Mo. Rev. Stat. § 173.612 — MO Code / Chapter 173 / Section 173.612
173.612 Coordinating board for higher education to administer law — powers and ...
Status: in_force

173.612. Coordinating board for higher education to administer law — powers and duties — rules and regulations, suspension and reinstatement. — 1. The board shall, through the department of higher education and workforce development, administer, supervise, and enforce the provisions and policies of sections 173.600 to 173.618 and shall assign the personnel that are necessary to exercise its powers and duties.

2. The rules and regulations adopted by the board under sections 173.600 to 173.618 , together with any amendments thereto, shall be filed with the office of the secretary of state. The board may:

(1) Issue proprietary school certificates of approval or temporary certificates of approval to applicants meeting the requirements of sections 173.600 to 173.618 ;

(2) Suspend or revoke certificates or temporary certificates of approval, or place certified schools on probation;

(3) Require each proprietary school to file a security bond with the board, through the state department of higher education and workforce development, covering the school and its agents to indemnify any student, enrollee or parent, guardian, or sponsor of a student or enrollee who suffers loss or damage because of a violation of sections 173.600 to 173.618 by the school, or because a student is unable to complete a course or program due to the school's ceasing operation or because a student does not receive a refund to which such student is entitled. In the event a student, enrollee, or parent, guardian, or sponsor of a student or enrollee suffers loss or damage because of a violation of sections 173.600 to 173.618 by the school, or a student or enrollee is unable to complete a course or program due to the school ceasing operations, or because a student or enrollee does not receive a refund to which such student or enrollee is entitled, the school shall forfeit the entirety of the security bond to the department and the department shall use proceeds to indemnify students and enrollees and to secure and administer student and enrollee records as appropriate. The bond or other security shall cover all the facilities and locations of a proprietary school and shall not be less than five thousand dollars or ten percent of the preceding year's gross tuition, whichever is greater, but in no case shall it exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The bond shall clearly state that the school and the agents of the school are covered by it. The board may authorize the use of certificates of deposit, letters of credit, or other assets to be posted as security in lieu of this surety bond requirement;

(4) Collect only that data from certified proprietary schools necessary to administer, supervise, and enforce the provisions of sections 173.600 to 173.619 . The department shall, subject to appropriations, provide a system to electronically submit all data;

(5) Review proposals for new programs within ninety days from the date that a certified school submits a new program for review, and review proposals for revised programs within sixty days from the date that a certified school submits a revised program for review. If the department fails to review a proposal for a new or revised program within the prescribed time frame, the school shall be permitted to offer the program until the department completes its review and identifies a substantive issue or issues that need correction. In such case the department shall notify the school within an additional ninety days and the school shall then have ninety days from the date it is informed that a program offering has a deficiency to correct the deficiency without having to cease offering the program;

(6) Administer sections 173.600 to 173.618 and initiate action to enforce it.

3. Any school that closes or whose certificate of approval is suspended, revoked, or not renewed shall, on the approval of the coordinating board, make partial or full refund of tuition and fees to the students enrolled, continue operation under a temporary certificate until students enrolled have completed the program for which they were enrolled, make arrangements for another school or schools to complete the instruction for which the students are enrolled, employ a combination of these methods in order to fulfill its obligations to the students, or implement other plans approved by the coordinating board.

4. Any rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to sections 173.600 to 173.618 may be suspended by the joint committee on administrative rules until such time as the general assembly may by concurrent resolution signed by the governor reinstate such rule.

(L. 1983 H.B. 560 §§ 3, 5 subsec. 1, 10, 12, A.L. 1991 H.B. 51, et al., A.L. 2012 H.B. 1042, A.L. 2025 S.B. 150)