SECTIONS 94800-94801 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 94800-94801

94800. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.

94800.5. Whenever a reference is made to the former Private
Postsecondary Education and Student Protection Act, the former
Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education Reform Act of 1989, or
the former Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 94700) of Part 59 of
Division 10 of Title 3 of the Education Code, as it read on June 30,
2007, by the provisions of any statute or regulation, it shall be
construed as referring to the provisions of this chapter. Whenever a
reference is made to the former Bureau for Private Postsecondary and
Vocational Education by the provisions of any statute or regulation,
it shall be construed as referring to the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education.

94801. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In 2007, more than 400,000 Californians attended more than
1,500 private postsecondary schools in California.
(b) Private postsecondary schools can complement the public
education system and help develop a trained workforce to meet the
demands of California businesses and the economy.
(c) Numerous reports and studies have concluded that California's
previous attempts at regulatory oversight of private postsecondary
schools failed to ensure student protections or provide effective
oversight of private postsecondary schools. Previous laws and
regulatory oversight were allowed to expire on June 30, 2007, with
some skeletal functions, continued by urgency legislation, that were
allowed to expire on June 30, 2008.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter
to ensure all of the following:
(1) Minimum educational quality standards and opportunities for
success for California students attending private postsecondary
schools in California.
(2) Meaningful student protections through essential avenues of
recourse for students.
(3) A regulatory structure that provides for an appropriate level
of oversight.
(4) A regulatory governance structure that ensures that all
stakeholders have a voice and are heard in policymaking by the new
bureau created by this chapter.
(5) A regulatory governance structure that provides for
accountability and oversight by the Legislature through program
monitoring and periodic reports.
(6) Prevention of the deception of the public that results from
conferring, and use of, fraudulent or substandard degrees.
(e) The Legislature advises future policymakers to continually and
carefully evaluate this chapter and its administration and
enforcement. Where there are deficiencies in the law or regulatory
oversight, the Governor and the Legislature should act quickly to
correct them.