AB 3167: California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009: highly qualified private nonprofit institution.

The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary institutions in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act exempts specified private postsecondary educational institutions from all, or a portion of, its provisions, but requires those institutions that are subject to its provisions to apply for and obtain an approval to operate, including by means of accreditation, as specified. The act also requires an out-of-state private postsecondary educational institution to comply with specified requirements for registration, including providing the bureau evidence of the institutions accreditation and complying with the requirements of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund and regulations adopted by the bureau related to the fund, as provided. The act establishes the Student Tuition Recovery Fund to relieve or mitigate economic loss suffered by a student while enrolled in a private postsecondary educational institution, as specified. The act requires an independent institution of higher education that is exempt from the act to comply with all applicable state and federal laws. Existing law repeals the act on January 1, 2027.

The bill would authorize a highly qualified private nonprofit institution, as defined, to register with the bureau by paying a registration fee and complying with specified requirements for registration, including providing the bureau evidence of the institutions accreditation and complying with the requirements of the Student Tuition Recovery Fund or receiving a waiver from those requirements if an approved surety bond, or other security in lieu of a bond, is placed on file with the bureau, Fund, as provided. The bill would authorize a highly qualified private nonprofit institution, as defined, that received an approval to operate by means of accreditation before July 1, 2025, to instead register with the bureau under the bills provisions. The bill would specify that a highly qualified private nonprofit institution that registers with the bureau is required to comply with all applicable state and federal laws.