The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In 2013, more than 300,000 Californians attended more than 1,100 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; however, concerns about the value of degrees and diplomas issued by private postsecondary schools, and the lack of protections for private postsecondary school students and consumers of those schools’ services, have highlighted the need for strong state-level oversight of private postsecondary schools.
(c) Numerous reports and studies have concluded that California’s previous attempts at regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools under the Department of Consumer Affairs have consistently failed to ensure student protections or provide effective oversight of private postsecondary schools.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature in continuing the operation of this chapter for two years until January 1, 2017, 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 bureau.
(5) A regulatory governance structure that provides for accountability and oversight by the Legislature through program monitoring and periodic reports.
(6) Prevention of the harm to students and the deception of the public that results from fraudulent or substandard educational programs and 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.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 840, Sec. 1. (SB 1247) Effective January 1, 2015. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, pursuant to Section 94950.)