State Issues

2025 PT Advocacy Day Big Success!

  • Thirty PTs and PT students gathered at Marbles Museum meeting place in downtown Raleigh on the morning of Tuesday, April 15, 2025 to learn about the two bills that APTA NC has filed in the 2025-2026 session.


  • Then we all walked three blocks to the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building and visited with House Representatives, Senators, as well as their Legislative Assistants.


  • Our lobbyist, Alex Miller, joined our visiting mission as constituents, as well as saying Thank you in person to our bill sponsors.


  • Read about our bills below.


  • Learn about future PT Advocacy Days below.

  • Rep Ted Davis

    PTs Russell Muller & Kevin Miller visit the NC General Assembly on Advocacy Day April 2025

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  • Rep Crawford sponsors our Schools PT Bill!

    PTs visit Jones Street:  Chloe Williams, Victoria Smith, and Kali Boyette

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  • PTs Advocate at NC General Assembly

    PT Deidra Charity, clinician and educator at UNC, & Elon SPT Isaac Murdock visit legislators in Raleigh

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Current Issues

2 Bills filed in the long session of the NC General Assembly 2025-2026 session!


  • We have a bill! Schools-PT/OT Employment

    Did you know that in the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI), PTs and OTs are not in the "certified" employment category as teachers, nurses, and speech-language pathologists? 


    For decades, PT and OT employment in schools were categorized as "classified" along with school staff.  In 2019, DPI made a third employment category, "Other Licensed Professionals," (OLP) and moved PTs and OTs into that category along with drivers' license instructors. 


    The problem is that each of the 115 school districts is supposed to publish their own payment schedules, but they do not. Furthermore, there is no data within DPI about the employment/retention status of PTs and OTs across the state.


    We finally have a bill filed in the House to start to remedy the issue!  The bill requires transparency of school districts to publish  salary schedules for PTs and OTs, and requires annual reporting,on their employment status.


    See the bill here.


    See the one-page flyer here.


    Learn More and get involved on our Peds Special Interest Group page

  • We have a bill! Add PTs to K-12 Concussion Protocol

    In 2011, the General Assembly passed the Gfeller-Waller act that requires schools to have appropriate licensed healthcare providers to evaluate and help make decisions about return to play for child athletes at all levels; but PTs were left off the list of providers.


    Evaluating and treating patients with concussion has long been within the scope of practice of PTs.  In fact, PTs can evaluate and treat schoolchildren with concussion in North Carolina; however, the current law doesn't allow a school to accept a PT's returnh-to-play signature. 


    APTA NC is advocating to add PTs to the list of providers for concussion in schools and have a bill filted in the House.


    See the bill here.


    See the one-page flyer here.

  • How to contact your legislator to ask for support on our current two bills

    Find your legislator on ncleg.gov


    Be sure to look for NC House (not US House).  It's very easy to call your House Rep or Senator.  Usually the LA (legislative assistant) answers the phone.  Say, "Hello, my name is--- and I am a constituent. "  Then explain your school or work.  

     "Our state Association has two small, uncontroversal, nonpartisan professional bills.  I am calling to ask that ______________(fill in legislator name) support House Bill 911 which asks for annual reporting about PT and OT employment; and please support House Bill 928, that adds PTs to the state concussion protocol."  


    Then send a follow-on email and or snail mail thank you note!

Become a Key Contact for the

NC General Assembly ~ it's easy!

  • NC General Assembly House Districts

    There are 120! We need a PT and a PT in each district. It's easy and we'll teach you how to do it.

  • NC Senate Districts

    There are 50 Senate Districts. We need a PT and a PT in each District. You can represent a House and Senate District. It's easy to interact with State House Representatives and Senators. We'll help and show you how.

Past Progress


  • Spinal Manipulation Legislation

    In 2019, after working for 6 years (and waiting for 34 years), the Spinal Manipulation Task Force succeeded in passing an amendment to the PT Practice Act to allow for PTs to perform spinal manipulation without a physician referral- a technique within the PT professional scope of practice for 100+ years.

  • Dry Needling Litigation

    In 2015, the NC Acupuncture Licensing Board (NCAP) sued the NC Board of PT Examiners (NCBPTE) in a state court alleging that when PTs performed dry needling, they were performing acupuncture.


    Meanwhile the several state PTs supported by APTA NC (formally called NCPTA) launched a federal anti-trust suit alleging that acupuncturists were keeping PTs from performing their own business.


    Under the leadership of APTA NC presidents David Edwards and Kyle Covington, along with the State Legislative Commitee Chair and VP, Mary Kay Hannah, the NC Supreme Court determined in 2018 that dry needling was a part of PT practice.  Soon after, the NCAP settled the federal anti-trust suit.

  • Direct Access Legislation

    North Carolina was the 7th state to obtain direct access, the legal ability of PTs to see patients without referral.   Ben Massey led this advocacy work in 1985.

  • PT Compact Legislation

    In 2018, APTA NC passed a Practice Act legislative update that allowed for the North Carolina Board of PT Examiners to join the PT Compact.  We were the 11th state to join and now PTs in our state can easily gain practice privileges in other compact states and vice versa.  This is a great boon for military spouses and for traveling PTs and PTAs.

  • Term Protection

    Members let APTA NC leadership know about a health insurance company using a mobile app for exercise and calling it "physical therapy," without any physical therapists involved in their exercise app. The Chapter provided info to the licensing Board who worked with the Federation of State Boards of PT to have the insurance company stop misusing our legallly protected name for specific PT-provided services.

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Future Issues

  • What about Disability Plates & Parking Placards?

    The state of North Carolina Division of Transportation relies on healthcare professionals to determine when a person needs to use disability parking spots--whether temporarily or permanently.  Who better to know a person's ability to ambulate safely and how far than a PT??  


    In North Carolina, not only can opthomologists sign of when someone cannot see, so can optomotrists.  We believe PTs are the movement evaluation experts and could be on that list.


    Other states have added PTs to the list of providers who can sign off on DOT patient request for disability parking placares and disability plates.


    APTA NC hopes to advocate for this options in the 2027 General Assembly session.

  • Do you have an idea?

    Contact our State Legislative Committee Chair.

Meet our State Legislative Chair!

Dr. Ginger Garner has her own non-insurance-based practice in Greensboro, focused on pelvic floor therapy, evidence-based yoga treatment in PT, and Functional Medicine.  She previously ran for NC State Senate.  Although she was not elected down east, she's regularly involved in state advocacy in the Piedmont region.  She is ready and willing to help you get involved, meet your state legislators, and teach you how to advocate for our profession!

Scheduling Annual Advocacy Days

  1. NC General Assembly terms are two years long, starting with the "long session" in add-numbered years (5 months from the end of January through end of June); completed by the "short session" (2 months usually in the spring).
  2. APTA NC plans to schedule Advocacy Day every long session during April (avoiding session holiday week, and before "cross-over which is often at the end of April or beginning of May)
  3. If we have a bill alive during the short-session, we will schedule Advocacy Day in even-numbered years.
  4. Goal is for State Legislative Committee to schedule in January, as soon as NC General Assembly has a calendar.

Interested in serving on the State Legislative Committee or being a Key Contact?  Join us!