If the U.S. Department of Education recognizes an accrediting organization for chiropractic schools, does the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners have to accept that organization's accreditation when deciding who is eligible for a Texas chiropractic license?

Texas AG Opinion JM-1148: Chiropractic Board's Authority to Define "Bona Fide Reputable School"

Plain-English summary

A member of the Texas House Public Health Committee asked the Attorney General whether the Board of Chiropractic Examiners could keep limiting the term "bona fide reputable chiropractic school" to schools accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education, effectively excluding graduates of schools accredited only by the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association. The question arose because the U.S. Department of Education had separately recognized the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association as a nationally recognized accrediting body for certain federal financial-aid purposes.

The statute governing chiropractors, article 4512b of the Revised Civil Statutes, requires that license applicants graduate from a "bona fide reputable" chiropractic school without further defining that term, leaving it to the board to apply. The board's rule recognized only schools that held candidate status with, or were accredited by, the Council on Chiropractic Education. That rule had already survived one round of litigation: in Madden v. Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, the Austin Court of Appeals found a due-process problem in how the board applied an earlier, less clearly defined version of the standard to one applicant, but the board's current rule was adopted afterward specifically to give applicants clear notice of the standard.

The Attorney General concluded that the board could keep excluding schools accredited only by the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association. The opinion reasoned that federal recognition for purposes of the U.S. Department of Education's own regulations, tied to eligibility for federal financial aid, does not by itself compel a state licensing board to treat that recognition as satisfying a separate state law standard. Because the opinion process cannot make factual findings about whether the board's rule is drawn too broadly or too narrowly, the Attorney General did not evaluate the substantive merits of the board's line-drawing, only whether it was legally required to change it because of the federal recognition. It was not.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1990. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Does U.S. Department of Education recognition of a chiropractic accrediting organization automatically make its graduates eligible for a Texas chiropractic license?
No. The opinion held that federal recognition for federal financial-aid purposes does not by itself require the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners to recognize that organization's accreditation as meeting the state's "bona fide, reputable school" standard.

Could the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners keep recognizing only Council on Chiropractic Education-accredited schools?
Yes. The opinion did not find any legal requirement forcing the board to expand its definition, and left the board's existing rule, and its 1984 litigation history in Madden, in place.

Did this opinion evaluate whether the board's accreditation rule itself was fair or well-drawn?
No. The opinion expressly stated that the Attorney General's office cannot make factual findings in the opinion process, so it did not assess whether the board's rule was too broad or too narrow, only that the federal recognition did not legally compel a change.

Background and statutory framework

Article 4512b, section 10(a), V.T.C.S., required chiropractic license applicants to be graduates of "bona fide reputable chiropractic schools (whose entrance requirements and course of instruction are as high as those of the better class of chiropractic schools in the United States)," without defining "bona fide reputable" further. The Board of Chiropractic Examiners filled that gap by rule, recognizing schools that either held candidate status with, or were accredited by, the Council on Chiropractic Education. An earlier, less specific version of the board's standard was challenged in Madden v. Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, where the Austin Court of Appeals found the board had denied an applicant due process by applying an undefined standard in an adjudicative hearing without giving him advance notice of the criteria; the case was remanded for further proceedings, and the board subsequently adopted its current, more specific rule.

The request arose because the U.S. Department of Education had separately determined that the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association qualified as a nationally recognized accrediting association under 20 U.S.C. § 1141(a) and 34 C.F.R. Part 602, a designation tied to eligibility for federal student financial assistance. The opinion concluded that this federal, financial-aid-specific recognition operates independently of the state licensing statute and does not itself require the board to treat Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association-accredited schools as satisfying article 4512b's separate "bona fide, reputable school" requirement.

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• V.T.C.S. art. 4512b, § 10(a)
• 20 U.S.C. § 1141(a); 34 C.F.R. § 602.1(b), Parts 602-603 (referenced, federal accreditation-recognition framework)

Cases:

• Madden v. Texas Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 663 S.W.2d 622 (Tex. App.-Austin 1984, writ ref'd n.r.e.)

Agency rule cited: 22 T.A.C. § 71.5 (Board of Chiropractic Examiners).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-1148
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1990/jm1148.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

March 20, 1990

Honorable Brad Wright
Chairman
Public Health Committee
House of Representatives
P. O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78769-2910

Opinion No. JM-1148

Re: Authority of the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to condition eligibility for licensure on graduation from a college accredited by a particular private organization (RQ-1811)

Dear Representative Wright:

You ask about the validity of a rule adopted by the Board of Chiropractic Examiners that defines the term "bona fide reputable chiropractic school."

The regulatory statute governing chiropractors is article 4512b, V.T.C.S. That act requires that applicants for licensure by examination be graduates of "bona fide reputable chiropractic schools (whose entrance requirements and course of instruction are as high as those of the better class of chiropractic schools in the United States)."[1] V.T.C.S. art. 4512b, § 10(a). The board has adopted the following rule regarding chiropractic schools:

(a) The board shall annually review and approve those chiropractic schools whose graduates are eligible for examination and licensure under the provisions of Texas Civil Statutes Article 4512b, § 10.

(b) A bona fide reputable, chiropractic school as that term is used in the Chiropractic Act, § 10, is a school which either holds candidate status or is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education.

22 T.A.C. § 71.5.

You ask whether the board has authority to limit the term "bona fide reputable chiropractic school" to schools accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education and thereby to exclude schools accredited by the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association.[2]

The board's refusal to recognize schools of "straight" chiropractic as bona fide reputable schools of chiropractic has generated controversy in the past. In 1984, the Austin Court of Appeals considered whether the board had denied due process of law in the manner in which it determined that an applicant, who had graduated from a school of "straight" chiropractic, had not graduated from a bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic. Madden v. Texas Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 663 S.W.2d 622 (Tex. App.-Austin 1984, writ ref'd n.r.e.). The controversy arose when the board responded to Madden's request for an application by informing Madden that he was ineligible for licensure because he had not attended a bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic. The board's rule at the time of Madden's request provided:

All applicants for licensure who have matriculated in a chiropractic college after October 1, 1975 must present evidence of having graduated from a chiropractic college having status [sic] with the accrediting commission of the Council on Chiropractic Education or the equivalent thereof.

See id. at 624. Litigation ensued and eventually led to a hearing in which the board issued the following order:

1. A chiropractic college must either show accreditation by an accrediting body viewed as reliable by the Board or show a valid reason why such accreditation cannot be obtained and otherwise give proof of reputable status in order to be a bona fide and reputable school for the purposes of Section 10, Article 4512b, V.A.C.S.

2. Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is not a bona fide reputable school as that term is used in Section 10, Article 4512b, V.A.C.S., and defined by the Board, and therefore, it is ORDERED that David Madden, a Sherman College graduate, is not eligible to sit for the state board examination.

See id. at 624-25. After that hearing, Madden continued litigation against the board, claiming that he had again been denied due process. The Austin Court of Appeals agreed, stating that although the board was free to announce a new definition of "bona fide reputable school of chiropractic" in an adjudicative hearing, Madden was entitled to know before a hearing the standards that would control his case. Id. at 626. Mr. Madden's case was remanded to the board for final resolution not inconsistent with the court's opinion. Id. at 627.

In the meantime, the Board of Chiropractic Examiners promulgated its current rule, which defines bona fide, reputable chiropractic school as a school that holds candidate status or is accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education. Tex. Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 9 Tex. Reg. 5199 (1984) (codified at 22 T.A.C. § 71.5). Apparently none of the issues raised in the litigation with Mr. Madden persuaded the board that schools of straight chiropractic were bona fide, reputable schools of chiropractic for purposes of article 4512b, V.T.C.S.

You have raised the issue because the United States Department of Education has determined the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association to be a nationally recognized accrediting association for purposes of section 1141(a) of title 20 of the United States Code. "Accreditation of postsecondary institutions [or] postsecondary programs by agencies recognized by the Secretary [of Education] is a prerequisite to eligibility for many types of Federal financial assistance for those institutions or programs and for the students enrolled in those institutions or programs." 34 C.F.R. § 602.1(b) (1988); see generally 34 C.F.R. Parts 602, 603 (Secretary's Procedures and Criteria for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies).

The legislature has delegated to the Board of Chiropractic Examiners the responsibility for determining what constitutes a bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic. Because we cannot make fact findings in the opinions process, we cannot assess whether the board's rule defining bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic is too broad or too narrow. The fact that the United States Department of Education has found the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association to be a nationally recognized accrediting association for certain federal law purposes does not by itself require the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to recognize schools accredited by the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association as a bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic for purposes of Texas law.

SUMMARY

The fact alone that the United States Department of Education has found the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association to be a nationally recognized accrediting association for certain federal law purposes does not require the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to recognize schools accredited by the Straight Chiropractic Academic Standards Association as a bona fide, reputable school of chiropractic for purposes of Texas law.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

MARY KELLER
First Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Sarah Woelk
Assistant Attorney General

[1] After October 1, 1990, applicants for licensure by examination will include final semester students, as well as graduates, of bona fide reputable chiropractic schools. Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 363, § 5, at 1450 (effective Oct. 1, 1990).

[2] For an explanation of the distinction between "straight" chiropractic and "mixer" chiropractic, see Madden v. Tex. Bd. of Chiropractic Examiners, 663 S.W.2d 622 (Tex. App.-Austin 1984, writ ref'd n.r.e.).