The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 of Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations require a postsecondary educational institution headquartered or operating in California desiring to enroll veterans or persons eligible for Title 38 awards in accredited and nonaccredited institutions and programs to make application for approval of these courses to the California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education, commonly known as CSAAVE, as the state approving agency legally designated pursuant to Section 3671 of Subchapter I of Chapter 36 of Title 38 of the United States Code.

(b) Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 authorize CSAAVE to approve the application of the accredited and nonaccredited institutions when the school and its accredited and nonaccredited courses satisfy the criteria provided in Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 and additional reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE.

(c) It is reasonable pursuant to Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 for CSAAVE to require a postsecondary educational institution, public or private, to obtain accreditation for its degree programs, to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations, and to comply with any additional reasonable criteria established by CSAAVE. It is reasonable pursuant to Sections 21.4253 and 21.4254 for CSAAVE to require a private postsecondary institution to be issued an approval to operate from the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 428, Sec. 1. (SB 1059) Effective January 1, 2017.)