BILL NUMBER: SB 1059 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
FEBRUARY 16, 2016
An act to amend Sections 67100 and 67102 of the Education Code,
relating to postsecondary education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1059, as introduced, Monning. Postsecondary education: Title 38
awards.
Title 38 of the United States Code provides educational awards for
eligible active duty members and veterans of the Armed Forces of the
United States. Existing law requires an institution headquartered or
operating in California desiring to enroll students eligible for
federal Title 38 awards in accredited courses to make application for
approval of these courses to the California State Approving Agency
for Veterans Education, commonly known as CSAAVE, and authorizes
CSAAVE to approve the application of the school when the school and
its accredited courses satisfy the specified criteria and any
additional reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE.
This bill would include as a qualifying institution for federal
Title 38 awards, an institution that has been accredited by the
Committee of Bar Examiners.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 67100 of the Education Code is amended to read:
67100. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Section Sections 21.4253
and 21.4254 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations
requires require a postsecondary
educational institution headquartered or operating in California
desiring to enroll veterans or persons eligible for Title 38 awards
in accredited and nonaccredited institutions and programs
to make application for approval of these courses to the California
State Approving Agency for Veterans Education, commonly known as
CSAAVE, as the state approving agency legally designated pursuant to
Section 3671 of Subchapter I of Chapter 36 of Title 38 of the United
States Code.
(b) Section Sections 21.4253
authorizes and 21.4254 authorize CSAAVE
to approve the application of the accredited and nonaccredited
institutions when the school and its accredited and
nonaccredited courses satisfy the criteria provided in
Section Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254
and additional reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE.
(c) It is reasonable pursuant to Section
Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 for CSAAVE to require a
postsecondary educational institution, public or private, to obtain
accreditation for its degree programs, to comply with all federal and
state laws and regulations, and to comply with any additional
reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE. It is reasonable pursuant
to Section Sections 21.4253 and
21.4254 for CSAAVE to require a private postsecondary
institution to be issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary Education.
SEC. 2. Section 67102 of the Education Code is amended to read:
67102. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) An "academic year" is July 1 to June 30, inclusive. The
starting date of a session shall determine the academic year in which
it is included.
(b) "CSAAVE" is the California State Approving Agency for Veterans
Education.
(c) (1) "Qualifying institution" means a degree-granting
institution that complies with paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), or a
nondegree-granting institution that complies with paragraphs (2) and
(4).
(2) (A) The institution shall provide information on where to
access California license examination passage rates for the most
recent available year from graduates of its undergraduate programs
leading to employment for which passage of a California licensing
examination is required, if that data is electronically available
through the Internet Web site of a California licensing or regulatory
agency. For purposes of this paragraph, "provide" may exclusively
include placement of an Internet Web site address labeled as an
access point for the data on the passage rates of recent program
graduates on the Internet Web site where enrollment information is
also located, on an Internet Web site that provides centralized
admissions information for postsecondary educational systems with
multiple campuses, or on applications for enrollment or other program
information distributed to prospective students.
(B) The institution shall be responsible for certifying to CSAAVE
compliance with the requirements of subparagraph (A).
(3) (A) A degree-granting institution shall provide evidence of
accreditation of the institution and of all degree programs to
CSAAVE. The accrediting agency shall be recognized by the United
States Department of Education. An unaccredited degree-granting
institution participating in the Title 38 award program on January 1,
2015, shall satisfy both of the following to remain eligible to
receive Title 38 awards:
(i) The institution shall obtain and provide evidence to CSAAVE of
its candidacy or preaccreditation status, with an accrediting agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education, by January
1, 2016, for the institution to be eligible for Title 38 awards for
the academic year of 2015-16, or 2016-17, or both.
(ii) The institution shall obtain and provide evidence to CSAAVE
of accreditation from the accrediting agency with which it had
candidacy or preaccreditation status by January 1, 2017, for the
institution to be eligible for Title 38 awards for the academic year
of 2017-18, and each academic year thereafter.
(B) If an unaccredited degree-granting institution participating
in the Title 38 award program fails to satisfy the accreditation
requirements provided in clause (i) of subparagraph (A), a veteran
enrolled in a degree program offered by the institution prior to
January 1, 2016, shall remain eligible for Title 38 awards through
his or her completion of that degree program. If an unaccredited
degree-granting institution participating in the Title 38 award
program fails to satisfy the accreditation requirements provided in
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), a veteran enrolled in a degree
program offered by the institution prior to January 1, 2017, shall
remain eligible for Title 38 awards through his or her completion of
that degree program.
(C) An unaccredited degree-granting institution that does not
satisfy the accreditation requirements provided in clause (i) of
subparagraph (A), shall not enroll any new Title 38 eligible students
to any of its degree programs after January 1, 2016. An unaccredited
degree granting institution that does not satisfy the accreditation
requirements provided in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), shall not
enroll any new Title 38 students to any of its degree programs after
January 1, 2017, without first providing these prospective students
with the following written disclosure:
"If you choose to attend this institution, you will not be
eligible to receive a Title 38 award because this institution did not
satisfy one or more of the accreditation requirements to receive
Title 38 awards."
(D) An institution that obtains and provides evidence to CSAAVE of
accreditation from the Committee of Bar Examiners pursuant to
Sections 6046.7 and 6060.6 of the Business and Professions Code does
not have to comply with subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C).
(4) The institution shall be one of the following to be eligible
for Title 38 awards:
(A) A campus of the California Community Colleges, the California
State University, or the University of California.
(B) An independent institution of higher education, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 66010.
(C) (i) For purposes of the 2015-16 award year, a private
postsecondary educational institution, as defined in Section 94858.
(ii) For purposes of the 2016-17 award year, and every award year
thereafter, a private postsecondary educational institution, as
defined in Section 94858, that has an approval to operate from the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, is subject to the
regulatory oversight and enforcement of student protections provided
by the bureau, and has its approval to operate certified by CSAAVE.
(D) (i) An institution
described in subdivision (i) of Section 94874 that satisfies all of
the requirements provided in Section 94947.
(ii) This subparagraph shall become operative only if Senate Bill
1247 of the 2013-14 Regular Session is enacted and adds Section 94947
to this code.
(E) An institution that is accredited by the Committee of Bar
Examiners pursuant to Sections 6046.7 and 6060.7 of the Business and
Professions Code.