AB 1916: Private postsecondary education: school closure bonds.

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.

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 a private postsecondary institution, as defined, to file a surety bond before January 1, 2019, with the department bureau in the an amount equal to a reasonable estimate of the maximum amount of tuition and fees imposed on students of the institution for a period of attendance of greatest expense during the applicable academic year. no less than the total amount of tuition and fees charged by the institution for the immediately preceding academic year, divided by 4.

In the event the institution ceases operation, this bill would require the bureau, upon request for a refund by a student or the implementation of a teach-out for students of the institution, to bureau, if it makes a specified determination, to make a demand on the bond to: (1) issue a refund of tuition and fees for student claims, (2) implement a teach-out for students of the institution, and (3) to provide recovery to students who were enrolled at the time of the closure, or within 120 days of the closure, and reimburse the Student Tuition Recovery Fund for moneys paid from the fund for student claims that would have been otherwise recoverable under the bond. these students.