Family & Community Alternative Learning
Massachusetts Proprietary Schools

Frequently Asked Questions by Proprietary Schools

1. Q. What is a proprietary school?
   A. A proprietary school is a privately owned and operated post-secondary school organized as either a non-profit or a profit-making venture primarily to teach vocational skills.

2. Q. What are the different types of proprietary schools?
   A. There are three types of proprietary schools, business, trade, and correspondence.
   1. Business schools offer varied professional programs from data processing and computer training, to health-related occupations, and tractor-trailer operation.
   2. Trade schools offer training in a trade or industrial occupation.
   3. Correspondence schools offer instruction in any field of study through correspondence.
   
   
   

3. Q. How do I open a proprietary school?
   A. If you haven't already done so, you must first set up your business. For the proper procedures and documents contact the Secretary of State's Office and complete their requirements. Please contact them via their web-site http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corp, or call 617-727-9640, or visit them at One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02109-1512. Once your business is set up, you must apply for a private occupational school license with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Proprietary Schools; the application and associated forms are available on our web-site. You must also contact the Office of the State Auditor for a financial application package. They may be reached via their web-site http://www.state.ma.us/sao/schools.htm, or call 617-727-6200, or visit them at One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA.

4. Q. How do I apply for a license to operate a proprietary school?
   A. You must complete the Application for Initial or Renewal License for a private occupational school, which is available on our web-site and submit the completed application with a certified, bank, or business check for the appropriate fee. Please refer to the Schedule of Filing Fees on our web-site for the current amount.

5. Q. How long will it take for my application for a proprietary school license to be reviewed by the Department so I know whether I can open my school?
   A. It depends on a number of factors, including whether your application is complete (incomplete applications will be returned), whether we need additional information, whether the curriculum and faculty are approved, and whether the Office of the State Auditor has determined that the school is financially solvent and is able to obtain surety (bond, letter of credit, certificate of deposit). Typically the review and approval of an application may take 6-8 months. Please note that schools cannot open or recruit students until they receive their license from the Department.

6. Q. What is surety?
   A. Surety is indemnification in the form of a bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit sufficient to reimburse students the money they paid for tuition in the event a school closes before they complete their program. The amount of each school's surety is set by the State Auditor's Office each year and may increase or decrease based on the auditor's yearly review of the school's financial documents.

7. Q. I would like to offer a seminar. Do I need to be licensed by the Department?
   A. If the seminar is no more than fifteen hours; is not scheduled in a regular calendar format; and offered as introduction, orientation, or advanced level training, you do not need to be licensed.

8. Q. My school accepts international students. Is there any paperwork that I must complete?
   A. Schools are required by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to register international students with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). For more information, a link to this system is provided on the home page of our web-site.

9. Q. Must proprietary schools have attendance policies?
   A. The Department doesn't require proprietary schools to have attendance policies, but § 3.11(1) of the regulations for private occupational schools requires them to keep attendance records. Additionally, if schools receive federal funding, they are required to follow federal guidelines on attendance policies.

10. Q. How do I obtain a list of proprietary schools?
    A. A list of both open and closed proprietary schools that the Department licenses is available on our web-site.

11. Q. When I receive my license how long is it valid?
    A. The license is valid for two years at which time you must renew your license by completing a renewal application. The application and related forms are available on our web-site.

12. Q. I will be selling my proprietary school. What paperwork do I need to complete to transfer the license?
    A. The license is not transferable. Thirty days prior to purchasing your school, the new owner must submit a completed application package for an initial license and the appropriate fee to the Department. The fee should be paid with a certified, bank, or business check.

13. Q. How do I change the name of my proprietary school?
    A. You will need to complete a Change of Name Form and submit it with the requested attachments to the Department. The form is available on our web-site. Additionally, you will need to contact the Secretary of State's Office to complete the appropriate paperwork.

14. Q. Our school is undergoing some construction and we need a temporary site location. Do we need to complete any paperwork?
    A. Yes. You must submit a Change of Address Form to the Department with the requested attachments. The form is available on our web-site.

15. Q. Our school would like to open a branch in another location. What paperwork must we complete?
    A. You must complete a Branch Application Form and submit it to the Department with the requested attachments. The form is available on our web-site.

16. Q. Our school would like to sell franchises. What paperwork must we and/or the franchisees complete?
    A. A franchise is a new business and therefore constitutes a new school. (Please refer also to question #3.) All new schools must submit a completed application for an initial license and the required fee to the Department.

17. Q. How do I apply for the approval of a sales representative for my school?
    A. All sales representatives must be approved by the Department. An application, which is available on our web-site, must be completed and submitted to the Department with the required attachments and fee.

18. Q. May I operate a proprietary school out of my home?
    A. A home must be zoned for business use. Contact your local town or city hall for more information about requirements for business use. You must submit a copy of the Zoning Occupancy Certificate to the Department as part of your application.

19. Q. May I operate a proprietary school out of a hotel room?
    A. Yes, but you must submit the required fire and building inspection reports with your application.

20. Q. May I use a P.O. Box as the address for my correspondence school?
    A. No. You must have a physical address.

21. Q. What qualifications do teachers need?
    A. You must apply with the U.S. Department of Education to convert your clock hours to credit hours using a form provided by them. The form is available from their web-site at http://ifap.ed.gov/. If the U.S. ESE approves the conversion, please send us a copy of the approval for our files. If in addition to changing from clock hours to credit hours you intend to begin offering a degree granting program, you must contact the Board of Higher Education. (See answer to previous question.)

22. Q. Our school grants degrees as well as certificates. Would the Department license our school?
    A. No. As defined by M.G.L c. 75D, § 1, the term private business school does not include a school or college regularly chartered and authorized by the Commonwealth to grant degrees. Therefore, schools that are authorized to grant degrees are not subject to licensure as private business schools, but may be subject to regulation by the Board of Higher Education. You may contact the Board of Higher education via their web-site at http://www.mass.edu/index.html or by calling 617-727-7785.

23. Q. Our school would like to convert from clock hours to credit hours. How do we do this?
    A. You must send a letter to the Department showing how you intend to convert the clock to credit hours and explaining why you would like to make this change. If in addition to changing from clock hours to credit hours you intend to begin offering a degree granting program, you must contact the Board of Higher Education. (See answer to previous question.)

24. Q: Our proprietary school requires a high school diploma or a GED (general equivalency diploma) as part of our school's minimum entrance requirements. What documentation should our school require from home schooled students who have neither credential as proof of having completed the equivalent to a high school education?
    A: Proprietary schools should consider developing a policy regarding what documentation is required for home schooled students, keeping the following information in mind: Home schooled children are not entitled to a diploma from a public high school because they are not eligible to take the MCAS test (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), which is a requirement for graduation from a public high school within Massachusetts. Local school districts may issue a certificate of completion to a home schooled student; however, school districts are not required to do so. With regard to the GED, home schooled students are subject to the same requirements as all other students. In order to take the GED test, a student must be at least 16 years old and must not be enrolled in a public or private school. Students between the ages of 16 and 19 must provide a letter from the last school attended stating that the student has officially withdrawn. Any person who is 19 years old or older may take the GED without providing such a letter.

If you are interested in opening any of the following types of schools that are not licensed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, please contact the appropriate organization:

Cosmetology schools: Board of Registration of Cosmetology. You may contact them at 617-727-9940, or visit them at 100 Cambridge Street, 15th Floor, Boston, MA 02202.

Day care operators: Office of Child Care Services at http://www.eec.state.ma.us to find contact information for a regional offices, or contact the Central Office located at One Ashburton Place, Room 1105, Boston, MA 02108, 617-626-2000, fax 617-626-2028.

Electricians: The Board of Registration for Electricians oversees schools who teach electricians. You may contact them at 617-727-9931 or visit them at 239 Causeway Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114.

Nursing: Board of Registration and Nursing at 617-727-9961, or visit them at 239 Causeway Street, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02114; or, The Massachusetts Nurses Association at 781-821-4625, or visit them at 340 Turnpike Street, Canton, MA 02021.

Private High Schools: Private schools must be approved by the school committee of the city or town in which the school is located. A directory of Massachusetts school districts is located on the following web-site: http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/ For further information, please contact the New England Association of Schools and Colleges at http://www.neasc.org or call them at 781-271-0022, or, contact the Association of Independent Schools in New England at 781-982-8600.