1. (1) The board shall:

   1. (a) Hold such meetings as are necessary to administer efficiently the provisions of ss. 246.201-246.231.
   2. (b) Select annually a chairperson and a vice chairperson.
   3. (c) Adopt and use an official seal in the authentication of its acts.
   4. (d) Make rules for its own government.
   5. (e) Prescribe and recommend to the State Board of Education rules as are required by ss. 246.201-246.231 or as it may find necessary to aid in carrying out the objectives and purposes of ss. 246.201-246.231.
   6. (f) Administer ss. 246.201-246.231 and execute such rules adopted pursuant thereto by the State Board of Education for the establishment and operation of independent schools as defined in s. 246.203(1).
   7. (g) Appoint, on the recommendation of its chairperson, executives, deputies, clerks, and employees of the board.
   8. (h) Maintain a record of its proceedings.
   9. (i) Cooperate with other state and federal agencies in administering ss. 246.201-246.231.
   10. (j) Prepare an annual budget.
   11. (k) Transmit all fees, donations, and other receipts of money to the State Treasurer to be deposited in the General Revenue Fund.

   12. (l) Transmit to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the House of Representatives on July 1, 1987, and each succeeding year an annual report which shall include, but not be limited to:

       1. A detailed accounting of all funds received and expended.

       2. The number of complaints received and investigated, by type.

       3. The number of findings of probable cause.

       4. A description of disciplinary actions taken, by statutory classification.

       5. A description of all administrative hearings and court actions.

       6. A description of the board's major activities during the previous year.

   13. (m) Assure that no school that has met board requirements established by law or rule be made to operate without a current license due to scheduling of board meetings or application procedures for license renewal.
   14. (n) Cause to be investigated criminal justice information, as defined in s. 943.045, for each owner, administrator, and agent employed by a school applying for licensure or renewal of licensure.

   15. (o) Serve as a central agency for collection and distribution of current information regarding institutions licensed by the board.

       1. The data collected by the board shall include information relating to the school administration, calendar system, admissions requirements, student costs and financial obligations, financial aid information, refund policy, placement services, number of full-time and part-time faculty, student enrollment and demographic figures, programs, and off-campus programs. Other information shall be collected in response to specific needs or inquiries. Financial information of a strictly proprietary, commercial nature is excluded from this requirement.

       2. The data collected by the board must also include the data for the ¹career education program evaluation reports required by s. 239.233 for each school that chooses to provide public information under s. 239.245.

       3. The board shall provide to each participating institution annually the format, definitions, and instructions for submitting the required information.

       4. The data submitted by each institution shall be accompanied by a letter of certification signed by the chief administrative officer of the institution, affirming that the information submitted is accurate.

       5. A summary of the data collected by the board shall be included in the annual report to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the House of Representatives. The information collected by the board may also be used by the Department of Education for such purposes as statewide master planning, state financial aid programs, and publishing directories, by the Legislature, and to respond to consumer inquiries received by the board.

   16. (p) Publish and index all policies and agency statements. If a policy or agency statement meets the criteria of a rule, as defined in s. 120.52, the board shall adopt it as a rule.
   17. (q) Establish and publicize the procedures for receiving and responding to complaints from students, faculty, and others about schools or programs licensed by the board and shall keep records of such complaints in order to determine their frequency and nature for specific institutions of higher education. With regard to any written complaint alleging a violation of any provision of ss. 246.201-246.231 or any rule promulgated pursuant thereto, the board shall periodically notify, in writing, the person who filed the complaint of the status of the investigation, whether probable cause has been found, and the status of any administrative action, civil action, or appellate action, and if the board has found that probable cause exists, it shall notify, in writing, the party complained against of the results of the investigation and disposition of the complaint. The findings of the probable cause panel, if a panel is established, shall not be disclosed until the information is no longer confidential.

2. (2) The board may:

   1. (a) Sue or be sued.
   2. (b) Enter into contracts with the Federal Government, other departments of the state, or individuals.
   3. (c) Receive bequests and gifts, which shall be used only for the purpose stated by the person making such bequest.
   4. (d) Appoint committees to assist in developing standards or in determining the qualifications which shall be met in a given field of endeavor.
   5. (e) Issue a license to any school subject to ss. 246.201-246.231 which is excluded from the licensing and regulatory requirements of ss. 246.201-246.231, upon voluntary application for such license and upon payment of the appropriate fee as set forth in s. 246.219.
   6. (f) With the approval of the State Board of Education, establish and operate a branch office in the southeastern part of the state where the concentration of licensed schools renders such an office economically feasible.

   7. (g) Establish and administer a statewide, fee-supported financial program through which funds will be available to complete the training of a student who enrolls in a nonpublic school that terminates a program or ceases operation before the student has completed his or her program of study or for repayment of a loan made under the federal Family Educational Loan Program. The financial program is named the Student Protection Fund. The board is authorized to assess a fee from the institutions within its jurisdiction for such purpose. The board shall assess a licensed school an additional fee for its eligibility for the Student Protection Fund. Any school that participates in the federal Family Educational Loan Program is eligible and must pay the additional fee. If a licensed school terminates a program before all students complete it, the board shall also assess that school a fee adequate to pay the full cost to the Student Protection Fund of repaying the federal loans of its students. The fund shall consist entirely of fees assessed to licensed schools and shall not be funded under any circumstances by public funds, nor shall the board make payments or be obligated to make payments in excess of the assessments actually received from licensed schools and deposited in the Institutional Assessment Trust Fund to the credit of the Student Protection Fund. The board shall identify students who may be eligible for repayment of their loans and notify them in writing of the availability of the Student Protection Fund. At each board meeting, the board shall consider the need for and shall make required assessments, shall review the collection status of unpaid assessments and take all necessary steps to collect them, and shall review all moneys in the fund and expenses incurred since the last reporting period. This review must include administrative expenses, moneys received, and payments made to students or to lending institutions. Staff of the board must immediately inform the board upon learning of the closing of a licensed school or the termination of a program which could expose the fund to liability. The Student Protection Fund must be actuarially sound, periodically audited, and reviewed to determine if additional fees must be charged to schools eligible to participate in the fund. The board may authorize pro rata payments from the fund directly to the lender. The pro rata refund shall be computed as outlined in the Higher Education Act of 1965.

      ¹Note.--The term "career education" was substituted for the term "vocational education" by the editors pursuant to the directive of the Legislature in s. 16, ch. 94-232.

History.--s. 4, ch. 74-360; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 77, ch. 77-104; s. 4, ch. 77-426; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 4, ch. 78-323; s. 113, ch. 79-400; ss. 5, 6, 7, ch. 81-67; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 7, ch. 84-94; ss. 3, 14, 15, ch. 86-275; s. 18, ch. 89-344; s. 61, ch. 91-105; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 58, ch. 92-136; s. 2, ch. 93-170; s. 92, ch. 95-148; s. 54, ch. 96-410.