KRS 165A.340: Kentucky Commission on Proprietary Education -- Membership --

Terms -- Duties of executive director -- Administrative regulations -- Meetings

-- Powers and duties of commission -- Compensation -- Complaint committee --

Annual report.

(1) The Kentucky Commission on Proprietary Education is hereby created as an

independent agency of the Commonwealth and shall be attached to the Education

and Labor Cabinet for administrative purposes. The commission shall be composed

of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members who are representative of privately owned postsecondary

educational institutions licensed by the commission and appointed by the

Governor from a list of seven (7) names submitted by the Kentucky

Association of Career Colleges and Schools;

(b) Two (2) members who are representative of privately owned postsecondary

technical schools licensed by the commission and appointed by the Governor

from a list of seven (7) names submitted by the Kentucky Association of

Career Colleges and Schools;

(c) Four (4) members who are representative of the public at large with a

background in education, business, or industry in Kentucky and appointed by

the Governor;

(d) The secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet, or the secretary's designee;

(e) The president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, or the president's

designee; and

(f) The commissioner of education, or the commissioner's designee.

(2) Terms of appointed members shall be four (4) years or until successors are duly

appointed and qua lified. A vacancy on the commission shall be filled for the

remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

An appointed member shall not serve more than two (2) consecutive full terms,

except that a member may be reappointe d after a break in service of one (1) full

term.

(3) The commission shall employ and fix the compensation of an executive director,

who shall be its secretary and principal executive officer. The executive director

shall have a background in the regulation of commerce, business, or education, and

shall be responsible for:

(a) Organizing and staffing meetings of the commission;

(b) Establishing policies to ensure retention of original licensing documentation;

(c) Ensuring that minutes and other financial, procedural, complaint, and

operational records are securely maintained and archived;

(d) Internal and external correspondence and communication;

(e) Submitting reports and strategic agenda items for review and approval;

(f) Assisting the commission in the promulgation of administrative regulations;

(g) Carrying out policy and program directives of the commission;

(h) Preparing budget submissions;

(i) Ensuring that formal complaints are provided to the complaint committee and

arranging for independent investigations as needed;

(j) Ensuring that an independent audit of the commission's finances is conducted

biennially;

(k) Ensuring that formal written agreements are executed for the procurement of

administrative and legal services;

(l) Formalizing office policies and procedures relating to licensing and financial

operations;

(m) Developing and implementing a process for monitoring expend itures and

reconciling on a monthly basis commission and student protection fund

receipts reported in the Enhanced Management Administrative Reporting

System (EMARS); and

(n) Other activities necessary to ensure that the commission meets its designated

duties and responsibilities.

(4) The commission shall have full authority to employ and fix the compensation for

any personnel, including counsel, as it may deem necessary to effectively

administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter. The commission sh all obtain

office space, furniture, stationery, and any other proper supplies and conveniences

reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(5) The commission shall annually elect a chairperson. The chairperson shall not be a

school representative appointed pursuant to subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section.

(6) (a) The commission shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance

with KRS Chapter 13A to establish:

1. Commission operating and accountability procedures;

2. Requirements for each licensed institution to publicly disclose according

to standardized protocols, both in print and Web -based materials,

information about:

a. Any information that the schools are required to report by the

federal Higher Education Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 110 -315,

using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System

(IPEDS) of the National Center for Educational Statistics as a

condition of participating in Title IV federal financial aid

programs;

b. The job placement rate of program g raduates in the field of study

and the types of jobs for which graduates are eligible;

c. Articulation agreements with other postsecondary educational

institutions and the rights and responsibilities of students regarding

transfer of credits;

d. The complaint procedures available to students; and

e. The existence of the student protection fund created in KRS

165A.450, and procedures for students to file a claim, including

but not limited to the documentation required for submission of a

claim;

3. Quality st andards and compliance monitoring schedules of traditional

programs, correspondence courses, and web -based, distance learning

courses offered over the internet;

4. Advertising requirements for schools issued a license, including no

distribution of material s containing untrue, deceptive, or misleading

statements and no representation that the commission is an accrediting

agency for the school or its programs;

5. A schedule for reviewing advertisements and recruitment materials and

practices of member institutions to ensure compliance with this chapter;

6. An equitable structure of licensure and renewal fees, to be paid by

licensed schools, necessary to carry out t he provisions and purposes of

this chapter and to support adequate staffing of commission

responsibilities. The fee structure shall be based on the gross revenue of

licensed schools, number of students enrolled, and whether the school is

located within the state or outside the state;

7. The method for calculating placement rates that are to be disclosed

pursuant to this subsection; and

8. A process for an emergency medical services training and education

institute as defined in KRS 311A.010 to elect to be g overned as a

proprietary school.

(b) The commission shall have the authority to promulgate other administrative

regulations, in cooperation with the Kentucky Department of Education and

the Council on Postsecondary Education, as it deems necessary for the proper

administration of this chapter.

(7) The commission shall hold meetings at least four (4) times a year and as frequently

as it deems necessary at the times and places within this state as the commission

may designate. The majority of the members shal l constitute a quorum, and all

meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act, KRS

61.805 to 61.850.

(8) The commission may sue and be sued in its own name.

(9) Commission members shall receive a per diem of one hundred dollars ($100) for

attendance at each commission meeting and may be reimbursed for ordinary travel

and other expenses while engaged in the business of the commission.

(10) The commission shall administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter

pertaining to the condu ct, operation, maintenance, and establishment of proprietary

education institutions, and the activities of agents thereof when acting as such.

(11) The commission shall have the power to subpoena witnesses and school records as

it deems necessary.

(12) The commission chairperson shall appoint a complaint committee and designate its

chairperson. The chairperson of the complaint committee shall not be employed by,

have ownership interest in, or be otherwise affiliated with a licensed institution.

School representatives appointed pursuant to subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this section

shall not constitute a majority of the committee's membership. A committee

member shall not vote on a matter in which a conflict of interest exists. The

committee shall review each f ormal complaint and, if evidence supports an alleged

violation of this chapter or any administrative regulation promulgated thereunder,

the committee shall:

(a) Authorize an investigative report;

(b) Participate in informal procedures to resolve complaints;

(c) Ensure timely correspondence to parties involved in complaints; and

(d) After review of all evidence and investigative reports, make recommendations

for the disposition of complaints to the full commission.

(13) No later than November 30, 2013, and a nnually thereafter, the commission shall

provide a status report on the requirements of this section to the Interim Joint

Committee on Licensing and Occupations and the Interim Joint Committee on

Education. The report shall include a summary of the data, i ncluding school

performance information, relating to the requirements of subsection (6)(a) of this

section.