BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1889 (Portantino)
Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: BP&ED 6-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 1889 would enact various changes to the
California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 relating
to the oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the
state.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Travel costs $200 $200 $200
Special*
* Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education and
Administration Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Chapter 310 of the Statutes of 2009 (AB 48, Portantino) restored
and modified state law which had expired in 2008 concerning the
oversight of private postsecondary institutions by establishing
the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the
Department of Consumer Affairs. This bill would:
Prohibit the bureau from enforcing the rules of the Act
from July 1, 2010 until July 1, 2011 against institutions
certified to offer programs in flight instruction and
aircraft maintenance by the Federal Aviation
Administration, and require the Legislature to hold
informational hearings regarding the appropriateness of
regulating these programs under the Act.
Prohibit an institution from offering an unaccredited
doctoral degree program without disclosing to prospective
students that the degree program is unaccredited, and any
known limitations of the unaccredited degree including
whether the degree is recognized for licensure or
certification in other states.
Allow the Bureau to publish a list of eligible
examinations for ability-to-benefit (ATB) students, if the
USDE does not have an approved examination relevant to the
specific occupational training program.
Revise the definition of "graduates employed in the
field" to require that graduates be 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 are utilized to perform
the purpose or objective of the position or the major
responsibilities of the position.
Provide that students are entitled to a refund of
institutional charges, as specified, if notice of
cancellation is made at the first class day or the seventh
day after enrollment, whichever is later.
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AB 1889 (Portantino)
Specify that the education specialist and senior
specialist positions established within the Bureau through
AB 48 are full-time, permanent positions based in the
Sacramento office of the Bureau.
Provide that this bill would become operative only if AB
1140 (which would also delay regulation of the flight
instruction and aircraft maintenance schools) is enacted.
Under the prior Act, flight schools were approved and monitored,
with certain exemptions from law, under an MOU with the Federal
Aviation Administration. With the expiration of the prior Act,
the MOU also expired. The new Act does not provide exception to
the law to flight schools.
AB 48 appropriated $580,000 from the Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education and Administration Fund for the purpose of
funding five education specialist and senior specialist
positions and required these positions to be included in the
Bureau's annual budget. The Bureau established these positions
and placed four of them in southern California, contending that
it would be more efficient to have the positions located there
due to the preponderance of schools in the area. The Department
of Consumer Affairs contends that locating these positions in
Sacramento will result in additional costs of approximately
$200,000 related to travel.