California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009

The law gives the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education more tools to screen, monitor, and penalize schools, while expanding financial relief and information for students. It extends the regulatory framework to January 1, 2031.

What the law does ​

• Requires schools to report specified investigations, enforcement actions, bankruptcies, felony charges, and major student-, employee-, or public-official lawsuits or arbitrations to the bureau.
• Lets the bureau condition or revoke an out-of-state school's registration when continued enrollment poses a substantial risk to California residents.
• Allows denial of approval to schools run by people linked to prior schools that closed without required refunds or preserved student records.
• Tightens degree-program accreditation rules, limits student-visa enrollment in provisionally approved degree programs to 25%, and ends provisional approval when requirements are not met.
• Requires approval before a school opens any separate branch and raises application, renewal, branch, registration, and annual regulatory fees.
• Requires fuller pre-enrollment disclosures, signed acknowledgment of key performance information, online publication of student materials, and disclosure of the Office of Student Assistance and Relief.
• Expands Student Tuition Recovery Fund eligibility for students harmed by closures, unpaid refunds, unlawful conduct, uncollected awards, and certain loan-related losses.
• Requires income-share-agreement refunds to be calculated from the school's total charges.
• Makes all private postsecondary institutions preserve and provide electronic student records and transcripts as required by the bureau.

Who it affects ​

• California private postsecondary schools, including certain out-of-state distance-education providers.
• Current, prospective, and former students at regulated private postsecondary schools.
• School owners, managers, recruiters, and staff.
• Accrediting agencies that receive records requests from state enforcement entities.

Context ​

The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education may fine unapproved or unregistered schools up to $100,000, separately from other fines or ordered refunds.