On April 17, 2025, TICAS sent a letter to the Senate Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee expressing our opposition to Senate Bill 790 unless amended. TICAS is concerned with SARA’s lack of sufficient consumer protections, the broad exemption of critical California laws that currently protect students from fraud and abuse, and the impact on students—particularly first-generation students, students from low-income backgrounds, and students of color—who are often targeted by predatory online programs.
Although recent amendments have made some progress, the bill remains fundamentally flawed. We urge the Legislature to vote no unless the bill is amended to guarantee that California retains full legal authority over its institutions and the ability to enforce its full set of consumer protections, while strengthening SARA’s weak consumer safeguards.