New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner
Subchapter F - Private Schools
Part 126 - Licensed Private Career Schools Or Licensed Private Schools
Section 126.4 - Standards and methods of instruction

Universal Citation: 8 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 126.4

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024

(a) Schools shall conduct only those curricula or courses which have been approved by the commissioner, and shall conduct such curricula or courses in accordance with section 5002(4) and (5) of the Education Law and this Part; except for those programs which have been deemed exempt from the requirements of article 101 of the Education Law and this Part, as prescribed in section 5001(2-b) of the Education Law. The commissioner shall approve the appropriate student-to-teacher ratio for each course or curricula. Schools shall ensure that student enrollment on the attendance register does not exceed the approved ratio after the first week of instruction. Pursuant to section 5002(4)(c) of the Education Law, for all courses or curricula reviewed by an expert or outside consultant not employed by the department, the department shall retain the expert or outside consultant and the school shall bear the expense of the expert or outside consultant, in addition to the curriculum or course application fee set forth in section 5002(4)(a) of the Education Law. The cost of a review by an expert or outside consultant not employed by the department shall be set according to the following schedule:

(1) for courses or curricula up to 100 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $200;

(2) for courses or curricula between 101 and 400 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $300;

(3) for courses or curricula between 401 and 700 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $400;

(4) for courses or curricula between 701 and 1000 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $500;

(5) for courses or curricula between 1001 and 1400 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $600;

(6) for courses or curricula between 1401 and 1800 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $700;

(7) for courses or curricula above 1800 clock hours, the reimbursement shall be $800.

(b) The director of the school shall cause to be prepared data concerning curricula or courses of study and methods of instruction in sufficient detail to clearly indicate the nature of the proposed instruction. He shall submit such data to the commissioner in such form as said commissioner shall direct, accompanied by a request for approval.

(c) Data submitted for approval of curricula or courses or revisions thereof given on school premises shall include the following information:

(1) the name and the educational or occupational objective of the curriculum or course;

(2) the minimum entrance requirements, and complete information with respect to any aptitude tests administered to prospective students in connection therewith, including wherever possible a nationally recognized test appropriate to the course of instruction;

(3) the minimum and/or maximum instructional hours and the allocation of time to each portion of the curriculum or course;

(4) the daily and weekly schedule of instruction;

(5) a description of the method of instruction, indicating the number of instructional hours to be devoted to classroom activities and shop or laboratory practice, and where appropriate, practice and experience components outside the school premises, and the relation between the classroom and practice phases of the curriculum or course;

(6) the tuition and other charges and the method of payment thereof;

(7) an itemized list of equipment;

(8) an itemized list of the small tools, books and supplies loaned or furnished to students;

(9) a detailed floor plan of the premises occupied by the school, indicating all facilities;

(10) the language in which instruction is to be provided and an appropriate justification required by the commissioner for offering instruction in a language other than English;

(11) the manner in which the course or curriculum is apportioned into quarters, semesters or terms pursuant section 126.7 of this Part; and

(12) for applications for approval of curriculum certified by a nationally recognized vendor pursuant to section 5002(4)(e) of the Education Law, the school shall provide, in addition to the information prescribed in paragraphs (1) through (11) of this subdivision, an identification of the vendor and the vendor-maintained location that shall enable the commissioner to determine that the curriculum proposed by the school is in its original format.

(d) Data submitted for approval of curricula or courses of study or revisions thereof given by correspondence or home study or by internet transmission shall include the following information:

(1) the name and the educational or occupational objective of the curriculum or course;

(2) the minimum entrance requirements, and complete information with respect to any aptitude tests administered to prospective students in connection therewith;

(3) the complete instructional units, in detail, as they are to be furnished to the student, showing the instructional content to be taught, the method or procedure to be followed, and the types of skills or knowledge to be learned;

(4) the approximate time necessary for completion of each instructional unit;

(5) the method of mailing or transmitting and correcting instructional units and the manner in which remedial instruction is to be given to individual students;

(6) the language in which instruction is to be provided and an appropriate justification required by the commissioner for offering instruction in a language other than English; and

(7) the manner in which the course or curriculum is apportioned into quarters, semesters or terms pursuant to section 126.7 of this Part.

(e) Each school shall establish and maintain attendance policies and regulations, acceptable to and approved by the commissioner, in accordance with the following requirements:

(1) An attendance register shall be maintained by the school and be available for inspection by the department for each course or curriculum, as applicable and shall contain the following:
(i) the room number, schedule and approved name of the course or curriculum;

(ii) the start and completion dates of the course or curriculum;

(iii) the time and date of each class, laboratory or session;

(iv) a daily record of attendance for each student which shall identify each student as "present," "absent," "late" or "make-up;"

(v) the name and signature of the instructor for each class, laboratory or session;

(vi) verification of the instructor by oath or affirmation of the accuracy of the attendance register;

(vii) any leaves of absence;

(viii) last date of attendance for any student who drops out or is discontinued;

(ix) the marking period and grades for each student for each marking period, unless otherwise approved by the commissioner; and

(x) any other information required by the commissioner.

(2) A school shall determine the academic standing of each student in accordance with the following:
(i) Schools shall use a cumulative grade point average of 70 percent or higher, or its equivalent in the letter-grade scale approved in the school's catalog, when determining the minimum allowable academic standing of each student at each evaluation point.

(ii) Schools shall use a cumulative attendance rate of 70 percent or higher when determining the minimum allowable cumulative attendance of each student at each evaluation point. Attendance rate shall be calculated by the number of instructional hours attended divided by the number of instructional hours offered.

(iii) Schools offering programs of seven weeks or more shall evaluate the academic standing of students at intervals of no less than the midpoint and endpoint of each quarter or term, as defined on the student enrollment agreement.

(iv) Schools offering programs of less than seven weeks shall evaluate the academic standing of students at no less than the midpoint of the program, as defined on the student enrollment agreement.

(v) Students who do not meet the minimum cumulative grade point average or the minimum attendance rate at the midpoint evaluation shall be provided a written notice of warning .

(vi) Students who have been provided a written notice of warning at the midpoint evaluation and who do not meet the minimum cumulative grade point average or the minimum attendance rate at the conclusion of each quarter or term as defined in the student enrollment agreement shall be placed on probation or withdrawn from the program.

(vii) The maximum period of probation shall be the conclusion of the next consecutive quarter or term after the student has been placed on probation, as defined in the student enrollment agreement.

(viii) Schools shall offer academic counseling and remediation for all students placed on probation.

(ix) Students who have been placed on probation and who do not meet the minimum cumulative grade point average or the minimum attendance rate at the conclusion of the probation period shall be withdrawn from the program. Prior to withdrawal, and at the school's discretion, students may be afforded no more than thirty days to make up assignments or instructional hours to achieve satisfactory academic standing as required by this section.

(x) No student shall graduate from a program with less than a 70 percent cumulative grade point average, or its equivalent in the letter-grade scale approved in the school's catalog, or earning less than 70% of the program's total instructional hours, unless otherwise mandated by curriculum requirements.

(xi) Schools shall provide students a copy of each academic standing evaluation. For students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress, the evaluation must contain the student's and director's signatures.

(3) Each school shall have a written policy concerning tardiness and early dismissal.

(4) For purposes of determining the proportion of the time a student was enrolled in a course or curriculum when such student leaves before finishing the entire course or curriculum, the school may regard as attendance such absences and tardiness as may have occurred between the first and last day of attendance.

(5) Any make-up session for attendance purposes shall be approved by the licensed school director, and shall consist of instruction in that portion of the course or curriculum which was not received by the student as a result of absences. A record of make-up sessions shall be maintained in the attendance register. Any charge for make-up sessions shall be expressed on the enrollment agreement and in the school's catalog.

(6) In the case of a prolonged illness or accident, death in the family, or other special circumstances that make attendance impossible or impractical, a leave of absence may be granted to the student if requested in writing by the student or his designee. The approval of such leaves of absence shall be in writing by the school director. No monetary charges or accumulated absences may be assessed to the student during a leave of absence. When a student returns from an approved leave of absence, the student shall be placed in the instructional program at the point commensurate with the skill level retained by the student at the time of his or her return in accordance with the following:
(i) for leaves of absence less than 30 calendar days, the school shall assess the student's retention level either through a counseling session with the student or by employing a written or oral evaluation instrument designed to measure a student's level of retention in the instructional program; or

(ii) for leaves of absence 30 calendar days or longer, the school shall assess a student's retention level either through a written or oral evaluation instrument designed to measure a student's level of retention in each course in the curriculum; and

(iii) documentation that such evaluation took place pursuant to subparagraphs (i) or (ii) of this paragraph along with the actual evaluation instruments, student results and evidence the student was appropriately placed according to skill level shall be placed in the student's permanent file.

(7) Schools may establish attendance requirements permitting less absence and tardiness.

(8) School policy and regulations relating to attendance and leaves of absence shall be submitted to the department for approval prior to implementation, and shall be published in the school catalog.

(f) Any required orientation to school policies or practices, or a general overview of courses shall not be included in the total instructional hours of a course or curriculum, unless such orientation is necessary for the successful completion of the program, given within the first week of instruction as defined in section 126.7 of this Part and approved by the commissioner.

(g) All courses or curricula offered at no cost to a student by a school shall comply with all requirements of this Part.

(h) Schools may provide instruction in English as a second language in accordance with the following:

(1) all teachers shall be appropriately licensed pursuant to section 126.6(g) of this Part.

(2) where an English as a second language component is combined with an occupational education component into one program and the student signs an enrollment agreement for such a program, the following conditions shall be met:
(i) prior to initiating the occupational education component the student shall have completed the English as a second language component and shall have attained a score on a reading test, approved by the commissioner, demonstrating sufficient proficiency in reading English as required by the commissioner for such a program;

(ii) the English as a second language component shall not exceed 50 percent of the total clock hours for the program;

(iii) upon application for approval of such a curriculum, when a school requests permission to accept students at the beginning or basic English as a second language level, the school shall demonstrate that the English as a second language component is designed to provide the student with the necessary reading skills to comply with the provisions of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; and

(iv) the English as a second language component shall be coterminous with a quarter or term as defined in section 5002(3) of the Education Law unless otherwise approved by the commissioner. In all instances, the student's enrollment agreement shall clearly state that if a student fails to pass the reading test as required in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, then the student may not continue in the program.

(i) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Part, non-occupational courses, as defined in section 126.1(t) of this Part, shall be subject to the following alternate educational and curriculum standards:

(1) an application for a non-occupational course shall be submitted in a format prescribed by the commissioner;

(2) upon receipt of a completed application, the department shall notify a school within 20 business days as to whether the application is approved;

(3) students may be admitted into a non-occupational course based upon a personal interview, except where a specialized skill is needed by the applicant in order to successfully complete the course;

(4) teachers of non-occupational courses shall meet the requirements of section 126.6 of this Part, except that teachers who provide instruction in non- occupational courses only shall meet the requirements for a special lecturer as set forth in section 126.6(m) of this Part;

(5) an enrollment agreement for a non-occupational course shall conform to the requirements set forth in section 126.7 of this Part and in addition, shall include the statement: "This course is not intended to provide instruction which will result in the student's acquisition of occupational skills. Placement assistance by the school is not available for this course.";

(6) non-occupational courses shall be clearly identified as such within the school catalog and shall include the statement: "Non-occupational courses are not intended to provide instruction which will result in the student's acquisition of occupational skills."; and

(7) certificates of completion or diplomas awarded for the completion of a non-occupational course shall include the term "non-occupational" or "personal enrichment" on that certificate or diploma.

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