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Senate approves bill to strengthen oversight of nonpublic postsecondary schools, expands tuition guarantee fund
Summary
The Georgia Senate passed S.B. 400, a committee-substituted agency bill to strengthen oversight of nonpublic postsecondary institutions and bolster the Tuition Guarantee Trust Fund to protect students when private schools close; the measure passed by a constitutional majority, 48–1.
The Georgia Senate on Feb. 11 passed S.B. 400, an agency bill aimed at strengthening oversight of nonpublic postsecondary educational institutions and shoring up the state’s tuition guarantee fund to protect students if private schools abruptly close.
Senator Bueller, presenting the measure on the floor, said the bill is sponsored by the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission and affects more than 358 authorized schools with about 81,000 students in the system. Bueller described the measure as giving the commission greater authority to police “bad actors,” preserve student records and require stronger financial assurances from reputable institutions.
“Occasionally, an independent school will come in, set up shop in a storefront, recruit students, accept tuition, and then fail to deliver services,” Bueller said, summarizing the bill’s consumer-protection intent.
The measure modifies the commission’s oversight powers, adjusts the Tuition Guarantee Trust Fund and allows well-performing schools to provide a bond or letter of credit in lieu of paying a small annual percentage into the fund. Bueller said the trust fund helps backfill undelivered services when an institution closes and that the bill seeks to strengthen that protection.
Senate action followed standard procedure on the floor: the committee substitute was agreed to without objection and the Senate agreed to the committee’s favorable report. The clerk recorded the vote as 48 yeas and 1 nay; the presiding officer announced the bill “is therefore passed by substitute” as a constitutional majority.
The bill’s caption as read on the floor describes amendments to Part 1A of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to nonpublic postsecondary institutions and the tuition guarantee trust fund.
Next steps will follow the chamber’s normal legislative calendar and any further committee or enrollment actions required before the bill can become law.
