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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to nonpublic religious postsecondary 2
educational institutions; amending s. 1005.06, F.S.; 3
removing religious colleges from the list of 4
institutions specified as not being under the 5
jurisdiction or purview of the Commission for 6
Independent Education; creating s. 1005.12, F.S.; 7
providing requirements that must be met by nonpublic 8
religious postsecondary educational institutions that 9
operate without being licensed by the commission; 10
requiring such institutions to provide a sworn 11
affidavit with specified information to the 12
commission; requiring the commission to provide such 13
institutions annually with a written notice of 14
exemption from licensu re and of compliance; providing 15
methods for verifying such compliance; authorizing a 16
religious nongovernmental education association to 17
cooperate with the commission to determine whether a 18
nonpublic religious postsecondary educational 19
institution is in com pliance; providing requirements 20
for such associations; requiring the commission to 21
send a specified notice to nonpublic religious 22
postsecondary educational institutions under certain 23
circumstances; providing that noncompliant 24
institutions must apply for a license or cease 25
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operations within a specified timeframe; requiring 26
that the employee or agent of the noncompliant 27
institution who produced the sworn affidavit be 28
subject to criminal penalties under certain 29
circumstances; authorizing the commission to take 30
action for noncompliance if certain conditions are 31
met; amending ss. 553.865, 1005.03, 1005.04, 1005.21, 32
and 1005.31, F.S.; conforming cross -references; 33
providing an effective date. 34
35
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 36
37
Section 1. Paragraphs (f) of subsection (1) of section 38
1005.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 39
1005.06 Institutions not under the jurisdiction or purview 40
of the commission.— 41
(1) Except as otherwise provided in law, the following 42
institutions are not under the jurisdiction or purview of the 43
commission and are not required to obtain licensure: 44
(f) A religious college may operate without governmental 45
oversight if the college annually verifies by sworn affidavit to 46
the commission that: 47
1. The name of the institution includes a religious 48
modifier or the name of a religious patriarch, saint, person, or 49
symbol of the church. 50
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2. The institution offers only educational programs that 51
prepare students for religious vocations as ministers, 52
professionals, or laypersons in the categories of ministry, 53
counseling, theology, education, administration, music, fine 54
arts, media communications, or social work. 55
3. The titles of degrees issued by the institution cannot 56
be confused with secular degree titles. For thi s purpose, each 57
degree title must include a religious modifier that immediately 58
precedes, or is included within, any of the following degrees: 59
Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Bachelor of Arts, 60
Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science , Doctor 61
of Philosophy, and Doctor of Education. The religious modifier 62
must be placed on the title line of the degree, on the 63
transcript, and whenever the title of the degree appears in 64
official school documents or publications. 65
4. The duration of all d egree programs offered by the 66
institution is consistent with the standards of the commission. 67
5. The institution's consumer practices are consistent 68
with those required by s. 1005.04. 69
70
The commission may provide such a religious institution a letter 71
stating that the institution has met the requirements of state 72
law and is not subject to governmental oversight. 73
Section 2. Section 1005.12, Florida Statutes, is created 74
to read: 75
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1005.12 Nonpublic religious postsecondary educational 76
institutions.— 77
(1) Nonpublic religious postsecondary educational 78
institutions, such as religious colleges, operating under this 79
section without licensure are required to meet two or more of 80
the following criteria: 81
(a) Be incorporated in this state. 82
(b) Be a limited liability company in this state. 83
(c) Be under a domestic or foreign corporation registered 84
in this state. 85
(d) Be a ministry under an entity with an Internal Revenue 86
Service taxpayer identification number. 87
(e) Be tax exempt under s. 501(c)(3) of the I nternal 88
Revenue Code. 89
(f) Be registered under a fictitious name in this state 90
under one of the entities specified in paragraphs (a) -(e). 91
(2) A nonpublic religious postsecondary educational 92
institution may operate exempt from licensure in this state if 93
the institution annually provides to the commission by sworn 94
affidavit, either electronically or in print, all of the 95
following information or affirmations: 96
(a) The name of the institution, which must include a 97
religious modifier or the name of a religio us patriarch, saint, 98
person, or symbol of the church. 99
(b) That the institution offers only educational programs 100
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that prepare students for religious vocations as ministers, 101
professionals, or laypersons in the categories of ministry, 102
counseling, theology, education, administration, business, 103
accounting, finance, music, fine arts, media, social work, or 104
communications. 105
(c) The titles of any of the following degrees conferred 106
by the institution, which must include a religious modifier on 107
the title line of the degree, on the transcript, and whenever 108
the title of the degree appears in the institution's official 109
documents or publications: 110
1. Associate of Arts. 111
2. Associate of Science. 112
3. Bachelor of Arts. 113
4. Bachelor of Science. 114
5. Master of Arts. 115
6. Master of Science. 116
7. Doctor of Philosophy. 117
8. Doctor of Education. 118
(d) That the duration of all degree programs offered by 119
the institution is consistent with the standards of the 120
commission. 121
(e) That the institution's consumer practices are 122
consistent with those required by s. 1005.04. 123
(3) The commission shall annually provide the nonpublic 124
religious postsecondary educational institution with a written 125
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notice stating that the institution is exempt from licensure and 126
has complied with the requir ements of this section. The written 127
notice from the previous year remains effective until the 128
commission's workload permits its appropriate adjudication of a 129
subsequent year's affidavit submitted by the institution. 130
(4) Verification of the nonpublic reli gious postsecondary 131
educational institution's compliance with this section may be 132
accomplished by one of the following methods: 133
(a) A finding of compliance by the commission after the 134
institution submits the required documentation in print or 135
electronically. 136
(b) A finding of compliance by a religious nongovernmental 137
education association based in this state which the commission 138
may cooperate with pursuant to s. 1005.22(1)(g) to administer 139
its duties under this section. In order to issue a finding of 140
compliance, a religious nongovernmental education association 141
approved by the commission must: 142
1. Operate in this state and require its members to reside 143
in this state. 144
2. Ensure that its members are trained by the association 145
to verify compliance under t his section. 146
3. Have a review team composed of at least three members, 147
of which no more than two members may derive income from the 148
same institution as one another. 149
4. Prohibit a member of the review team from deriving 150
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income from the institution being reviewed. 151
5. Annually submit to the commission, on behalf of the 152
institution being reviewed, an affidavit designating the 153
association as the institution's agent to represent it before 154
the commission and a written notice from the association's 155
review team affirming the institution's compliance with this 156
section. 157
(5) If a nonpublic religious postsecondary educational 158
institution has received from the commission a written notice of 159
compliance with this section and exemption from licensure, and 160
the institution subsequently fails to comply, the commission 161
must send the institution a notice of noncompliance, and the 162
institution must do one of the following: 163
(a) Apply for a license pursuant to s. 1005.31(1)(a) 164
within 45 days after issuance of the notice. 165
(b) Cease operating in this state within 45 days after 166
issuance of the notice. 167
(6) If the institution does not take the specified actions 168
pursuant to subsection (5), the employee or agent of the 169
institution who produced the sworn affidavit is s ubject to the 170
penalties provided in s. 837.012 for making a false statement on 171
a sworn affidavit. 172
(7) The commission may take action pursuant to subsection 173
(5) upon a finding of noncompliance by the institution, or upon 174
receiving written notices from two or more different 175
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institutions under this section that the institution in question 176
has failed to meet the requirements of this section. 177
Section 3. Paragraph (i) of subsection (3) of section 178
553.865, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 179
553.865 Private spaces.— 180
(3) As used in this section, the term: 181
(i) "Postsecondary educational institution or facility" 182
means: 183
1. A state university as defined in s. 1000.21(8); 184
2. A Florida College System institution as defined in s. 185
1000.21(5); 186
3. A school district career center as described in s. 187
1001.44(3); 188
4. A college or university licensed by the Commission for 189
Independent Education pursuant to s. 1005.31(1)(a); or 190
5. An institution not under the jurisdiction or purview of 191
the commission as identif ied in s. 1005.06(1) or s. 1005.12 s. 192
1005.06(1)(b)-(f). 193
Section 4. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) of section 194
1005.03, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 195
1005.03 Designation "college" or "university." — 196
(1) The use of the designation "college" o r "university" 197
in combination with any series of letters, numbers, or words is 198
restricted in this state to colleges or universities as defined 199
in s. 1005.02 that offer degrees as defined in s. 1005.02 and 200
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fall into at least one of the following categories: 201
(e) A college that meets the description of either s. 202
1005.06(1)(e) or s. 1005.12 (f). 203
Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 1005.04, Florida 204
Statutes, is amended to read: 205
1005.04 Fair consumer practices. — 206
(1) Every institution that is under the jurisdiction of 207
the commission or is exempt from the jurisdiction or purview of 208
the commission pursuant to s. 1005.06(1)(c) or s. 1005.12 (f) 209
and that either directly or indirectly solicits for enrollment 210
any student shall: 211
(a) Disclose to each prospecti ve student a statement of 212
the purpose of such institution, its educational programs and 213
curricula, a description of its physical facilities, its status 214
regarding licensure, its fee schedule and policies regarding 215
retaining student fees if a student withdra ws, and a statement 216
regarding the transferability of credits to and from other 217
institutions. The institution shall make the required 218
disclosures in writing at least 1 week prior to enrollment or 219
collection of any tuition from the prospective student. The 220
required disclosures may be made in the institution's current 221
catalog; 222
(b) Use a reliable method to assess, before accepting a 223
student into a program, the student's ability to complete 224
successfully the course of study for which he or she has 225
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applied; 226
(c) Inform each student accurately about financial 227
assistance and obligations for repayment of loans; describe any 228
employment placement services provided and the limitations 229
thereof; and refrain from promising or implying guaranteed 230
placement, market availab ility, or salary amounts; 231
(d) Provide to prospective and enrolled students accurate 232
information regarding the relationship of its programs to state 233
licensure requirements for practicing related occupations and 234
professions in Florida; 235
(e) Ensure that all advertisements are accurate and not 236
misleading; 237
(f) Publish and follow an equitable prorated refund policy 238
for all students, and follow both the federal refund guidelines 239
for students receiving federal financial assistance and the 240
minimum refund guidel ines set by commission rule; 241
(g) Follow the requirements of state and federal laws that 242
require annual reporting with respect to crime statistics and 243
physical plant safety and make those reports available to the 244
public; 245
(h) Publish and follow procedures for handling student 246
complaints, disciplinary actions, and appeals; and 247
(i) Prior to enrollment, provide a written disclosure to a 248
student or prospective student of all fees and costs that will 249
be incurred by a student, the institution's refund policy, any 250
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exit examination requirements, and the grade point average 251
required for completion of the student's program or degree. The 252
disclosure shall include a statement regarding the scope of 253
accreditation, if applicable. Insti tutions licensed by the 254
Commission for Independent Education shall disclose the 255
information required pursuant to this paragraph in a format 256
prescribed by the commission. 257
Section 6. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section 258
1005.21, Florida Statutes, i s amended to read: 259
1005.21 Commission for Independent Education. — 260
(2) The Commission for Independent Education shall consist 261
of seven members who are residents of this state. The commission 262
shall function in matters concerning independent postsecondary 263
educational institutions in consumer protection, program 264
improvement, and licensure for institutions under its purview. 265
The Governor shall appoint the members of the commission who are 266
subject to confirmation by the Senate. The membership of the 267
commission shall consist of: 268
(d) One representative of a college that meets the 269
criteria of s. 1005.12 s. 1005.06(1)(f). 270
Section 7. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and subsection 271
(11) of section 1005.31, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 272
1005.31 Licensure of institutions. — 273
(1)(a) Each college or school operating within this state 274
must obtain licensure from the commission unless the institution 275
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is not under the commission's purview or jurisdiction as 276
provided in s. 1005.06 , or the institution meets the 277
requirements of s. 1005.12 . 278
(11) The commission shall establish minimum standards for 279
the approval of agents. The commission may adopt rules to ensure 280
that licensed agents meet these standards and uphold the intent 281
of this chapter. An agent may not soli cit prospective students 282
in this state for enrollment in any independent postsecondary 283
educational institution under the commission's purview or in any 284
out-of-state independent postsecondary educational institution 285
unless the agent has received a license a s prescribed by the 286
commission or solicits for a postsecondary educational 287
institution that is not under the jurisdiction of the commission 288
pursuant to s. 1005.06(1)(g) s. 1005.06(1)(h). 289
Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 290