Sec. 132.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Career school or college":

(A) means any business enterprise operated for a profit or on a nonprofit basis that maintains a physical place of business within this state or solicits business within this state, that is not specifically exempted by this chapter, and:

(i) that offers or maintains a course or courses of instruction or study; or

(ii) at which place of business such a course or courses of instruction or study are available through classroom instruction or by distance education, or both, to a person for the purpose of training or preparing the person for a field of endeavor in a business, trade, technical, or industrial occupation, or for avocational or personal improvement; and

(B) does not include a school or educational institution that:

(i) is physically located in another state;

(ii) is legally authorized by the state of its physical location to offer postsecondary education and award degrees;

(iii) is accredited by a regional or national accrediting organization recognized by the United States secretary of education under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Section 1001 et seq.); and

(iv) offers in this state only postsecondary distance or correspondence programs of instruction.

(1-a) "Class" or "course" means an identifiable unit of instruction that is part of a program of instruction.

(1-b) "Course time" means a course or class period as follows:

(A) a 50-minute to 60-minute lecture, recitation, or class, including a laboratory class or shop training, in a 60-minute period;

(B) a 50-minute to 60-minute internship in a 60-minute period; or

(C) 60 minutes of preparation in asynchronous distance education.

(2) "Owner" of a career school or college means:

(A) in the case of a career school or college owned by an individual, that individual;

(B) in the case of a career school or college owned by a partnership, all full, silent, and limited partners;

(C) in the case of a career school or college owned by a corporation, the corporation, its directors, officers, and each shareholder owning shares of issued and outstanding stock aggregating at least 10 percent of the total of the issued and outstanding shares;

(D) in the case of a career school or college in which the ownership interest is held in trust, the beneficiary of that trust; or

(E) in the case of a career school or college owned by another legal entity, a person who owns at least 10 percent ownership interest in the entity.

(3) "School employee" means any person, other than an owner, who directly or indirectly receives compensation from a career school or college for services rendered.

(4) "Representative" means a person employed by a career school or college to act as an agent, solicitor, broker, or independent contractor to directly procure students for the school or college by solicitation within this state at any place.

(5) "Agency administrator" means the agency administrator of the Texas Workforce Commission or a person, knowledgeable in the administration of regulating career schools and colleges, designated by the agency administrator to administer this chapter.

(6) "Notice to the career school or college" means written correspondence sent to the address of record for legal service contained in the application for a certificate of approval. "Date of Notice" means the date the notice is mailed by the commission.

(7) "Support" or "supported" means the primary source and means by which a career school or college derives revenue to perpetuate its operation.

(8) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or other private entity or combination.

(9) "Unearned tuition" means total tuition and fees subject to refund under Section 132.061.

(10) "Small career school or college" means a career school or college that does not receive any payment from federal funds under 20 U.S.C. Section 1070 et seq. and its subsequent amendments or a prepaid federal or state source as compensation in whole or in part for any student tuition and fees or other charges and either:

(A) has an annual gross income from student tuition and fees that is less than or equal to $100,000 for programs regulated by the agency;

(B) exclusively offers programs to assist students to prepare for an undergraduate or graduate course of study at a college or university; or

(C) exclusively offers programs to assist students, who have obtained, or who are in the process of obtaining, degrees after completing an undergraduate or graduate course of study at a college or university, to prepare for an examination.

(11) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce Commission.

(12) "Division" means the division of education of the commission.

(13) "Distance education" means a formal education process in which:

(A) the student and instructor are separated by physical distance; and

(B) a variety of communication technologies may be used to deliver synchronous or asynchronous instruction to the student.

(14) "Program" or "program of instruction" means a postsecondary program of organized instruction or study that may lead to an academic, professional, or vocational degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential.

(15) "Postsecondary program" means a program that requires a student to have a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate, or requires that the person be beyond the age of compulsory education. A program of instruction in yoga or that trains persons to teach yoga is not considered a postsecondary program.

Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 2007, ch. 620, Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 1971. Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd leg., p. 1264, ch. 463, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1973; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 813, Sec. 4.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 1010, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1993. Redesignated from Education Code Sec. 32.11 and amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 2, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 655, Sec. 11.33, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1064, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 364, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 817, Sec. 8.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 747 (H.B. 2806), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1246 (S.B. 1534), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1337 (S.B. 1176), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.