award recognizes jurisdictions that have made significant accomplishments toward increasing public protection for consumers of physical therapy services in a number of areas. To nominate a jurisdiction, including your own, submit a Nomination Form by Friday, May 29, 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.
FSBPT strives to be a deliberative organization and seeks to present new approaches and changes in a purposeful manner before our Leadership Issues Forum (LIF). Providing topics in advance allows the board an opportunity to carefully prepare topics for consideration. Bringing topics to LIF, where our members have plenty of time to engage in thoughtful dialogue, allows us to truly get member input on important topics. A number of topics have been presented at consecutive LIF meetings to make sure they are vetted properly, like the most recent bylaw changes or the disciplinary action guidelines. We welcome your input on future topics for LIF and look forward to hearing from you all!
We are accepting presentation ideas and proposals for 2026 webinars and in-person sessions at the 2026 Annual Education Meeting in Greenville, South Carolina.
If you have a specific idea, please submit a proposal. However, we are also interested in learning about jurisdictions' experiences with regulatory topics and your general ideas on what issues we should examine. We encourage all board members, administrators, and other stakeholders to share topics and ideas with us. You can also watch webinars and meeting sessions on FSBPT's YouTube Channel to learn what we've recently covered.
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.
Each month, we will focus on a different statute section from the Model Practice Act and its accompanying commentary. For 2026, the Model Practice Act Moment will focus on Article 3: Examination and Licensure. Last year, in 2025, we covered one of the twelve sections under Article 4: Regulation of Physical Therapy each month. Learn more by reading the Model Practice Act.
3.03 Licensure [and Certification] by Endorsement
A. The board shall issue a license to a physical therapist who has a current unrestricted license from another jurisdiction of the United States if that person meets all qualifications prescribed in [Qualifications for Licensure and Certification, Article 3.02] at the time of the applicant’s initial licensure.
B. The board shall issue a license [certificate] to a physical therapist assistant who has a current unrestricted license [certificate] from another jurisdiction of the United States if that person meets all qualifications prescribed in [Qualifications for Licensure and Certification, Article 3.02] at the time of the applicant’s initial licensure.
Commentary Jurisdictions will confidently grant licensure by endorsement to physical therapists/physical therapist assistants currently licensed in other jurisdictions when greater regulatory consistency is achieved from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A phrase common in many practice acts in their endorsement or reciprocity sections is: “...having licensing requirements substantially similar to those prescribed in this [act] at the time the license was originally granted.” That language is closer to reciprocity than to endorsement. The qualifications for licensure of foreign-educated physical therapists in 3.02.B, combined with this qualification for endorsement, will ultimately help achieve uniformity and actual endorsement in this aspect of regulation.
Any other jurisdictional “requirements” for endorsement should be specified in the rules associated with an application for endorsement. These shall include submission of verification of a current license in the jurisdiction of previous residency, affidavit of previous practice within a specified period of time, absence of pending or current disciplinary action or restricted license, continuing competence history if mandatory for licensing requirements, or the requirement to take a jurisprudence examination.
Because of many challenges, FSBPT discourages boards from trying to reinterpret licensing test scores obtained prior to 1996. Many of the reinterpretation processes require jurisdictional boards to apply decision processes that are no longer within acceptable professional standards, such as basing a passing score on a prescribed number of standard deviations below the mean score on the test form. These processes have been abandoned because they can result in large differences in outcomes among similarly qualified candidates as a function of the test form, comparison group, and other factors. And because these processes require complex calculations of historical data, the decisions jurisdictional boards make based on the calculations take a long time and are often erroneous. It would be hard for a jurisdictional board to argue that a test score from more than two decades ago is a good indicator of a candidate’s current ability to practice safely and effectively. A passing licensing test score in another jurisdiction, at the time of licensure, should be considered a passing score in any other jurisdiction absent any other concerns about the candidate’s ability to practice safely and competently.
As the PT Compact and other legislative efforts such as universal recognition and allowing health care practitioners from out of state licensees provide services via telehealth without licensure, jurisdictions may consider evaluating their current endorsement requirements for applicants with a pre-1996 examination score or educated at a school that has not been accredited by an agency approved by the board. These individuals may be able to provide services in the jurisdiction (e.g., compact privilege) but find significant barriers to becoming licensed.
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, Susan Newman, summarizing what you would like to have funded and why it is important or how it can improve efficiencies for your board.
We are hosting multiple upcoming webinars within the FSBPT Portal, allowing you to easily access member resources, groups, and events all in one place! Be sure to register for these upcoming webinars:
April 2026 Regulatory Hour with Dale Atkinson: Statutory Interpretation
April 21, 4:00 p.m. ET
April 2026 Regulatory Hour with Jennifer Semko: Exam Security on Trial - AI, Aggregators, and Copyright Battles
April 23, 4:00 p.m. ET
May 2026 Regulatory Hour: Paul Welk
May 12, 4:00 p.m. ET
June 2026 Regulatory Hour: Dale Atkinson
June 16, 4:00 p.m. ET
July 2026 Regulatory Hour: Amigo Wade
July 7, 4:00 p.m. ET
August 2026 Regulatory Hour: Dale Atkinson
August 18, 4:00 p.m. ET
September 2026 Regulatory Hour: Amigo Wade
September 8, 4:00 p.m. ET
October 2026 Regulatory Hour: Dale Atkinson
October 6, 4:00 p.m. ET
November 2026 Regulatory Hour: Jennifer Semko
November 17, 4:00 p.m. ET (Tentative)
December 2026 Regulatory Hour: Dale Atkinson
December 15, 4:00 p.m. ET
To register, please log in to the FSBPT Portal, select "Events," and click on the event you'd like to register for.
Regulators need to understand sexual misconduct and boundary violations in physical therapy, including power dynamics, informed consent, and cultural competency, to ensure ethical practices and patient well-being. This article is based on a 2024 Annual Education Meeting session presented by Sherri Paru, Mira Mariano, Samantha Mohn-Johnsen, and Michael Noonan.
FSBPT members and staff use a variety of acronyms. We have compiled a list of these acronyms along with descriptions and website links when appropriate.
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.
"Columbia releases report on ‘institutional failures’ enabling Hadden’s abuse nearly two and a half years after launch," Tulasi Cherukuri and Michelle Barsoum, Columbia Spectator, March 10, 2026
"The report identifies three key factors which permitted Hadden’s abuse: the institutions’ ineffective assigning of staff observation during sensitive examinations and inadequate training for these observers, known as chaperones; obstacles which prevented patients and staff from reporting sexual misconduct; and the institutions’ failure to respond to reports it did receive."
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.
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, ext. 201
Assessment or examination development questions
Lorin Mueller npte@fsbpt.org
Continuing competence
Jeffrey M. Rosa, ext. 239
Credentials review
Jaime Nolan, FCCPT
ELDD- Exam, Licensure and Disciplinary Database participation
eldd@fsbpt.org
Exam registration processing
Foreign educated issues
Leslie Adrian, ext. 233
Immigration
Jamie Nolan, ext. 403
JAM- Jurisprudence Assessment Module
JAM@fsbpt.org
Legislation or Model Practice Act
Meeting arrangements
Paul Delaney, ext. 223
NPDB reports/questions
Angela Burnham, 249
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
Susan Newman Caitlin Jennings Communications@fsbpt.org
Christine Melius, PT, DPT is the newest chair of EDC-PTA. For over 10 years, she has served as volunteer in service to the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) as an Item Writer, Item Writer Coordinator, and a valued member of the Examination Development Committee. As Program Director of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at Tyler Junior College (Tyler, TX), she accompanied a cohort of students to the FSBPT office to learn about what we do and help them apply that to their educational experience. Her commitment has made a meaningful and lasting impact here at FSBPT and in the lives of so many students. We are grateful for Christine’s leadership, passion, and continued contributions to FSBPT. Thank you for everything you do.
Susan L. Newman, CEO