BILL NUMBER: SB 45 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 635
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 13, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 13, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 10, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Perata
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Portantino and Cook)
DECEMBER 22, 2006
An act to amend Sections 1, 2, 3, 9, and 10 of Chapter 67 of the
Statutes of 2007, relating to private postsecondary education, and
making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 45, Perata. Private postsecondary education.
(1) The former Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
Reform Act of 1989, which became inoperative on July 1, 2007, and is
to be repealed on January 1, 2008, generally set minimum standards of
instructional quality, ethical and business practices, health and
safety, and fiscal responsibility for private postsecondary and
vocational educational institutions, as defined. The act established
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education in the
Department of Consumer Affairs. The former act required the bureau,
among other things, to review and investigate all institutions,
programs, and courses of instruction approved under the act.
The former act established the Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education Administration Fund and the continuously
appropriated Student Tuition Recovery Fund. The former act specified
that certain violations of its provisions were subject to civil
penalties and that certain willful violations of the act were
punishable as crimes.
Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature to provide
for the protection of the interests of students who, and institutions
which, have pending matters, or any other pending business, before
the former bureau as of June 30, 2007.
Existing law requires that each matter, as defined, pending before
the former bureau as of the close of business on June 30, 2007, be
deemed to remain pending before the bureau or a successor agency as
of February 1, 2008, irrespective of any applicable deadlines. With
respect to any deadline applicable to a pending matter, existing law
requires that no time be deemed to have elapsed between July 1, 2007,
and January 31, 2008, inclusive. Existing law requires that any
institution, program, or course of study that is approved by the
former bureau, or authorized as prescribed, as of the close of
business on June 30, 2007, be deemed to be approved as of February 1,
2008, irrespective of any applicable conditions, deadlines, or
additional requirements. Existing law also requires that, with
respect to any deadline applicable to the approval or conditional
approval of an institution, program, or course of study, no time
shall be deemed to have elapsed between July 1, 2007, and January 31,
2008, inclusive.
This bill would extend these provisions so that they apply until
July 1, 2008.
(2) Existing law authorizes the Director of Consumer Affairs to
enter into voluntary agreements with institutions that state that the
institutions agree to comply with state statutes, rules, and
regulations applicable to these institutions as of June 30, 2007.
Existing law requires institutions to disclose to their current and
prospective students in writing, within 60 days of the effective date
of the bill, whether they entered into, or declined to enter into, a
voluntary agreement with the director. These provisions are repealed
on February 1, 2008.
This bill would extend these provisions by 5 months, providing for
their repeal on July 1, 2008.
This bill would authorize accredited institutions to make
specified modifications in their programs with the approval of their
accrediting agencies. The bill would authorize the Board of Barbering
and Cosmetology to approve a school meeting prescribed criteria.
These provisions would be repealed on July 1, 2008.
(3) The bill would, until July 1, 2008, continue the existence of
the Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Administration
Fund and the continuously appropriated Student Tuition Recovery Fund,
thereby making an appropriation.
(4) Existing law continues the approval of private postsecondary
institutions for specified purposes until July 1, 2008.
This bill would extend that approval until January 1, 2009.
(5) The bill would establish a Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The bill would
specify the duties of the bureau, and would authorize the Director of
Consumer Affairs to delegate his or her duties under this bill to a
bureau chief, who would be appointed by the Governor and confirmed by
a vote of a majority of the membership of the Senate.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007 is
amended to read:
Section 1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide,
through the enactment of subdivision (b), for the protection of the
interests of students and institutions having any matter pending
before the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
as of June 30, 2007. The Legislature further encourages the
Department of Consumer Affairs to provide information to students and
institutions during this time period to ensure their understanding
of their rights and responsibilities, and that student complaints
received during this time period continue to be duly recorded and, to
the extent practicable, investigated, so that no Californian is
harmed by the delay in the provision of full services.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
(1) Each matter pending before the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education as of the close of business on
June 30, 2007, shall be deemed to remain pending before the bureau
or a successor agency as of July 1, 2008, irrespective of any
applicable deadlines. With respect to any deadline applicable to a
pending matter, no time shall be deemed to have elapsed between July
1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, inclusive.
(A) For the purposes of this paragraph, "matter" includes, but is
not necessarily limited to, an appeal, a complaint, an evaluation, a
hearing, or an investigation.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "matter" does not include
a Student Tuition Recovery Fund Claim. Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to prevent the payment of existing Student Tuition
Recovery Fund claims that have been filed with the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education as of June 30, 2007.
(2) Any institution, program, or course of study that is approved
by the bureau or authorized pursuant to former Section 94905 of the
Education Code, as it read on June 30, 2007, as of the close of
business on June 30, 2007, shall be deemed to be approved as of July
1, 2008, irrespective of any applicable conditions, deadlines, or
additional requirements. With respect to any deadline applicable to
the approval, renewal of approval, or conditional approval of an
institution, program, or course of study, no time shall be deemed to
have elapsed between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008, inclusive.
(3) From July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008, inclusive, the Director of
Consumer Affairs may enter into voluntary agreements with
institutions that state that the institutions agree to comply with
state statutes, rules, and regulations pertaining to private
postsecondary institutions or pertaining to non-WASC regionally
accredited institutions as defined in former Section 94740.5 of the
Education Code, as it read on June 30, 2007, for the purpose of
ensuring continued student protection after former Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 94700) of Part 59 of Division 10 of Title 3
of the Education Code, as it read on June 30, 2007, became
inoperative.
(4) From July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008, inclusive, the Director of
Consumer Affairs shall administer the Student Tuition Recovery Fund.
SEC. 2. Section 2 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007 is amended
to read:
Sec. 2. (a) The Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
Administration Fund is continued in existence under the
administration of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(b) (1) The Student Tuition Recovery Fund is continued in
existence under the administration of the Department of Consumer
Affairs. The fund shall consist of only one educational institution
account for payment of approved claims.
(2) The moneys in the Student Tuition Recovery Fund are
continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the
Director of Consumer Affairs for the purpose of paying claims that
were filed with the former Bureau for Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education prior to July 1, 2007, under the provisions of
former Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 94700) of Part 59 of
Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code, as it read on June 30,
2007. A claim that has been filed with the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education prior to July 1, 2007, but not
paid by the Director of Consumer Affairs between July 1, 2007, and
July 1, 2008, inclusive, shall be deemed pending before a successor
agency on July 1, 2008.
(3) From July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2008, inclusive, an institution
is not liable for payments to the Student Tuition Recovery Fund.
During that period, an institution shall not collect money from its
students for purposes of making payments to that fund. If any
collections are made for an academic term falling within that period,
the institution making the collection shall refund those moneys to
the student from whom they were collected. Any funds collected by an
institution from its students for the purposes of making payments to
the Student Tuition Recovery Fund on or before June 30, 2007, and
still in the possession of the institution as of July 1, 2007, shall
be remitted by the institution to the Director of Consumer Affairs.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent
possible, the Department of Consumer Affairs shall pay claims found
to be owed and payable by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education to students from the Student Tuition Recovery
Fund between June 30, 2007, and July 1, 2008, inclusive.
SEC. 3. Section 3 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007 is amended
to read:
Sec. 3. (a) Any institution that is approved by an accrediting
agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, that
has entered into a voluntary agreement under paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007,
is authorized to add or modify a degree, diploma, certificate, add or
change a location, change or modify the institution's name, or
undergo a change of ownership or control from July 1, 2007, to July
1, 2008, inclusive, and, thereafter, upon the filing of notice to the
Department of Consumer Affairs accompanied by documentation of the
approval of that action by that institution's accrediting agency, if
that approval is required by the institution's accrediting agency.
(b) From close of business on June 30, 2007, until close of
business on July 1, 2008, inclusive, wherever in law there is a
reference to an institution "approved by the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education," this shall mean any school
that has entered into, and is complying with, a voluntary agreement
under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1 of Chapter 67 of
the Statutes of 2007.
(c) Until July 1, 2008, the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology may
approve a school that has not been licensed by the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 7362 of the Business and Professions Code,
if the school does all of the following:
(1) Commences operations between July 1, 2007, and December 31,
2008.
(2) Enters into a voluntary agreement with the Director of
Consumer Affairs under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 1
of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007.
(3) Provides a course of instruction approved by the board.
(4) Complies with all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to
schools approved by the board.
(5) Obtains a license or approval from the bureau or its successor
agency no later than six months after the bureau is reauthorized.
SEC. 4. Section 9 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007 is amended
to read:
Sec. 9. Private postsecondary educational institutions that have a
valid approval to operate, including, but not necessarily limited
to, a license to operate, and instructors holding a valid certificate
of authorization for service, from the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary and Vocational Education as of June 30, 2007, shall
retain those approvals, licenses, or certificates of authorization
for purposes of interpreting other provisions of applicable law that
refer or relate to the issuance of a license or registration and
meeting qualifications for licensing examinations. Those approvals
shall be effective through January 1, 2009, unless a later enacted
statute modifies, extends, or deletes that date.
SEC. 5. Section 10 of Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007 is
amended to read:
Sec. 10. Sections 1 to 8, inclusive, of Chapter 67 of the Statutes
of 2007 shall be repealed on July 1, 2008, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before July 1, 2008, deletes or extends that
date.
SEC. 6. (a) (1) The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is
hereby established in the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(2) The bureau shall not commence operations unless and until a
statute is enacted that creates a new California Private
Postsecondary Education Act that provides functions and
responsibilities of the bureau. The bureau shall have the following
general duties and responsibilities, including, but not necessarily
limited to, all of the following:
(A) Review and approval of private postsecondary and vocational
educational institutions.
(B) Review and investigation of student complaints.
(C) Administration of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund.
(D) Outreach to students.
(E) The collection and dissemination of appropriate information
regarding regulations required by any subsequent legislation.
(F) Establishing a reasonable fee structure that will fund its
operations.
(G) The collection of fees relating to, and general responsibility
for, the oversight of private postsecondary and vocational
educational institutions in the State of California.
(3) The bureau shall succeed to any and all rights and claims of
the former Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
that may have been asserted in any judicial or administrative action
pending on July 1, 2007, and shall take any action reasonably
necessary to assert and realize those rights and claims in its own
name.
(b) The bureau shall have possession and control of all records,
papers, offices, equipment, supplies, or other property, real or
personal, held for the benefit or use by the former bureau in the
performance of the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and
jurisdictions that are vested in the bureau.
(c) The bureau has the responsibility for approving and regulating
private postsecondary educational institutions. The bureau shall
have, as its objective, the development of a strong, vigorous, and
widely respected sector of private postsecondary and vocational
education.
(d) Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education in
exercising its approval, 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.
(e) The Director of Consumer Affairs may assign and delegate his
or her duties under Chapter 67 of the Statutes of 2007, as it is
amended by this act, and under Section 6 of this act, to a bureau
chief, subject to the other provisions of this section.
(f) The bureau chief may redelegate any of his or her powers under
this section to a designee. The bureau chief shall be appointed by
the Governor and confirmed by vote of a majority of the membership of
the Senate, and is exempt from the State Civil Service Act (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18500) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the
Government Code).
(g) The director, in accordance with the State Civil Service Act,
may appoint and fix the compensation of clerical, inspection,
investigation, evaluation, and auditing personnel of the bureau, as
may be necessary to carry out this section.