Bill Text: CA SB489 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Private postsecondary education: Private Postsecondary
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB489 Detail]
Download: California-2009-SB489-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 489 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 1, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu
FEBRUARY 26, 2009
An act to add Section 66907 to, and to add Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 94700) to Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3
of , the Education Code, relating to private postsecondary
education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 489, as amended, Liu. Private postsecondary education: Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform and Student Consumer
Protection Act of 2009.
The former Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform
Act of 1989, which became inoperative on July 1, 2007, and was
repealed on January 1, 2008, was administered by the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education in the Department of
Consumer Affairs. The former act generally effectuated legislative
intent to ensure minimum standards of instructional quality and
institutional stability in private postsecondary educational
institutions and required the bureau, among other things, to review
and investigate all institutions, programs, and courses of
instruction approved under the act.
This bill would enact the Private Postsecondary and Vocational
Education Reform and Student Consumer Protection Act of 2009, which
would express the intent of the Legislature to, among other things,
provide for the protection, education, and welfare of California's
citizens, postsecondary educational institutions, and students, as
specified. The bill would require the California Postsecondary
Education Commission to establish a Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education to function as the statewide private postsecondary and
vocational educational licensing and enforcement agency, in
accordance with the act. The bill would require the commission,
working through its executive director, to fulfill specified
functions and responsibilities under the act. The bill would require
each private postsecondary education institution desiring to operate
in this state to apply to the bureau for licensure. The bill would
establish procedures and standards for application and bureau
licensure. The bill would authorize the commission to impose a school
licensure fee on each institution making application to the bureau,
in accordance with an unspecified fee schedule, and would requir
e the costs of implementing the act to be covered by fee
revenues.
The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, by
January 1, 2013, to review the effectiveness of the bureau in
implementing the act and submit a report of its findings to the
commission, the Legislature, and the Governor.
The bill would provide that a private postsecondary institution
approved under the former Private Postsecondary and Vocational
Education Reform Act of 1989 as of June 30, 2007, shall, at a
minimum, be recognized as an approved institution through the
reapproval period that the institution had as of June 30, 2007, plus
2 additional years beyond that date.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 66907 is added to the
Education Code , to read:
66907. (a) In addition to the functions and responsibilities
described in Section 66903, the commission shall have the
responsibility for developing policies and regulations and for
overseeing the administration of policies and regulations for the
approval and regulation of private postsecondary education
institutions in California.
(b) The commission, working through its executive director, shall
fulfill the functions and responsibilities of the commission
established in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 94700) of Part 59
of Division 10.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 94700) is added to Part 59 of Division 10 of
Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 7. THE PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
REFORM AND STUDENT CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT OF 2009
94700. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform and Student
Consumer Protection Act of 2009.
94705. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the effective
integration of private postsecondary education into all aspects of
California's educational system and to foster and improve the
educational programs and services of private postsecondary
educational institutions while protecting the citizens of the state
from fraudulent or substandard operations.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature to recognize the
enormous diversity and quality of California's private postsecondary
educational expertise, with its approximately 1,600 privately
supported institutions of academic and vocational education. These
private colleges and universities play an important role in training
California's workforce, enrolling approximately 400,000 students
annually.
(c) It is further the intent of the Legislature to assure that
graduates of state approved colleges and universities are eligible to
sit for state licensure exams provided by the Board of Behavioral
Sciences and the Board of Psychology.
(d) It is further the intent of the Legislature to provide for the
protection, education, and welfare of California's citizens,
postsecondary educational institutions, and students by providing for
all of the following:
(1) Ensuring minimum standards of instructional quality and
institutional stability for all students in all types of
institutions, and thereby encouraging the recognition by public and
private institutions of completed coursework and degrees and diplomas
issued by private institutions in order to provide students equal
opportunities for equal accomplishment and ability.
(2) Establishing minimum standards concerning the quality of
education, ethical and business practices, health and safety, and
fiscal responsibility to provide protection against substandard,
transient, unethical, deceptive, or fraudulent institutions and
practices.
(3) Prohibiting the granting of false or misleading educational
credentials.
(4) Prohibiting misleading literature, advertising, solicitation,
or representations by private educational institutions or their
agents.
(5) Recognizing the importance of providing adequate funding
through application and renewal fees and federal funding for the
veteran's approval process, in order to support the state's
activities in implementing this chapter.
(6) Protecting consumers and students against fraud,
misrepresentation, or other practices that may lead to an improper
loss of funds paid for educational costs, whether financed through
personal resources or state and federal student financial aid.
(7) Establishing a path for the development of institutions
offering fields of study or methods of instruction and innovative
educational delivery systems that have not been previously
recognized, in order to encourage those institutions to become fully
approved institutions.
(8) Recognizing and encouraging quality nongovernmental
accreditation, while not ceding to that or any other nongovernmental
process the responsibility for state oversight for purposes of
approval, if the accreditation process fails either to protect
minimum standards of quality or to acknowledge legitimate innovative
methods in postsecondary education.
(9) Providing an administrative agency staffed by individuals who
are knowledgeable about private academic and vocational education,
and charged with the responsibility of developing policies and
procedures for the oversight and approval of private postsecondary
and vocational education. The administrative agency should have
responsibility for managing a broadly construed policy and planning
process that seeks to improve state accountability for private
postsecondary and vocational education and to improve the
articulation of private postsecondary and vocational education with
the public and independent postsecondary educational community. The
administrative agency should provide the leadership and planning
needed to maintain and develop a strong private sector within the
public and independent postsecondary educational community.
(10) Developing and maintaining a strong, vigorous, and widely
respected sector of private colleges, universities, and vocational
training institutions.
(e) It is further the intent of the Legislature that this function
and the work of the bureau be funded solely through school licensure
fees.
94706. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Bureau" means the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
established pursuant to Section 94707.
(b) "Commission" means the California Postsecondary Education
Commission.
94707. The commission shall establish a Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education to function as the statewide private
postsecondary and vocational educational licensing and enforcement
agency, in accordance with this chapter. The commission shall have
all of the following functions and responsibilities:
(a) Appointment of a director for the bureau and staff members
working within the bureau.
(b) Establishment of policies for the administration of this
chapter.
(c) Establishment of minimum criteria for the approval of private
postsecondary or vocational educational institutions to operate in
California and award degrees and diplomas, and for the approval of
institutions that meet the criteria.
(d) Publication of an Internet Web site directory of all private
postsecondary and vocational educational institutions approved to
operate in California under this chapter.
(e) Monitoring participation by all institutions covered by this
statute in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
reporting system.
(f) Empaneling of special committees of technically qualified
persons to assist the bureau in the development of standards for
education and educational institutions and the evaluation of an
application or institutions pursuant to this chapter.
(g) The commission, working with the bureau, and in consultation
with the Attorney General, shall adopt regulations that are necessary
and appropriate to exercise its authority under this chapter,
including, but not limited to, minimum state standards for contracts,
attendance policies, financial responsibility, and consumer
disclosures.
94708. Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for
the bureau in exercising its licensing, regulatory, and disciplinary
functions. Whenever the protection of the public is inconsistent
with other interests sought to be promoted, the protection of the
public shall be paramount.
94709. The bureau shall take possession and control of all
records and papers held for the benefit or use of the former Bureau
of Private Postsecondary Education.
94710. (a) Each private postsecondary education institution
desiring to operate in this state shall apply to the bureau for
licensure, upon forms provided by the bureau. The application shall
include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A catalog published, or proposed to be published, by the
institution containing the information specified in the criteria
adopted by the bureau.
(2) Copies of media advertising and promotional literature.
(3) Copies of all student enrollment agreement or contract forms
and instruments evidencing indebtedness.
(4) The name and California address of a designated agent upon
whom any process, notice, or demand may be served. The agent address
shall not be the same as the institution address.
(5) The institution's most current financial report and proof of
insurance or certificate of liability coverage.
(b) All institutions licensed under this chapter shall be
maintained and operated, or in the case of a new institution, shall
demonstrate that it will be maintained and operated, in compliance
with all of the following minimum standards:
(1) That the institution is financially capable of fulfilling its
commitments to its students.
(2) That upon satisfactory completion of study or training, the
student is given an appropriate degree or certification by the
institution, indicating that the program or programs of instruction
have been satisfactorily completed by the student.
(3) That the institution provides quality instruction as an
essential component of its educational program.
(c) Each institution licensed under this chapter shall participate
in and report to the United States Department of Education's
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), through the
commission, all of the following information for all educational
programs offered:
(1) The total number of students enrolled, by level of degree or
type of diploma program.
(2) The number of degrees and diplomas awarded, by level of
degree.
(3) The degree levels offered.
(4) The schedule of tuition and fees required for each term,
program, course of instruction, or degree offered.
(5) Institutional financial information.
(d) Each institution licensed under this chapter shall provide the
bureau with copies of all accrediting agency reports, including
preliminary reports and reports of visiting committees, all audit
reports prepared by the United States Department of Education and
student loan guaranty agencies, including preliminary reports, and
the institution's written responses to these reports.
(e) Any written contract or agreement with a licensed institution
signed by a prospective student shall not become operative until the
student attends the first class or session of instruction.
(f) The institution shall provide to students and other interested
persons, prior to enrollment, a catalog or brochure containing, at a
minimum, all of the following information:
(1) Descriptions of the instruction provided under each course
offered by the institution including the length of programs offered.
(2) The number of credit hours or clock hours of instruction or
training per unit or units required for completion of the educational
degree or certificate program.
(3) The attendance, dropout, and leave-of-absence policies.
(4) The faculty and their qualifications.
(5) The schedule of tuition payments, fees, and all other charges
and expenses necessary for the term of instruction and the completion
of the course of study.
(6) The cancellation and refund policies.
(7) For institutions that participate in federal and state
financial aid programs, all consumer information that the institution
is required to disclose to the student.
(8) All other material facts concerning the institution and the
program or course of instruction that are reasonably likely to affect
the decision of the student to enroll, as prescribed by rules and
regulations adopted by the commission.
(9) A description of the institution's placement assistance, if
any.
(g) Each licensed institution offering a degree or diploma program
designed to prepare students for a particular vocational, trade, or
career field shall provide to each prospective student a school
performance fact sheet disclosing all of the following information:
(1) The number and percentage of students who begin the
institution's program and successfully complete the entire program.
(2) The passage rates of graduates in the program for the most
recent calendar year on any licensure or certificate examination
required by the state for employment in the particular vocational,
trade, or career field and for any licensing preparation examination
as required by law.
(3) The number and percentage of students who begin the program
and secure employment in the field for which they were trained.
(4) The average annual starting wages or salary of graduates of
the institution's programs. The bureau may add any additional
disclosure requirements as determined by the bureau.
(h) Each licensed institution shall provide a written statement
containing its refund policy, together with examples of the
application of the policy, to each student prior to signing the
enrollment contract, and shall make its policy known to currently
enrolled students.
(i) If the bureau determines after an investigation that a
licensed institution has violated this chapter or regulations adopted
pursuant to this chapter, the bureau, working through the
commission, may order the institution to pay the costs and expenses
incurred in connection with the investigation and any civil or
administrative proceeding involving the violation that was
investigated, including charges made by the Attorney General for his
or her services, and any expenses incurred by a district attorney.
94711. (a) The costs of implementing this chapter shall be
covered by revenues of school licensure fees paid to the bureau in
accordance with the fee schedule set forth in Section 94712.
(b) The commission, working with the director of the bureau, shall
annually determine the funding level needed for the effective
operation of the bureau in the approval and oversight of private
postsecondary education in California and propose to the Legislature
any change in existing school licensure fees needed to provide
appropriate revenue levels to fund the effective work of the bureau
in implementing this chapter.
(c) On and after January 1, 2011, a minimum of 50 percent of the
funds available to the bureau for this responsibility shall be used
to cover the costs of the following:
(1) Enforcing this chapter and regulations adopted pursuant to
this chapter by taking actions against violators while ensuring due
process for all licensed institutions.
(2) Ensuring that independent onsite evaluations and random and
targeted inspections and audits of licensed institutions are
conducted, and that students have easy access to information
concerning their rights to contract cancellation, withdrawal,
refunds, and remedies.
(d) Any institution more than 30 days delinquent in the payment of
any fee or order for the recovery of costs and expenses under this
chapter, may be assessed a penalty fee by the bureau.
94712. The commission may impose a school licensure fee on each
institution making application to the bureau under this chapter, in
accordance with the following schedule:
(a) ____.
(b) ____.
94713. By January 1, 2013, the Legislative Analyst's Office shall
review the effectiveness of the bureau in implementing this chapter
and submit a report of its findings to the commission, the
Legislature, and the Governor. This performance review shall include
specific recommendations for any changes in this chapter or in the
operations of the commission or the bureau, or both, and the reasons
for any recommended changes.
94714. A private postsecondary institution approved under the
former Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of
1989 as of June 30, 2007, shall, at a minimum, be recognized as an
approved institution through the reapproval period that the
institution had as of June 30, 2007, plus two additional years beyond
that date.
