The Florida Senate

475.451  Schools teaching real estate practice.--

(1)  Each person, school, or institution, except approved and accredited colleges, universities, community colleges, and ¹area technical centers in this state, which offers or conducts any course of study in real estate practice, teaches any course prescribed by the commission as a condition precedent to licensure or renewal of licensure as a broker or salesperson, or teaches any course designed or represented to enable or assist applicants for licensure as brokers or salespersons to pass examinations for such licensure conducted by the department shall, before commencing or continuing further to offer or conduct such course or courses, obtain a permit from the department and abide by the regulations imposed upon such person, school, or institution by this chapter and rules of the commission adopted pursuant to this chapter. The exemption for colleges, universities, community colleges, and ¹area technical centers is limited to transferable college credit courses offered by such institutions.

(2)  An applicant for a permit to operate a proprietary real estate school, to be a chief administrator of a proprietary real estate school or a state institution, or to be an instructor for a proprietary real estate school or a state institution must meet the qualifications for practice set forth in s. 475.17(1) and the following minimal requirements:

(a)  "School permitholder" is defined as that individual who is responsible for directing the overall operation of a proprietary real estate school. She or he must be the holder of a license as a broker, either active or voluntarily inactive, or must have passed an instructor's examination administered by the department. A school permitholder must also meet the requirements of a school instructor if she or he is actively engaged in teaching.

(b)  "Chief administrative person" is defined as that individual who is responsible for the administration of the overall policies and practices of the institution or proprietary real estate school. She or he must also meet the requirements of a school instructor if she or he is actively engaged in teaching.

(c)  "School instructor" is defined as that individual who actively instructs in the classroom.

1.  Before commencing to instruct noncredit college courses in a college, university, or community college, or courses in an area technical center or proprietary real estate school, she or he must certify her or his competency by meeting one of the following requirements:

a.  Hold a bachelor's degree in a business-related subject, such as real estate, finance, accounting, business administration, or its equivalent and hold a valid broker's license in this state.

b.  Hold a bachelor's degree, have extensive real estate experience, as defined by rule, and hold a valid broker's license in this state.

c.  Pass an instructor's examination administered by the Division of Real Estate.

2.  Any requirement by the commission for a teaching demonstration or practical examination must apply to all school instructor applicants.

3.  Every second year, each instructor must recertify her or his competency by presenting to the commission evidence of her or his having successfully completed a minimum of 15 classroom hours of instruction in real estate subjects or instructional techniques, as prescribed by the commission.

The department may require an applicant to submit names of persons having knowledge concerning the applicant and the enterprise; may propound interrogatories to such persons and to the applicant concerning the character of the applicant, including the taking of fingerprints for processing through the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and shall make such investigation of the applicant or the school or institution as it may deem necessary to the granting of the permit. If an objection is filed, it shall be considered in the same manner as objections or administrative complaints against other applicants for licensure by the department.

(3)  It is unlawful for any person, school, or institution to offer the courses described in subsection (1) or to conduct classes in such courses, regardless of the number of pupils, whether by correspondence or otherwise, without first procuring a permit, or to guarantee that its pupils will pass any examinations given by the department, or to represent that the issuance of a permit is any recommendation or endorsement of the person, school, or institution to which it is issued or of any course of instruction given thereunder.

(4)  Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(5)  The location of classes and frequency of class meetings shall be in the discretion of the school offering real estate courses, so long as such courses conform to s. 475.17(2).

(6)  Any course prescribed by the commission as a condition precedent to any person's becoming initially licensed as a salesperson may be taught in any real estate school through the use of a video tape of instruction by a currently licensed instructor from any such school. The commission may require that any such video tape course have a single session of live instruction by a currently licensed instructor from any such school; however, this requirement shall not exceed 3 classroom hours. All other prescribed courses, except the continuing education course required by s. 475.182, shall be taught by a currently licensed school instructor personally in attendance at such course. The continuing education course required by s. 475.182 may be taught by an equivalent correspondence course; however, any such course of correspondence shall be required to have a final examination, prepared and administered by the school issuing the correspondence course. The continuing education requirements provided in this section or provided in any other section in this chapter do not apply with respect to any attorney who is otherwise qualified under the provisions of this chapter.

(7)  Any person holding a school instructor permit on October 1, 1983, is exempt from the instructor examination requirements of paragraph (2)(c) as long as the person continuously holds such a permit and complies with all other requirements of this chapter.

(8)  A permitholder pursuant to this section may be issued additional permits whenever it is clearly shown that the requested additional permits are necessary to the conduct of the business of a real estate school and that the additional permits will not be used in a manner likely to be prejudicial to any person, including a licensee or a permitholder under this chapter.

History.--s. 1, ch. 57-817; s. 420, ch. 71-136; s. 3, ch. 76-168; ss. 3, 4, ch. 77-238; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 48, ch. 78-95; ss. 1, 3, ch. 78-244; s. 10, ch. 78-366; s. 129, ch. 79-164; ss. 28, 42, 43, ch. 79-239; ss. 1, 3, ch. 80-51; ss. 22, 24, ch. 81-302; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 27, 38, ch. 82-1; ss. 20, 23, 45, ch. 82-179; s. 95, ch. 83-218; s. 3, ch. 83-265; s. 62, ch. 83-329; ss. 18, 28, 30, ch. 88-20; s. 17, ch. 90-228; s. 17, ch. 90-341; s. 20, ch. 90-345; ss. 7, 10, ch. 91-89; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 16, ch. 93-261; s. 377, ch. 97-103.

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