The Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools is authorized to:

1. Appoint and fix the compensation of a director who:

a.shall employ and fix the duties and compensation of such clerical or other assistants as are reasonably necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act, and

b.may execute contracts on behalf of the Board;

2. Promulgate rules to include but not be limited to the implementation of minimum standards for the operation of private schools and the application of a school, seminar or workshop for a license of state authorization;

3. Approve or disapprove:

a.applications for state authorization,

b.other applications for licensing,

c.requests for exemption, and

d.requests for a definition exception;

4. Issue a private school license to document state authorization or other licensing upon determination that such school meets the standards fixed by the Board;

5. Prescribe, except as is otherwise provided by law and subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, such penalties as it may deem proper for the enforcement of this act, not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00);

6. Fix minimum standards for private schools, which shall include standards for courses of instruction and training, qualifications of instructors, financial stability, advertising practices, and refund of tuition and fees paid by students for courses of instruction or training not completed, and shall promulgate and adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the implementation of such minimum standards for the operation of private schools;

7. Where possible, to regulate degrees offered by distance education, make use of the State Regents for Higher Education's interstate reciprocity agreements to create a more efficient and cost-effective means of the regulation of private schools;

8. Make use of interstate reciprocity agreements that reasonably satisfy the Board's minimum standards to approve state authorization or other license application, if such agreements become available for other programs the Board approves for state authorization or other license;

9. Require an entity to repay any fees charged to the Board by a financial institution or the State Treasurer for a returned check or other failed form of payment;

10. Develop annual compliance training to emphasize standards relating to the operation of a school and relicensing processes, and require attendance by a representative of each school, seminar, or workshop;

11. Provide all licensing forms free of charge via one or more electronic means, but shall charge for the pick up or mailing of a hard-copy licensing application packet to a person requesting information about private school licensing requirements;

12. Certify an electronic record or the printing of an electronically stored record as an original, subject to approval by the Oklahoma Archives and Records Commission and when in accordance with the record retention and destruction policy of the Board;

13. Collect or require the submission of data, including but not limited to:

a.admissions,

b.certification scores or passage rates,

c.complaints or grievances,

d.enrollment,

e.funding,

f.graduation,

g.job longevity or retention,

h.job placement, and

i.other data, as necessary, to carry on the mission or duties of the Board, or to assist in the state's workforce development initiatives; and

14. Carry out such other duties as necessary to provide state authorization for private vocational schools, seminars, and workshops and such other schools that make offerings of courses or programs as permitted by this act.

Added by Laws 2014, c. 276, § 4.