Private postsecondary education: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.

Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, provides for the regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act exempts an institution from its provisions, if any of a list of specific criteria are met. This bill would recast and revise various provisions of the act. The bill would, beginning January 1, 2016, remove the exemption from its provisions for an institution that is approved to participate in veterans financial aid programs pursuant to a specified federal law, and that is not an independent institution of higher education, thereby making the act applicable to the institution. The bill would require the bureau to, among other things, contract with the office of the Attorney General, or other appropriate state agency, to establish a process for bureau staff to be trained to investigate complaints filed with the bureau, post specified information on its Internet Web site, establish a task force no later than March 1, 2015, to identify standards for specified educational and training programs and provide a report to the Legislature regarding those programs, adopt minimum operating standards for an institution that ensure, among other things, that an institution offering a degree is accredited and that an unaccredited institution offering a degree satisfies certain requirements, and establish application processing goals and timelines to ensure that an institution's application for approval to operate is promptly reviewed by the bureau. The bill would make other technical and conforming changes. The act establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund and requires the bureau to adopt regulations governing the administration and maintenance of the fund, including requirements relating to assessments on students and student claims against the fund, and establishes that the moneys in this fund are continuously appropriated to the bureau for specified purposes. This bill would require those regulations to ensure that students are eligible for payment from the fund in specified circumstances. Existing law repeals that act on January 1, 2015. This bill would instead repeal that act on January 1, 2017, thus extending the operation of the act by 2 years. By extending the operation of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Under existing law, the act specifies conduct by regulated institutions that, if undertaken, is a crime. Because this bill would extend the application of those criminal provisions, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. This bill would appropriate $130,000 from the Private Postsecondary Education Administration Fund to the bureau for the 2014–15 fiscal year for staff support to the bureau and the advisory committee, as specified.