On June 25, 2024 TICAS sent a letter to the California Senate Education Committee expressing our opposition to Assembly Bill 3167 unless it is amended. TICAS appreciates the bill’s provision to require out-of-state nonprofit institutions to register and report to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE), as well as the distinctions it would create between accrediting bodies based on the types of institutions they accredit.
However, AB 3167 runs the risk of creating a pathway for more out-of-state public and nonprofit institutions to access federal and CA financial aid dollars. Diverting state dollars to out-of-state institutions is especially concerning given CA’s current fiscal situation. The BPPE is also experiencing a deficit, and the registration fee laid out in the bill would be insufficient to cover the increased workload for the Bureau that this bill would create.
We recommend raising this fee to $1,500 annually, clarifying that non-accredited institutions must register with the BPPE, and ensuring that the use of surety bonds is meant to supplement (not supplant) Student Tuition Recovery Fund contributions and that the terms of these bonds’ usage are clarified. We also recommend adding a provision that limits the percentage of tuition paid by CA residents to third parties and a provision requiring reporting to the BPPE and Legislature on the impact of this new registration classification.
