BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1013
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 13, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

              AB 1013 (Committee on Higher Education) - As Introduced:  
                                 February 18, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher 
          EducationVote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill amends the Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 
          to:

          1)Allow the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to 
            publish a list of eligible examinations for ability-to-benefit 
            (ATB) students, if the United States Department of Education 
            (USDE) does not have an approved examination relevant to the 
            specific occupational training program.

          2)Ensures students are allowed, until the first class day or the 
            seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later, to cancel a 
            program and receive a refund.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible fiscal impact.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . AB 48 (Portantino)/Chapter 310 of 2009, established 
            the Act and the Bureau within the Department of Consumer 
            Affairs in order to regulate certain private postsecondary 
            educational institutions in California.  This clean-up bill 
            enacts two changes to the Act:

             a)   The Act requires all institutions to administer ATB 
               tests (covering basic math and English skills) to students 
               who have not completed secondary education.  Students must 
               pass a USDE-approved ATB test before enrolling in the 








                                                                  AB 1013
                                                                  Page  2

               institution and before receiving and federal student 
               financial aid. Certain training programs, however, may not 
               have relevant USDE-approved tests. AB 1013 allows the 
               Bureau to publish a list of eligible examinations for ATB 
               students if the USDE does not have an approved examination 
               relevant to specific occupational training programs.

             b)   There is a conflict in the Act regarding cancellations 
               and refunds.  AB 48 was intended to allow students to 
               cancel a program and receive a 100% refund, less a deposit 
               not to exceed $250, until the first class day or the 
               seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later.  However, 
               one section referencing this refund policy inadvertently 
               reads that students shall have until the first class day or 
               the seventh  class  day after enrollment to cancel a program. 
                This bill corrects this error and conflict.

           2)Prior Legislation  :  AB 1889 (Portantino) of 2010, which 
            included the same technical provisions as AB 1013, was vetoed 
            by Governor Schwarzenegger due to concerns over provisions in 
            the bill regarding Bureau employment requirements.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081