Governor Signs Bill to Change Regulation of Trade Schools

SACRAMENTO —  Gov. Pete Wilson signed a bill Friday that, after months of negotiations, shifts regulation of 2,200 private trade schools from an independent council to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The Republican governor said it will “maintain critical student protections, while reducing the regulatory burden on schools operating in a responsible fashion.”

“We’ve come up with what I believe is the best compromise possible to maintain what I consider the best law in the nation,” said Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles).

A 66-2 Assembly vote Friday morning sent Wright’s bill to Wilson. A companion bill, also signed Friday, was approved by both houses Thursday.

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The Council for Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education was due to expire June 30. The Legislature approved a bill last year extending it, but Wilson vetoed it, citing complaints from schools about high license fees and “a pattern of reprisals and vindictiveness in dealing with the council staff.”

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Negotiations between groups representing the schools and consumer groups were fierce all spring. As they intensified last month, the Legislature passed a bill extending the council until Friday.

The companion bill approved Thursday would extend the council until Dec. 31 so the new system can be developed and take effect Jan. 1.

Before the council was created in a 1989 law, the private schools were unregulated and many had reputations as “diploma mills” that charged large fees but delivered little education.

Wright’s bill would create a Bureau for Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education in the Department of Consumer Affairs. The new bureau would license the schools, which have about 400,000 students.

The schools are expected to provide training for welfare recipients as they are prepared for jobs.