Sec. 10a-22b. (Formerly Sec. 10-7b). Certificate of authorization as occupational school; application; evaluation. (a) No person, board, association, partnership,
corporation or other entity shall offer occupational instruction unless such person, board,
association, partnership, corporation or other entity first receives from the Commissioner of Higher Education a certificate authorizing the occupational instruction to be
offered. Except for initial authorizations, the Commissioner of Higher Education shall
accept institutional accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the United
States Department of Education, in satisfaction of the requirements of this section and
section 10a-22d, including the evaluation and attendance requirement, unless the commissioner finds reasonable cause not to rely upon such accreditation.
(b) Each person, board, association, partnership, corporation or other entity which
seeks to offer occupational instruction shall submit to the Commissioner of Higher
Education, in such manner as the commissioner shall prescribe, an application for a
certificate of authorization which shall include, but need not be limited to, (1) the proposed name of the school; (2) ownership and organization of the school including the
names and addresses of all principals, officers and directors; (3) names and addresses
of all stockholders of the school, except for applicants which are listed on a national
securities exchange; (4) addresses of any building or premises on which the school will
be located; (5) description of the occupational instruction to be offered; (6) the proposed
student enrollment agreement; (7) the proposed school catalog; and (8) financial statements detailing the financial condition of the school prepared by management and reviewed or audited by a licensed certified public accountant or licensed public accountant.
Submitted with an application for initial authorization shall be a nonrefundable application fee in the amount of five hundred dollars.
(c) Upon receipt of a complete application pursuant to subsection (b) of this section,
the Commissioner of Higher Education shall cause to be conducted an evaluation of the
applicant school. Thereafter, the commissioner shall advise the applicant of authorization or nonauthorization within ninety days following the completed appointment of an
evaluation team pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. The commissioner may consult with the Labor Department and may request the advice of any other state agency
which may be of assistance in making a determination. In the event of nonauthorization
by the Commissioner of Higher Education, he shall set forth the reasons therefor in
writing and the applicant school may request in writing of the Board of Governors of
Higher Education a hearing pursuant to chapter 54.
(d) For purposes of an evaluation of an applicant school, the Commissioner of
Higher Education, or a designee of the commissioner, shall appoint an evaluation team
which shall include (1) at least two members representing the Board of Governors of
Higher Education and (2) at least one member for each of the areas of occupational
instruction for which authorization is sought who shall be experienced in such occupation. The applicant school shall have the right to challenge any proposed member of
the evaluation team for good cause shown. A written challenge shall be filed with the
commissioner within ten business days following the appointment of such evaluation
team. In the event of a challenge, a decision shall be made thereon by the Commissioner
of Higher Education within ten business days from the date such challenge is filed,
and if the challenge is upheld the Commissioner of Higher Education shall appoint a
replacement. Employees of the state or any political subdivision of the state may be
members of evaluation teams. The commissioner, or the designee of the commissioner,
shall not appoint any person to an evaluation team unless the commissioner, or such
designee, has received from such person a statement that the person has no interest
which is in conflict with the proper discharge of the duties of evaluation team members
as described in this section. The statement shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner and shall be signed under penalty of false statement. Members of the evaluation
team shall serve without compensation. Except for any member of the evaluation team
who is a state employee, members shall be reimbursed for actual expenses, which expenses shall be charged to and paid by the applicant school.
(e) The evaluation team appointed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section shall
conduct an inspection and shall submit a written report recommending authorization or
nonauthorization by the Commissioner of Higher Education. The evaluation team shall
determine whether (1) the quality and content of each course or program of instruction,
training or study shall reasonably and adequately achieve the stated objective for which
such course or program is offered; (2) the school has adequate space, equipment, instructional materials and personnel for the instruction offered; (3) the qualifications of directors, administrators, supervisors and instructors shall reasonably and adequately assure
that students receive education consistent with stated objectives for which a course or
program is offered; (4) students and other interested persons shall be provided with a
catalog or similar publication describing the courses and programs offered, course and
program objectives, length of courses and programs, schedule of tuition, fees and all
other charges and expenses necessary for completion of the course or program, cancellation and refund policies; (5) upon satisfactory completion of the course or program,
each student shall be provided appropriate educational credentials by the school; (6)
adequate records shall be maintained by the school to show attendance and grades, or
other indicators of student progress, and standards shall be enforced relating to attendance and student performance; (7) the applicant school shall be financially sound and
capable of fulfilling its commitments to students; and (8) any student housing owned,
leased, rented or otherwise maintained by the applicant school shall be safe and adequate.
The evaluation team may also indicate in its report such recommendations as may improve the operation of the applicant school.
(P.A. 79-380, S. 2; P.A. 83-501, S. 2, 12; P.A. 88-360, S. 1, 63; P.A. 89-251, S. 66, 203; P.A. 90-198, S. 1, 5; P.A. 93-294, S. 2, 17; P.A. 97-138; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 14.)
History: P.A. 83-501 amended Subdiv. (8) of Subsec. (b) to provide that financial statement is to be prepared by
management of the school and reviewed or audited by a licensed certified public accountant rather than prepared by
accountant and attested to by management of school and made slight changes in wording throughout section; P.A. 88-360
in Subsec. (d) increased the number of days the state board of education has to make a decision on a challenge from fourteen
to forty-five; P.A. 89-251 increased the application fee from two hundred fifty dollars to five hundred dollars; P.A. 90-198 in Subsec. (d) allowed a designee of the commissioner to appoint an evaluation team, added to the team an additional
member representing the state board of education, removed the member who is a private occupational school administrator
and the right of the applicant school to reject certain members, substituted ten business days for fourteen days as the time
within which a challenge shall be filed, substituted the commissioner of education for the state board of education as the
person to make decisions on challenges, decreased the number of days to make a decision on a challenge from forty-five
days to ten business days, allowed employees of the state or political subdivisions to be members of teams and required
members of teams to provide statements of no conflict of interest; P.A. 93-294 made changes necessitated by the transfer
of authority for the authorization of the schools from the department of education to the department of higher education
and technical changes, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 10-7b transferred to Sec. 10a-22b in 1995; P.A. 97-138 amended Subsec.
(a) to add provision concerning the acceptance of institutional accreditations by accrediting agencies recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education in satisfaction of the requirements of this section and Sec. 10a-22d, except for initial
authorizations; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (a) by adding reference to attendance requirement, effective
August 15, 2002.
Sec. 10a-22c. (Formerly Sec. 10-7c). When certificate to operate shall not be
authorized. (a) No certificate to operate a private occupational school shall be authorized by the Commissioner of Higher Education if (1) any principal, officer or director
of the applicant school has acted in a similar capacity for a private occupational school
which has had its authorization revoked pursuant to section 10a-22f; (2) the applicant
school does not have a net worth consisting of sufficient liquid assets or other evidence
of fiscal soundness to operate for the period of time for which authorization is sought;
(3) the applicant school or any of its agents engages in advertising, sales, collection,
credit or other practices which are false, deceptive, misleading or unfair; or (4) the
applicant school has any policy which discourages or prohibits the filing of inquiries
or complaints regarding the school's operation with the Commissioner of Higher Education.
(b) No certificate to operate a private occupational school shall be issued by the
commissioner pursuant to section 10a-22d until such private occupational school seeking authorization files with the commissioner certificates indicating that the buildings
and premises for such school meet all applicable state and local fire and zoning requirements. Such certificates shall be attested to by the fire marshal and zoning enforcement
officer within the municipality in which such school is located.
(c) No certificate to operate a new private occupational school shall be issued by
the commissioner pursuant to section 10a-22d until such private occupational school
seeking authorization files with the commissioner an irrevocable letter of credit in the
penal amount of ten thousand dollars guaranteeing the payments required of the school
to the private occupational school student protection account in accordance with the
provisions of section 10a-22u. The letter of credit shall be payable to the private occupational school student protection account in the event that such school fails to make
payments to the account as provided in subsection (a) of section 10a-22u or in the event
the state takes action to reimburse the account for a tuition refund paid to a student
pursuant to the provisions of section 10a-22v, provided the amount of the letter of credit
to be paid into the private occupational school student protection account shall not
exceed the amounts owed to the account. The letter of credit required by this subsection
shall be excused once a school has paid in excess of ten thousand dollars into the private
occupational school student protection account or five years from the date of initial
approval, whichever occurs first.
(P.A. 79-380, S. 3; P.A. 83-150, S. 1, 4; 83-194, S. 1, 2; 83-501, S. 3, 12; P.A. 93-294, S. 3, 17.)
History: P.A. 83-194 added Subsec. (c) requiring new private occupational schools to file an irrevocable letter of credit
in the penal amount of ten thousand dollars (Revisor's note: The name "Default Assurance Fund" was changed editorially
by the Revisors to "Private Occupational School Student Protection Fund" by authority of P.A. 83-150); P.A. 83-501
amended Subsec. (a) adding provision that authorization to operate will be withheld if school has any policy which discourages or prohibits the filing of inquiries or complaints regarding the school's operation; P.A. 93-294 made changes necessitated by the transfer of authority for the authorization of the schools from the department of education to the department
of higher education and amended Subsec. (c) to change the provision for the excusing of the letter of credit based on five
years from the date of the letter of credit to five years from the date of initial approval and to remove obsolete language,
effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 10-7c transferred to Sec. 10a-22c in 1995; (Revisor's note: In 1997 references in Subsec. (c)
to the "Private Occupational School Student Protection Fund" were replaced editorially by the Revisors with "private
occupational school protection account" to conform section with Sec. 10a-22u).