FIRST REGULAR SESSION
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES THOMSON (Sponsor), HOSKINS AND WALLINGFORD (Co-sponsors).
0820L.02I D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 173.608, 173.612, and 173.618, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to proprietary schools, with existing penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 173.608, 173.612, and 173.618, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 173.608, 173.612, and 173.618, to read as follows:
173.608. 1. The coordinating board shall establish appropriate fees as necessary to generate funding sufficient to cover the entirety of costs associated with the operation of the proprietary school certification program, with the advice of the proprietary school advisory committee. These fees shall be effective beginning July 1, 2012. Prior to July 1, 2012, the annual fee for a proprietary school certificate of approval shall be $.001 per one dollar of net tuition and fees income (excluding refunds, books, tools and supplies), with a maximum of two thousand five hundred dollars and a minimum of two hundred fifty dollars per school. For a school having a certificate of approval for the sole purpose of recruiting students in Missouri, the net tuition used for this computation shall be only that paid to the school by students recruited from Missouri and the fee shall be two hundred fifty dollars plus the amount produced by the foundation calculation.
2. Any school failing to submit renewal application materials within the time frame established for such submissions may be assessed a reasonable late fee, as established by the coordinating board.
3. Any school which operates at two or more locations, or has franchised schools as provided in section 173.606, may combine tuition and fees for all locations for the purpose of determining the annual fee payable under sections 173.600 to 173.618. [All fees received shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of general revenue.]
4. All revenue received by the coordinating board from such certification and late fees shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the "Proprietary School Certification Fund" which is hereby created for the sole purpose of funding the costs associated with the operation of the proprietary school certification program. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general revenue fund.
173.612. 1. The board shall, through the department of higher education, administer, supervise, and enforce the provisions and policies of sections 173.600 to 173.618 and shall assign the personnel that are necessary to exercise its powers and duties.
2. The rules and regulations adopted by the board under sections 173.600 to 173.618, together with any amendments thereto, shall be filed with the office of the secretary of state. The board may:
(1) Issue proprietary school certificates of approval or temporary certificates of approval to applicants meeting the requirements of sections 173.600 to 173.618;
(2) Suspend or revoke certificates or temporary certificates of approval, or place certified schools on probation;
(3) Approve new or revised programs of instruction offered by a school holding a certificate of approval. Criteria for approval shall not include need or demand for the program or duplication of programs offered by other institutions. Such approval shall be based on standards established for this purpose by the coordinating board with advice from the proprietary school advisory committee. For degree-level programs, the board shall require institutional accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education;
(4) Require each proprietary school to file a security bond covering the school and its agents to indemnify any student, enrollee or parent, guardian, or sponsor of a student or enrollee who suffers loss or damage because of a violation of sections 173.600 to 173.618 by the school, or because a student is unable to complete the course due to the school's ceasing operation or because a student does not receive a refund to which he is entitled. The bond or other security shall cover all the facilities and locations of a proprietary school and shall not be less than five thousand dollars or ten percent of the preceding year's gross tuition, whichever is greater, but in no case shall it exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. The bond shall clearly state that the school and the agents of the school are covered by it. The board may authorize the use of certificates of deposit, letters of credit, or other assets to be posted as security in lieu of this surety bond requirement;
[(4)] (5) Collect data from certified proprietary schools appropriate to establish records and statistics necessary to provide evaluation and planning by the department of higher education;
[(5)] (6) Administer sections 173.600 to 173.618 and initiate action to enforce it.
3. Any school which closes or whose certificate of approval is suspended, revoked, or not renewed shall, on the approval of the coordinating board, make partial or full refund of tuition and fees to the students enrolled, continue operation under a temporary certificate until students enrolled have completed the program for which they were enrolled, make arrangements for another school or schools to complete the instruction for which the students are enrolled, employ a combination of these methods in order to fulfill its obligations to the students, or implement other plans approved by the coordinating board.
4. Any rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to sections 173.600 to 173.618 may be suspended by the joint house-senate committee on administrative rules until such time as the general assembly may by concurrent resolution signed by the governor reinstate such rule.
173.618. 1. Any act, method, or practice which violates the provisions of sections 173.600 to 173.618 shall be an unlawful practice within the meaning of section 407.020, and any action authorized in section 407.020 may be taken. In addition, the board may seek an injunction in the manner provided in chapter 407. The board may exercise the authority granted in subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of section 173.612 without seeking injunction.
2. Any person convicted of operating a proprietary school without certificate of approval or a temporary certificate of approval, or of failure to file bond or security as required by sections 173.600 to 173.618 or of violating any other provision of sections 173.600 to 173.618 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished in the manner provided by law.
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