Private Business and Vocational Schools Act

THE PRIVATE BUSINESS AND VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS ACT: ITS PURPOSE, AUTHORITY, AND PROCESS

The Private Business and Vocational Schools Act is an Act in relation to the regulation of private business and vocational schools, approved July 13, 1955, enacted on April 1, 1989, and amended as recently as July 24, 1998.

The Illinois Compiled Statutes, 105 ILCS 425, provide for the regulation of qualifying private business and vocational schools by the Private Business and Vocational Schools unit within the Illinois State Board of Education. Integral part of such regulation are the supportive procedures performed by various professional and operations staff in the processing and review of school applications, solicitor applications, licensing fees, the issuing of Certificates of Approval for schools and Solicitor Permits for individual school representatives, and the many reporting activities, which must be performed such as school and solicitor bonding requirements, insurance requirements, and other various supportive activities associated with the regulatory process.

The PBVS Act applies to any "private business and vocational school," which is defined as "an educational institution privately owned and operated, offering courses of instruction for which tuition is charged, to prepare individuals to pursue a business, commercial, office or other non-professional occupation, or to improve, enhance, or add to skills and abilities of the individual relative to occupational responsibilities or career opportunities."

An educational institution is any institution that promotes business and vocational education, even though the institution’s principal effort may not be exclusively educational in nature. A course of instruction is a " program of study, education, training, or instruction to prepare or qualify individuals, or improve or upgrade the skills individuals need for employment, career opportunities or any specific occupation, trade or in job position requiring technical, business, commercial, office or other non-professional skills or abilities."

Tuition is defined as " any payment or compensation whether paid by an individual, private organization, or any agency of the United States, State of Illinois, or any political subdivision thereof. "

Computer training facilities or corporations that provide computer instruction clearly fall within the definition of a PBVS school as outlined above. The jurisdiction also applies to computer stores that provide computer instruction.

For purposes of this Act, the following shall not be considered to be a private business and vocational school:

Any eleemosynary institution, (a benevolent and charitable educational institution deriving a majority of its income from philanthropic gifts and charitable contributions that are used to subsidize its educational program);
Any religious institution defined as an educational institution of a parochial or denominational character offering courses of instruction, which are religious or theological in whole or part and have a sectarian objective;
Any public educational institution exempt from property taxation under the laws of Illinois;
Any in-service course of instruction and subject offered by an employer provided no tuition is charged and such instruction is offered only to employees of such employer;
Any educational institution which enrolls a majority of its students in degree programs and has maintained an accredited status with the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and is regulated by the Illinois Board of Higher Education under the Private College Act [FN1] or the Academic Degree Act, or which is exempt from such regulation under either of the foregoing Acts solely for the reason that such educational institution was in operation on the effective date of either such Act;
Any institution and the franchisees of such institution that offer exclusively a course of instruction in income tax theory or return preparation at a total contract price of no more than $ 400, provided that the total annual enrollment of such institution for all such courses of instruction exceeds 500 students, and further provided that the total contract price for all instruction offered to a student in any one calendar year does not exceed $ 400. For each calendar year after 1990, the total contract price shall be adjusted, rounded off to the nearest dollar, by the same percentage as the increase or decrease in the general price level as measured by the consumer price index for all urban consumers for the United States, or its successor index, as defined and officially reported by the United States Department of Labor, or its successor agency. The change in the index shall be that as first published by the Department of Labor for the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the total contract price is calculated.

Note: An institution exempted under subsection (a) of this Section must file with the Superintendent an annual financial report to demonstrate continued compliance by the institution with requirements on which the exemption is based.

The Illinois State Board of Education has been granted the authority to govern and oversee all the schools/facilities that fall under the jurisdiction of the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act. The Board also issues a Certificate of Approval to operate legally in the state of Illinois.

A Certificate of Approval is a non-transferable certificate issued under the authority of the Illinois State Board of Education to a private business and vocational school located within or without the state in the name of the school, which authorizes the school to solicit students and to offer and maintain a course of instruction in compliance with the provisions of this Act and such standards, rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Board.

No person, partnership, or corporation shall conduct, or do business as, or otherwise operate or maintain a private business and vocational school in Illinois without having been issued a Certificate of Approval by the State Superintendent.

A person, partnership, or corporation is qualified to receive a Certificate of Approval by filling an Original Application (ISBE 29-20). Each application required to be filed in accordance with the provisions of the Act, shall be accompanied by the required fee, and all such applications shall be made on forms prepared and furnished by the Illinois State Board of Education.

A school must have approval prior to operating at any location, and shall make application to the Superintendent for any change of location and for a classroom extension at a new or changed location.

Normally the approval process lasts anywhere between 2-4 weeks, depending on the size of the school and the proper submission of all required documents.

NOTE: To obtain additional information regarding the Private Business and Vocational Statutes, Rules, and Application, contact a professional consultant at 312/814-5818 in Chicago, 217/782-2948 in Springfield.