Private postsecondary education: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.

Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides for the regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act applies to private entities with a physical presence in the state that offer postsecondary education, as defined in the act, to the public for an institutional charge, but exempts certain institutions from its application, including certain institutions that offer continuing education, which is also defined in the act, and other institutions that offer educational programs to members of a trade or fraternal organization that sponsor the educational programs. The act requires the bureau to adopt by regulation minimum operating standards for institutions that are subject to the act's provisions, including a standard that requires accreditation for degree-granting institutions. The act requires an institution to obtain bureau approval before making certain substantive changes to its operations. The act authorizes the bureau to suspend, revoke, or place on probation an institution's approval to operate for violations of the act that result in actual student harm. The act is repealed by its own provisions on January 1, 2022. This bill would revise and recast provisions of the act. The bill would revise the definition of "continuing education" to expressly exclude instruction that leads to a degree and would revise the definition of "educational program" to exclude a course of 32 hours of instruction or less that is not designed to lead to employment. The bill would change the definition of "postsecondary education" from a formal institutional educational program whose "curriculum" is designed primarily for specified students, to a formal institutional educational program whose "instruction" is designed primarily for those students. The bill would clarify that institutions cannot qualify for the trade or fraternal organization exemption by sponsoring their own educational programs. The bill would require the bureau's advisory committee to elect a chair and vice chair and adopt rules for its affairs. The bill would allow the bureau to extend the accreditation deadlines under certain conditions and would clarify the bureau's authority to suspend an institution's educational programs and to suspend, revoke, or place on probation an institution's approval to operate. The bill would expand the types of substantive changes requiring prior bureau approval to include changes to an institution's educational programs related to clock and credit hours or distance learning, and those relating to an institution's participation in certain federal student aid programs. The bill would make other conforming, technical, and nonsubstantive changes and would extend the operation of the act by one year to January 1, 2023. The act establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund and requires the bureau to adopt regulations governing the administration and maintenance of the fund, including requirements relating to assessments on students and student claims against the fund, and establishes that the moneys in this fund are continuously appropriated to the bureau for specified purposes. By extending operation of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Under existing law, the act specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.