Bill Text: CA AB1140 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1140 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 14-3)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-08-31 - To inactive file on motion of Senator Padilla. [AB1140 Detail]

Download: California-2009-AB1140-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1140	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 12, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 29, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 14, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Niello
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Torrico)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Anderson, Cook, Fuentes, Fuller,
Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,  and Knight  
Knight,   Portantino,   and Villines  )
   (Coauthors: Senators Cogdill, Cox, Huff, and Runner)

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to  add and repeal Section 94874.3 of the Education
Code    amend Sections 94897, 94904, 94920, and 94928
of, and to add and repeal Section 94874.3 of, the Education Code, and
to amend Section 8 of Chapter 310 of the Statutes of 2009  ,
relating to private postsecondary education, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1140, as amended, Niello. California Private Postsecondary
Education Act of  2009   : flight schools
and aircraft maintenance programs   .  
2009.  
   Existing 
    (1)     Existing  law establishes the
California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, which, among
other things, provides for student protections and regulatory
oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state. Existing law
establishes the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to
regulate private postsecondary institutions through the powers
granted, and the duties imposed, by the act.
   This bill would prohibit the bureau, for the period July 1, 2010,
to July 1, 2011, inclusive, from enforcing the act against
institutions that offer flight instruction or institutions that offer
Federal Aviation Administration certified educational programs in
aircraft maintenance. The bill would also require  the
Legislature to hold public informational hearings for the purpose of
reviewing the appropriateness of regulating educational programs in
flight instruction and aircraft maintenance under the act 
 those institutions to notify the bureau if they operate during
that period  . 
   (2) The act prohibits institutions, as defined, from performing
various actions.  
   This bill would prohibit an institution from offering an
unaccredited doctoral degree program without disclosing to
prospective students that the degree program is unaccredited, and any
known limitation of the unaccredited degree, including, but not
limited to, whether the degree is recognized for licensure or
certification in other states.  
   (3) The act prohibits an ability-to-benefit student, defined as a
student who does not have a certificate of graduation from a school
providing secondary education, or a recognized equivalent of that
certificate, from enrolling in an institution unless the student
achieves a specified score on an independently administered
examination from a specified list of examinations prescribed by the
United States Department of Education that demonstrates that the
student may benefit from the education and training being offered.
 
   This bill would authorize the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education to publish its own list of acceptable examinations if the
United States Department of Education does not have a list of
relevant examinations that pertain to the intended occupational
training.  
   (4) The act requires specified private postsecondary institutions
to refund 100% of the amount paid for institutional charges, less
specified expenses, if notice of cancellation is made through
attendance at the first class session, or the 7th class day after
enrollment, whichever is later.  
   This bill would change the 2nd deadline for notice of cancellation
from the 7th class day after enrollment to the 7th day after
enrollment.  
   (5) Existing law defines "graduates employed in the field," for
purposes of the act, as graduates who are gainfully employed within 6
months of graduation in a position for which the skills obtained
through the education and training provided by the institution are
required or provided a significant advantage to the graduate in
obtaining the position.  
   This bill would revise this definition to remove skills obtained
that have provided a significant advantage to the graduate in
obtaining the position, and include skills that are utilized to
perform the purpose or objective of the position or the major
responsibilities of the position.  
   (6) Existing law appropriates $580,000 from the Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education Administration Fund to the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, for the purpose of
funding 5 private postsecondary education specialist and senior
specialist positions.  
   This bill would require those positions to be permanent, full-time
positions to perform work in conformity with the classification
specifications as directed by the bureau chief.  
   This 
    (7)     This  bill would declare that
it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 94874.3 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   94874.3.  (a) For the period July 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011,
inclusive, the bureau shall not enforce this chapter against an
institution that offers flight instruction or an institution that
offers Federal Aviation Administration certified educational programs
in aircraft maintenance. 
   (b) The Legislature shall hold public informational hearings for
the purpose of reviewing the appropriateness of regulating
educational programs in flight instruction and aircraft maintenance
under this chapter.  
   (b) An institution identified in subdivision (a) shall notify the
bureau if the institution operates during the period of July 1, 2010,
to July 1, 2011, inclusive. 
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2012, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2012, deletes or extends
that date.
   SEC. 2.    Section 94897 of the   Education
Code   is amended to read: 
   94897.  An institution shall not do any of the following:
   (a) Use, or allow the use of, any reproduction or facsimile of the
Great Seal of the State of California on a diploma.
   (b) Promise or guarantee employment, or otherwise overstate the
availability of jobs upon graduation.
   (c) Advertise concerning job availability, degree of skill, or
length of time required to learn a trade or skill unless the
information is accurate and not misleading.
   (d) Advertise, or indicate in promotional material, without
including the fact that the educational programs are delivered by
means of distance education if the educational programs are so
delivered.
   (e) Advertise, or indicate in promotional material, that the
institution is accredited, unless the institution has been accredited
by an accrediting agency.
   (f) Solicit students for enrollment by causing an advertisement to
be published in "help wanted" columns in a magazine, newspaper, or
publication, or use "blind" advertising that fails to identify the
institution.
   (g) Offer to compensate a student to act as an agent of the
institution with regard to the solicitation, referral, or recruitment
of any person for enrollment in the institution, except that an
institution may award a token gift to a student for referring an
individual, provided that the gift is not in the form of money, no
more than one gift is provided annually to a student, and the gift's
cost is not more than one hundred dollars ($100).
   (h) Pay any consideration to a person to induce that person to
sign an enrollment agreement for an educational program.
   (i) Use a name in any manner improperly implying any of the
following:
   (1) The institution is affiliated with any government agency,
public or private corporation, agency, or association if it is not,
in fact, thus affiliated.
   (2) The institution is a public institution.
   (3) The institution grants degrees, if the institution does not
grant degrees.
   (j) In any manner make an untrue or misleading change in, or
untrue or misleading statement related to, a test score, grade or
record of grades, attendance record, record indicating student
completion, placement, employment, salaries, or financial
information, including any of the following:
   (1) A financial report filed with the bureau.
   (2) Information or records relating to the student's eligibility
for student financial aid at the institution.
   (3) Any other record or document required by this chapter or by
the bureau.
   (k) Willfully falsify, destroy, or conceal any document of record
while that document of record is required to be maintained by this
chapter.
   (l) Use the terms "approval," "approved," "approval to operate,"
or "approved to operate" without stating clearly and conspicuously
that approval to operate means compliance with state standards as set
forth in this chapter. If the bureau has granted an institution
approval to operate, the institution may indicate that the
institution is "licensed" or "licensed to operate," but  may
  shall  not state or imply either of the
following:
   (1) The institution or its educational programs are endorsed or
recommended by the state or by the bureau.
   (2) The approval to operate indicates that the institution exceeds
minimum state standards as set forth in this chapter.
   (m) Direct any individual to perform an act that violates this
chapter, to refrain from reporting unlawful conduct to the bureau or
another government agency, or to engage in any unfair act to persuade
a student not to complain to the bureau or another 
government   governmental  agency.
   (n) Compensate an employee involved in recruitment, enrollment,
admissions, student attendance, or sales of educational materials to
students on the basis of a commission, commission draw, bonus, quota,
or other similar method related to the recruitment, enrollment,
admissions, student attendance, or sales of educational materials to
students, except as provided in paragraph (1) or (2):
   (1) If the educational program is scheduled to be completed in 90
days or less, the institution shall pay compensation related to a
particular student only if that student completes the educational
program.
   (2) For institutions participating in the federal student
financial aid programs, this subdivision shall not prevent the
payment of compensation to those involved in recruitment, admissions,
or the award of financial aid if those payments are in conformity
with federal regulations governing an institution's participation in
the federal student financial aid programs.
   (o) Require a prospective student to provide personal contact
information in order to obtain, from the institution's Internet Web
site, educational program information that is required to be
contained in the school catalog or any information required pursuant
to the consumer information requirements of Title IV of the federal
Higher Education Act of 1965, and any amendments thereto. 
   (p) Offer an unaccredited doctoral degree program without
disclosing to prospective students that the degree program is
unaccredited, and any known limitation of the unaccredited degree,
including, but not limited to, whether the degree is recognized for
licensure or certification in other states. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 94904 of the   Education
Code   is amended to read: 
   94904.  Before an ability-to-benefit student may execute an
enrollment agreement, the institution shall have the student take an
independently administered examination from the list of examinations
prescribed by the United States Department of Education pursuant to
Section 484(d) of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
Sec. 1070a et seq.) as it is, from time to time, amended. The
student  may   shall  not enroll unless the
student achieves a score, as specified by the United States
Department of Education, demonstrating that the student may benefit
from the education and training being offered.  If the United
States Department of Education does not have a list of relevant
examinations that pertain to the intended occupational training, the
bureau may publish its own list of acceptable examinations. 
   SEC. 4.    Section 94920 of the   Education
Code   is amended to read: 
   94920.  An institution that does not participate in the federal
student financial aid programs shall do all of the following:
   (a) The institution shall advise each student that a notice of
cancellation shall be in writing, and that a withdrawal may be
effectuated by the student's written notice or by the student's
conduct, including, but not necessarily limited to, a student's lack
of attendance.
   (b) Institutions shall refund 100 percent of the amount paid for
institutional charges, less a reasonable deposit or application fee
not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), if notice of
cancellation is made through attendance at the first class session,
or the seventh  class  day after enrollment,
whichever is later.
   (c) The bureau may adopt by regulation a different method of
calculation for instruction delivered by other means, including, but
not necessarily limited to, distance education.
   (d) The institution shall have a refund policy for the return of
unearned institutional charges if the student cancels an enrollment
agreement or withdraws during a period of attendance. The refund
policy for students who have completed 60 percent or less of the
period of attendance shall be a pro rata refund.
   (e) The institution shall pay or credit refunds within 45 days of
a student's cancellation or withdrawal.
   SEC. 5.    Section 94928 of the   Education
Code   is amended to read: 
   94928.  As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Cohort population" means the number of students that began a
program on a cohort start date.
   (b) "Cohort start date" means the first class day after the
cancellation period during which a cohort of students attends class
for a specific program.
   (c) "Graduates" means the number of students who complete a
program within 100 percent of the published program length. An
institution may separately state completion information for students
completing the program within 150 percent of the original contracted
time, but that information  may   shall 
not replace completion information for students completing within the
original scheduled time. Completion information shall be separately
stated for each campus or branch of the institution.
   (d) "Graduates available for employment" means the number of
graduates minus the number of graduates unavailable for employment.
   (e) "Graduates employed in the field" means graduates who are
gainfully employed within six months of graduation in a position for
which the skills obtained through the education and training provided
by the institution are required or  provided a significant
advantage to the graduate in obtaining the position  
are utilized to perform the purpose or objective of the position or
the major responsibilities of the position  .
   (f) "Graduates unavailable for employment" means graduates who,
after graduation, die, become incarcerated, are called to active
military duty, are international students that leave the United
States or do not have a visa allowing employment in the United
States, or are continuing their education at an accredited or
bureau-approved postsecondary institution.
   (g) "Students available for graduation" means the cohort
population minus the number of students unavailable for graduation.
   (h) "Students unavailable for graduation" means students who have
died, been incarcerated, or called to active military duty.
   SEC. 6.    Section 8 of Chapter 310 of the Statutes
of 2009 is amended to read: 
  Sec. 8.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and
notwithstanding the repeal of the former Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989, the sum of five hundred
eighty thousand dollars ($580,000) is hereby appropriated from the
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Administration Fund to
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, for the purpose of
funding five permanent, full-time  private postsecondary
education specialist and senior specialist positions  to perform
work in conformity with the classification specifications as directed
by the   bureau chief  .
   (b) The education specialist and senior specialist positions
described in subdivision (a) shall be included in the annual budget
for the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 7.   This act is an
urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of
the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts
constituting the necessity are:
   In order to prevent the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
from requiring institutions that offer flight instruction and
institutions that offer Federal Aviation Administration certified
educational programs in aircraft maintenance to file applications for
approval to operate on or before August 1, 2010,  and to make
further improvements in the ability of the bureau to review the
activities of the institutions subject to its oversight during the
2010-11 fiscal year,  it is necessary for this act to take
effect immediately.