SENATE/HOUSE FILE _____

BY  (PROPOSED DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION/COLLEGE STUDENT AID COMMISSION BILL)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the registration of certain postsecondary schools by the college student aid commission, making an appropriation, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   Section 1.  Section 261B.2, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   2.  “Degree” means a postsecondary credential conferring on the recipient the title of associate, bachelor, master, or doctor, or an equivalent title, signifying educational attainment based on any one or a combination of study or the equivalent experience or achievement testing. A postsecondary degree under this chapter shall not include an honorary degree or other unearned degree.
   3.  “Presence” means maintaining an address within Iowa

a physical location in Iowa from which a school offers any portion of a course of instruction in person or by distance education or correspondence study, or conducts advertising, recruiting, enrollment, program coordination, administration, or any other activity related to the school’s operations.
   Sec. 2.  Section 261B.2, Code 2011, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  “Offered in this state” means the school offers any portion of a course of instruction at a physical location in this state.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2B.  “Postsecondary credential” means a degree, diploma, or certificate signifying postsecondary educational attainment following completion of a postsecondary instructional program. A postsecondary credential conferred under this chapter shall not include an honorary credential or other unearned credential. A postsecondary credential under this chapter does not mean a certificate of completion of a course of instruction.
   Sec. 3.  Section 261B.2, subsection 4, paragraph b, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Provides a postsecondary instructional program or course leading to a degree postsecondary credential.
   Sec. 4.  Section 261B.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   261B.3  Registration.
   1.  Except as provided in section 261B.11, a school that shall register with the commission if the school maintains or conducts one or more courses of instruction offered in this state, including courses of instruction by correspondence or other distance delivery method,offered in this state or which if the school has a presence in this state and offers courses in this state or in other states or foreign countries shall register with the commission.
   a.  Registrations shall be renewed every four years or upon any substantive change in location, program offerings, or accreditation.  A school makes a substantive change in a program offering when the school proposes to offer or modify a program that requires the approval of the state board of education or any other state agency authorized to approve the school or its program in this state.
   b.  Registration shall be made on application forms approved and supplied made available by the commission and at the time and in the manner prescribed by the commission. Upon receipt of a complete and accurate registration application, the commission shall issue an acknowledgment of document filed and send it to the school.
   2.  The commission may request require a school to provide additional information as the commission deems necessary to enable the commission to determine the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in the evaluate a school’s registration application.
   3.  If the commission believes that false, misleading, or incomplete information has been submitted in connection with an application for registration, the commission may deny registration. The commission shall conduct a hearing on the denial if a hearing is requested by a school. The commission may withhold an acknowledgment of document filed pending the outcome of the hearing. Upon a finding after the hearing that information contained in the registration application is false, misleading, or incomplete, the commission shall deny an acknowledgment of document filed to the school. The commission shall make the final decision on each registration. However, the decision of the commission is subject to judicial review in accordance with section 17A.19.
   3. 4.  The commission shall adopt rules under chapter 17A for the implementation of this chapter.
   Sec. 5.  Section 261B.3A, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   261B.3A  Requirements.
   1.  In order to register, a school shall be accredited by an agency or organization approved or recognized by the United States department of education or a successor agency, be approved by any other state agency authorized to approve the school in this state, and, subsequently, be approved for operation by the commission.
   2.  A practitioner preparation program, as defined in section 272.1, operated by a school that applies to register the program in accordance with this chapter shall, in order to register, be accredited by an agency or organization approved or recognized by the United States department of education or a successor agency, be approved by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 3, and, subsequently, be approved for operation by the commission.
   3.  The commission may grant a provisional registration to a school that is not accredited by an agency or organization that is recognized by the United States department of education or its successor agency. The commission shall determine the duration of the provisional registration. During the provisional registration period, the school shall, at six-month intervals, submit to the commission documentation of its progress toward achieving accreditation. The commission may renew the school’s provisional registration at its discretion based on documentation that the school is making progress toward accreditation.
   3. 4.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt a school from the requirements of chapter 490 or 491.
   Sec. 6.  Section 261B.4, subsections 5, 11, and 13, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   5.  The degrees postsecondary credentials granted by the school.
   11.  The names or titles and a description of the courses and degrees postsecondary credentials to be offered.
   13.  The academic and instructional methodologies and delivery systems to be used by the school and the extent to which the school anticipates each methodology and delivery system will be used, including, but not limited to, classroom instruction, correspondence, electronic telecommunications, independent study, and portfolio experience evaluation.
   Sec. 7.  Section 261B.7, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   261B.7  Unauthorized representation.
   Neither a A school nor its or a school’s officials or employees shall not advertise or represent that the school is approved or accredited by the commission or the state of Iowa nor shall it use the registration as a. However, a registered school shall reference in promotional materials that the school is registered by the commission on behalf of the state of Iowa and provide the commission’s contact information for students who wish to register a complaint about the school.
   Sec. 8.  Section 261B.8, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  The commission shall set by rule and collect, as applicable, a nonrefundable application fee from each registration applicant, and an initial registration fee, a registration amendment fee, and a renewal of registration fee from each registered school.
   3.
  a.  A postsecondary registration fund is created in the state treasury under the control of the commission. Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the general postsecondary registration fund of the state and are appropriated to the commission for purposes of administering this chapter.
   b.  The moneys credited to the postsecondary registration fund are not subject to section 8.33, and moneys in the fund shall not be transferred, used, obligated, appropriated, or otherwise encumbered except as provided by law. Notwithstanding section 12C.7, subsection 2, interest or earnings on moneys deposited in the postsecondary registration fund shall be credited to the fund.
   Sec. 9.  Section 261B.9, subsection 5, Code 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   5.  Whether the postsecondary credential or certificate issued, awarded, or credited to a student upon completion of the course or the fact of completion of the course is applicable toward a degree granted by the school and, if so, under what circumstances the application will be made.
   Sec. 10.  Section 261B.11, subsections 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, and 11, Code 2011, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Schools and educational programs conducted by firms, corporations, or persons solely for the training of their own employees.
   2.  Apprentice or other training programs provided by labor unions solely to members or applicants for membership.
   4.  Seminars, refresher courses, and programs of instruction sponsored by professional, business, or farming organizations or associations solely for the members and employees of members of these organizations or associations.
   7.  Schools or courses of instruction or courses of training that are offered by a vendor solely to the purchaser or prospective purchaser of the vendor’s product when the objective of the school or course is to enable the purchaser or the purchaser’s employees to gain skills and knowledge to enable the purchaser to use the product.
   9.  Postsecondary educational institutions licensed by the state of Iowa under section 157.8 or 158.7 prior to July 1, 2009, to conduct business operate as a school of cosmetology arts and sciences or a barber school in the state.
   11.  Postsecondary educational institutions offering programs limited to nondegree specialty vocational training programs for which the school does not award a postsecondary credential.
   Sec. 11.  NEW SECTION.  261B.11A  Ineligibility for state student financial aid programs.
   1.  Students attending schools required to register under this chapter are ineligible for state student financial aid programs established under chapter 261.
   2.  A school required to register under this chapter is prohibited from offering state aid or advertising that state aid is or may be available to students attending the school.
EXPLANATION
   This bill modifies Code chapter 261B which regulates the registration of postsecondary schools by the college student aid commission. Modifications include provisions which provide that students attending such schools are ineligible for state student financial aid programs, authorize the commission to require additional information from schools, establish a new registration amendment fee, and establish a postsecondary registration fund comprised of the registration fees collected by the commission. The moneys in the fund are appropriated to the commission for purposes of administering the chapter.
   The bill specifies that schools that maintain or conduct one or more courses of instruction offered in this state or which have a presence in this state and offer courses in this state or other states or foreign countries are required to register with the commission. The Code chapter currently includes exceptions for certain schools and educational programs.
   Currently, registrations must be renewed every four years and upon substantive change in location or accreditation. To this renewal requirement, the bill adds that registrations must also be renewed upon any substantive change in program offering. A substantive change in program offering is defined as when a school proposes to offer a program that requires the approval of the state board of education or other state agency.
   The bill authorizes the commission to require additional information from a school if the additional information is deemed necessary in order to evaluate the school’s registration application. A registered school’s promotional materials shall reference that it is registered with the commission and shall include the commission’s contact information for students who wish to register a complaint about the school.
   The commission is also authorized to grant a provisional registration, the duration of which is to be determined by the commission, to a school that is not accredited by an agency or organization recognized by the U.S. department of education. During the provisional registration period, the school must submit to the commission, at six-month intervals, documentation regarding its progress toward achieving accreditation. The commission may renew the provisional registration at its discretion based on documentation that the school is making progress toward accreditation.
   The bill prohibits schools required to register with the commission from offering state aid or advertising that state aid is or may be available to students attending the school.
   The bill makes changes to the Code chapter’s definitions of “degree”, “presence”, and “school” and adds definitions for “offered in this state” and “postsecondary credential”.
   The Code currently authorizes the commission to issue a cease and desist order to a school it believes is in violation of Code chapter 261B and to seek judicial enforcement of the order. Also, a violation of the Code chapter constitutes an unlawful practice under Code section 714.16, relating to consumer fraud.