Abbreviation NY BPSS | ||
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency General nature Law enforcement
Civilian agency Agency executive Michael J. Hatten, Chairman Parent agency New York State Education Department | ||
New York's Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS) oversees and monitors non-degree granting proprietary schools in New York. The Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS) is part of the New York State Education Department (NYSED).
Contents
Bureau Structure
The bureau was established to oversee educational quality of non-degree granting schools in the state of New York, including trade and business schools, English Second Language Schools (ESL), and others. Most of these schools are geared towards the adult population, providing education and job training.
The Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision provides licenses to these proprietary schools and teachers so the programs offered meet state standards. All segments of a school’s operation are reviewed including financial standing, ownership structure, personnel, teaching methods, and marketing materials. The bureau has only 20 staff members to cover 500 schools, which has led to criticism of their ability to adequately manage schools. The bureau works together with local, state, and federal organizations to review the safety and equipment of all the schools. This includes investigations into student complaints, and reviews of schools to ensure compliance with Education Law and Commissioner's Regulations.
Licensing
In order to be licensed as a proprietary school within New York State, organizations must undergo a licensing process wherein they submit various documents, including: an application for a school license, proof of type of ownership (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation), financial documents, curriculum applications, and school prepared forms.
Controversy
In 2009, the New York's Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision abruptly changed its policy on regulating yoga studio training and threatened those organization with a criminal fine of up to $50,000, although the department noted that they had received zero complaints about subpar yoga training. Until that point, no yoga studio in the state had ever applied for or received a license to train future yoga instructors, which was the alleged crime. Yoga studios were forced to undergo a "nightmarish" application process which put some smaller yoga studios at risk of shutting down permanently, since the process could take up to a year. The initiative was criticized, and the Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision was forced to abandon this tactic after New York Governor David Paterson signed a bill into law exempting yoga studios from the licensing process.