BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1013
Author: Committee on Higher Education
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMM. : 8-0, 6/6/11
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete
McLeod, Vargas, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/2/11 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Private postsecondary education
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill clarifies provisions of the California
Private Postsecondary Education Act and the related
oversight provided by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law :
1. Establishes the Bureau of Private Postsecondary
Education (Bureau) within the Department of Consumer
CONTINUED
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Affairs (DCA) and provides for Bureau oversight and
regulation of California private postsecondary
institutions under the California Private Postsecondary
Education Act of 2009 (Act).
2. Defines "Ability-to-benefit student" (ATB) as a student
who does not have a certificate of graduation from a
school providing secondary education, or a recognized
equivalent of that certificate. Provides that before an
ATB student may execute an enrollment agreement, the
institution shall have the student take an independently
administered examination from the list of examinations
prescribed by the United States Department of Education
(USDE). Specifies that the student may not enroll
unless he or she achieves a score demonstrating that the
student may benefit from the education and training
being offered.
3. Specifies certain requirements pertaining to
cancellations, refunds and withdrawals for an
institution that does not participate in the federal
student financial aid programs, including one that
provides for a refund of 100 percent of the amount paid
for institutional charges, less a reasonable deposit or
application fee not to exceed $250, if notice of
cancellation is made through attendance at the first
class session, or the seventh class day after
enrollment, whichever is later.
This bill:
1. Allows the Bureau to publish a list of eligible
examinations for ATB students, if the USDE does not have
an approved examination relevant to the specific
occupational training program.
2. Ensures students are provided until the first class day
or the seventh day after enrollment, whichever is later,
to cancel a program and receive a refund.
Background
After numerous legislative attempts to remedy the laws and
structure governing regulation of private postsecondary
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institutions, AB 48 (Portantino), Chapter 310, Statutes of
2009, establishes the Act and creates the Bureau within DCA
for the purpose of regulating private postsecondary
educational institutions that provide educational services
in California. The Act made many substantive changes that
both created a new, solid foundation for oversight and
responded to the major problems with the Former Act. The
Act as created by AB 48 requires all unaccredited colleges
in California to be approved by the new Bureau, and all
nationally accredited colleges to comply with numerous
student protections. It also establishes prohibitions on
false advertising and inappropriate recruiting. The Act
requires disclosure of critical information to students
such as program outlines, graduation and job placement
rates, and license examination information, and ensures
colleges justify those figures. The Act also guarantees
students can complete their educational objectives if their
institution closes its doors, and, most importantly, it
gives the Bureau an array of enforcement tools to ensure
colleges comply with the law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill intends to make necessary, technical changes to
the Act established in
AB 48. The author's office provides rationale for these
changes as follows:
ATB tests : According to the author's office, some
non-English based training programs do not have relevant
USDE-approved tests so this clarification will allow the
Bureau to publish a list of eligible examinations if the
USDE does not have a relevant examination.
Under Federal law, students without a high school diploma
or General Educational Development (GED) can qualify for
federal Title IV loans, grants, and campus-based aid if
they pass an independently administered test of their basic
math and English skills, called an ATB test. The intent of
the test is to measure whether students have the basic
skills needed to benefit from higher education and succeed
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in the institution. Tests are approved by the USDE and
administered by an independent party. Under Title IV,
students must pass an ATB before receiving any federal
funds.
The Act requires all institutions covered by the Act to
administer ATB tests to students who have not obtained
secondary education. Students must pass a USDE-approved
ATB test before enrolling in the institution. This bill
allows the Bureau to publish a list of eligible
examinations if the USDE does not have a relevant
examination.
Cancellation policies : The author's office notes that this
bill corrects a technical error regarding refund
calculations.
The intent of AB 48 was to allow students to cancel a
program and receive a 100 percent 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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Furutani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon,
Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Fuentes, Galgiani,
Gorell, Roger Hern�ndez, Mendoza, Vacancy
JJA:do 6/28/11 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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