The Florida Senate

246.203  Definitions.--As used in ss. 246.201-246.231, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1)  "School" means any nongovernmental, postsecondary, vocational, technical, trade, or business noncollegiate educational institution, organization program, home study course, or class maintained or conducted in residence or through correspondence by any person, partnership, association, organization, or corporation for the purpose of offering instruction of any kind leading to occupational objectives or of furnishing a diploma, as defined in subsection (6), in business, management, trade, technical, or other ¹career education and professional schools not otherwise regulated. Nonpublic colleges and universities which award a baccalaureate or higher degree, and nonpublic junior colleges which award an associate degree in liberal arts do not fall under the authority granted in ss. 246.201-246.231 unless the college, university, or junior college conducts, or seeks to conduct, a program for which a diploma, as defined in subsection (6), is to be awarded. Any nonpublic college, university, or junior college which conducts or seeks to conduct a diploma program shall, for the purposes of ss. 246.201-246.231, be included in the definition of "school." Schools offering only examination preparation courses for which they do not award a diploma as defined in subsection (6) do not fall under the authority granted in ss. 246.201-246.231; nor does a nonprofit class provided and operated entirely by an employer, a group of employers in related business or industry, or a labor union solely for its employees or prospective employees or members.

(2)  "Business, management, trade, technical, or ¹career education" means any instruction which prepares a person for employment in an occupation listed in the latest dictionary of occupational titles issued by the United States Department of Labor or declared by that department to be eligible for such listing or which is indicated by a school as leading to employment in an occupation.

(3)  "Out-of-state school" or "school outside the state" means any school for which the place of instruction or legal place of residence or the place of evaluation of instruction or work by correspondence is not within the legal boundaries of the state.

(4)  "Instruction" means the dissemination of knowledge or practice which signifies, purports to signify, or is generally taken to signify the preparation or education of a person generally or specifically for further understanding, study, skill, or training.

(5)  "Agent" means a person employed by or representing a school within or outside the state to procure Florida students, enrollees, or subscribers by solicitation in any form, made at a place or places other than the office or legal place of business of a school.

(6)  "Diploma" means a specialized associate degree, certificate, transcript, report, document, or title or designation, mark, appellation, or series of letters, numbers, or words which signifies, purports to signify, or is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of an educational, technical, or vocational program of study, training, or course except degrees as defined in s. 246.021.

(7)  "Board" means the State Board of Independent Postsecondary Vocational, Technical, Trade, and Business Schools.

(8)  "Governmental," refers to schools provided, operated, and supported by federal, state, or county governments or any of their political subdivisions.

(9)  "Accreditation" means accredited status awarded to a school by an accrediting agency which is recognized by the United States Department of Education.

History.--s. 2, ch. 74-360; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 4, ch. 78-323; s. 59, ch. 79-164; ss. 5, 6, 7, ch. 81-67; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 7, ch. 84-94; ss. 1, 14, 15, ch. 86-275; s. 16, ch. 89-344; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 1, ch. 93-170.

¹Note.--The term "career education" was substituted for the term "vocational education" by the editors pursuant to the directive of the Legislature in s. 16, ch. 94-232.