(a) The council shall have the responsibility to determine whether the school from which an applicant has obtained the education required by this chapter meets the requirements of this chapter.
(1) If the council has any reason to question whether or not the applicant received the education that is required by this chapter from the school or schools that the applicant is claiming, the council shall investigate the facts to determine that the applicant received the required education before issuing a certificate.
(2) For purposes of this section and any other provision of this chapter that authorizes the council to receive factual information as a condition of taking any action, the council may conduct oral interviews of the applicant and others or conduct any investigation deemed necessary to establish that the information received is accurate and satisfies the criteria established by this chapter.
(b) (1) The council shall develop policies, procedures, rules, or bylaws governing the requirements and process for approving, denying approval of, imposing corrective action on, or unapproving schools consistent with Section 4601. These policies, procedures, rules, or bylaws shall address topics including, but not limited to, what constitutes an acceptable curriculum, facility requirements, student-teacher ratios, clinical practice requirements, and provisions for the acceptance of accreditation from a recognized accreditation body or other form of acceptance.
(2) The approval process for a school shall be consistent with the following timelines:
(A) (i) On or before 30 days from the date the council receives an initial application for school approval, the council shall notify the school whether or not, for the purpose of preliminary review, the application is complete.
(ii) A notice that an initial application is not complete for the purpose of preliminary review shall specify what additional documents or payment of fees the school is required to submit to the council to make the application complete for the purpose of preliminary review.
(B) Within 60 days from the date the council notifies the school that the initial application is not complete for purposes of preliminary review, the school shall provide the missing information and pay the required fees. If a school fails to do so, the council shall purge the application. The council may, in its sole discretion, provide a school with an additional 30 days to make its application complete for purposes of preliminary review. A school with a purged application may submit a new application for school approval, including the required fees, without prejudice, after 180 days have passed from the effective date of purging. The council shall post on its internet website the effective date of purging.
(C) (i) On or before one year from the date the council receives an initial application for approval as a school, the council shall approve the school, propose to deny approval of the school, or notify the school that corrective action is required. The council reserves the right to issue a one-time notice of corrective action on an initial application. If the school fails to adequately rectify the deficiencies, the council may deny the application.
(ii) Within one year from the date that the council notifies a school of its proposed decision to deny approval of an initial application for school approval, the council shall notify the school of its final decision pursuant to any oral telephonic hearing or consideration of a written statement provided in opposition to the proposed decision to deny approval of the initial application for school approval.
(D) A school may appeal the council’s final decision to deny approval of the school. An appeal of the council’s final decision to deny approval of a school shall be heard at the next board of directors meeting with a date, as posted on the council’s internet website, that is at least 120 days from the last date for the school to timely request an appeal, unless a timely request for a continuance of the hearing date is granted. The council may, in its discretion, for good cause, continue the date an appeal may be heard, in which case the appeal shall be heard at a later board of directors meeting.
(3) The council shall exercise its authority to approve, deny approval of, and unapprove schools and specify corrective action in keeping with the purposes set forth in Section 4603.
(c) The council may charge a reasonable fee for the inspection or approval of schools, provided the fees do not exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection or approval process.
(d) The council shall note on its internet website the date that a letter proposing to deny a school’s application for approval or reapproval or requesting corrective action has been sent to the school and the final outcome and date of that proposed action.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Initial application” means a new application submitted by a school for school approval.
(2) “Complete application,” for purposes of preliminary review, means an application that the council, after preliminary review, has determined contains all the necessary documents for the council to begin a more thorough review process that allows the council to make a decision to approve or propose to deny the application for school approval or request corrective action. A complete application is not an approved application and a determination by the council upon preliminary review that an application is complete shall not prejudice the council’s ability to later determine that the application is not complete.
(3) “Preliminary review” means an initial review conducted by the council to determine if all fees have been paid and if all application and supporting documents have been submitted, so that the council can move forward and begin a more thorough review process. The preliminary review process does not include completion of a site visit or completion of background checks for noncertified individuals.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 290, Sec. 1. (AB 775) Effective January 1, 2020. Repealed as of January 1, 2026, pursuant to Section 4621.)