North Carolina HB 702: Chiropractic Education Changes.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 702

Short Title: Chiropractic Education Changes. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Setzer, Howard, Almond, and Huneycutt (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Health, if favorable, Regulatory Reform, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and
Operations of the House
April 3, 2025
*H702-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE LICENSURE AND 2
PRACTICE OF CHIROPRACTIC AND TO ESTABLISH ACUPUNCTURE 3
CERTIFICATION STANDARDS. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 90-139(a) reads as rewritten: 6
"(a) The North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is created to consist of 7
eight members appointed by the Governor and General Assembly. Six of the members shall be 8
practicing doctors of chiropractic, who are residents of this State and who have actively practiced 9
chiropractic in the State for at least eight consecutive years immediately preceding their 10
appointments; four of these six members shall be appointed by the Governor, and two by the 11
General Assembly in accordance with G.S. 120-121, one each upon the recommendation of the 12
President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. No more 13
than three members of the Board may be graduates of the same college college, program, or 14
school of chiropractic. The other two members shall be persons chosen by the Governor to 15
represent the public at large. The public members shall not be health care providers nor the 16
spouses of health care providers. For purposes of Board membership, "health care provider" 17
means any licensed health care professional and any agent or employee of any health care 18
institution, health care insurer, health care professional school, or a member of any allied health 19
profession. For purposes of this section, a person enrolled in a program to prepare him to be a 20
licensed health care professional or an allied health professional shall be deemed a health care 21
provider. For purposes of this section, any person with significant financial interest in a health 22
service or profession is not a public member." 23
SECTION 2. G.S. 90-142 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read: 24
"(13) Establish certification standards for the practice of acupuncture by doctors of 25
chiropractic." 26
SECTION 3. G.S. 90-142.1 reads as rewritten: 27
"§ 90-142.1. Supervised training programs authorized. 28
(a) As used in this section, "preceptorship program" means a clinical program of an 29
approved chiropractic college program in which a student of chiropractic, under the direct 30
supervision of a licensed chiropractor, observes the licensed chiropractor and may perform 31
chiropractic services as defined in G.S. 90-143(a) and subject to G.S. 90-151. For the purposes 32
of this section, "direct supervision" means that the supervising licensed chiropractor must be 33
within the immediate patient treatment area and available to the student at all times. 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 702-First Edition
(b) Each student enrolled in a chiropractic college program that meets the accreditation 1
requirements of G.S. 90-143 may participate in a preceptorship program." 2
SECTION 4. G.S. 90-143 reads as rewritten: 3
"§ 90-143. Definitions of chiropractic; examinations; educational requirements. 4
(a) "Chiropractic" is herein defined to be the science of adjusting the cause of disease by 5
realigning the spine, releasing pressure on nerves radiating from the spine to all parts of the body, 6
and allowing the nerves to carry their full quota of health current (nerve energy) from the brain 7
to all parts of the body. 8
(b) It shall be the duty of the North Carolina State Board of Chiropractic Examiners 9
(hereinafter referred to as "Board") to examine for licensure to practice chiropractic in this State 10
any applicant who is or will become, within 60 days of examination, a graduate of a four-year an 11
accredited chiropractic college program that is either accredited by the Council on Chiropractic 12
Education or deemed by the Board to be the equivalent of such a college program and who 13
furnishes to the Board, in the manner prescribed by the Board, all of the following: 14
(1) Satisfactory evidence of good moral character. 15
(2) Proof that the applicant has received a baccalaureate degree from a college or 16
university accredited by a regional accreditation body recognized by the 17
United States Department of Education.Education or its international 18
equivalent. 19
(3) A transcript confirming that the applicant has received at least 4,200 hours of 20
accredited chiropractic education. The Board shall not count any hours earned 21
at an institution that was not accredited by the Council on Chiropractic 22
Education or was not, as determined by the Boa