AB 427

Education

Other educational and cultural agencies

Under current law, the Educational Approval Board (EAB) is required to

protect the general public by inspecting and approving private trade,

correspondence, business, and technical schools, changes of ownership or control of

those schools, teaching locations used by those schools, and courses of instruction

offered by those schools and to regulate the soliciting of students for courses and

courses of instruction offered by those schools. Current law also requires EAB to

perform certain actions to protect students, prevent fraud, and encourage generally

accepted educational standards at those schools. Those actions include requiring

schools offering courses and courses of instruction to residents of this state to furnish

information concerning their facilities, curricula, instructors, enrollment policies,

tuition and other charges and fees, refund policies, and policies concerning the

negotiability of promissory instruments received in payment of tuition and other

charges.

Current law also prohibits a solicitor representing any school from soliciting

students for a course or course of instruction for a consideration or remuneration,

except upon the actual business premises of the school, unless the solicitor first

secures a solicitor's permit from EAB, and includes provisions relating to application

for and issuance of solicitor's permits, refusal or revocation of those permits, and

consequences for soliciting students without a permit. Moreover, current law

permits EAB to indemnify a student, parent, or sponsor from an appropriation

commonly referred to as the student protection fund if a school closure results in

losses to the student, parent, or sponsor. Finally, current law permits EAB to take

possession of the student records of schools, including certain schools not approved

by EAB, that have discontinued their operations, are proposing to discontinue their

operations, or are in imminent danger of discontinuing their operations, if the

records are in danger of being destroyed, secreted, mislaid, or otherwise being made

unavailable to the person who is the subject of the record. Schools not approved by

EAB whose student records EAB may take into possession include tax-exempt

schools that were incorporated in this state before January 1, 1992, or that had their

headquarters and principal places of business in this state before 1970; schools that

are licensed, approved, and supervised by other state agencies; schools approved by

the Department of Public Instruction for the training of teachers; and schools

accredited by accrediting agencies recognized by EAB.

This bill moves the powers and duties of EAB from a chapter of the statutes

relating to the Technical College System to its own newly created chapter,

reorganizes those powers and duties, and makes various substantive changes with

respect to those powers and duties. Specifically, the bill does the following:

1.