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<section article="ged" article_name="Education" number="2-206" title_number="2" title_name="State Department of Education" subtitle_number="2" subtitle_name="State Board of Education">
  <level label="a">
    <text>In this section, “noncollegiate educational institution” means a school or other institution that offers an educational program but is not an institution of postsecondary education, as defined in § 10–101 of this article.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <level label="1">
      <text>This section does not apply to:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Apprenticeship and on–the–job training programs that are subject to the approval of the Apprenticeship and Training Council;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Individuals or entities that offer or arrange for instruction solely for avocational purposes through courses in areas such as art, music, dance, drama, sports, crafts, or photography, if these courses are designed primarily for developing skills for personal enrichment, recreation, or other leisure pursuits; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Individuals or entities that offer or arrange for a supplemental educational program or tutoring in subjects usually taught in an elementary or secondary school to students concurrently enrolled in public or nonpublic schools.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>This section does not apply to these individuals or entities specified in paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection solely on the basis that they use the word “school” as a part of their name, in literature or publications such as advertisements, brochures, catalogs or bulletins, or in other pronouncements.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>With the advice of the State Superintendent, the State Board shall adopt bylaws, rules, and regulations for the approval and accreditation of all public schools.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>With the advice of the State Superintendent, the State Board shall establish minimum requirements for issuing certificates and diplomas by public and private noncollegiate educational institutions in this State.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="e">
    <level label="1">
      <text>A noncollegiate educational institution may not operate in this State without a certificate of approval from the State Board.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The State Board shall issue a certificate of approval to a noncollegiate educational institution if it finds that the facilities, conditions of entrance and scholarship, and educational qualifications and standards are adequate and appropriate for:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>The purposes of the institution;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>The programs, training, and courses to be taught by the institution; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>The certificates and diplomas to be issued by it.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The State Board may not issue a certificate of approval to an institution that:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Practices discrimination based on race, color, or national origin; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Does not have a policy prohibiting a principal, vice principal, or any other employee of the institution from administering corporal punishment to discipline a student.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="4">
      <text>This subsection does not apply to an institution operated by a bona fide church organization, including the Amish and Mennonite church parochial schools. However, an institution that does not have a certificate of approval from the State Board may not receive State funds, except that an institution operated by a bona fide church organization is not required to have a certificate to receive State funds for eligible students in the food service program who are enrolled in nursery school through the eighth grade.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="f">
    <level label="1">
      <text>If the State Board believes that a noncollegiate educational institution that applies for a certificate of approval does not meet the conditions or standards necessary for the issuance of the certificate, it shall give the institution written notice of the specific deficiencies.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Within 20 days of receipt of a notice of deficiencies, the institution may request a hearing before the Board, and, within 60 days of receipt of the request, the Board shall hold a hearing to determine if the certificate of approval should be issued.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>If, within 6 months from the date on which the application for certification was submitted to the State Board, the institution has received neither a certificate of approval under subsection (e) of this section nor written notice of deficiencies under this subsection, it may request, within 20 days, a hearing before the Board to determine if the certificate of approval should be issued.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="g">
    <level label="1">
      <text>If the State Board believes that a noncollegiate educational institution does not meet the conditions or standards on which its certificate of approval was based, it shall give the institution written notice of this belief.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The notice shall specify the alleged deficiencies and direct the institution to correct them within a period of not less than 30 days as set by the Board. If the institution requests a hearing within 20 days of the notice, the Board shall hold a hearing to determine the matter.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The order to correct the deficiencies shall be stayed until a determination is made after the hearing.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="h">
    <level label="1">
      <text>The State Board may order a noncollegiate educational institution to end operations if the institution fails to correct the specified deficiencies within the period set by the Board and if:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>A hearing is not requested; or</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>After a hearing, the Board finds that the institution does not meet the conditions or standards.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The order takes effect 15 days after it is issued.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="i">
    <level label="1">
      <text>An institution has the right to judicial review of any State Board determination under this section as provided by the Administrative Procedure Act.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The decision of the State Board is presumed correct and proper and the institution has the burden of proving otherwise.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The State Board shall be a party to the proceeding.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="j">
    <text>A noncollegiate educational institution shall:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>Be open for inspection by the State Superintendent or his designee at all reasonable times; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>Furnish the reports and information required by the State Superintendent on the forms provided by the State Superintendent.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="k">
    <level label="1">
      <text>Each noncollegiate educational institution that receives notice of a contaminated drinking water supply from the institution’s supplier of water, in accordance with § 9–410 of the Environment Article or otherwise, shall send notice of the drinking water contamination to the parent or legal guardian of each student attending the institution.</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>The notice shall:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>Be sent by the institution within 10 business days after receipt of the notice of contamination from the institution’s water supplier;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>Be in writing;</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iii">
        <text>Identify the contaminants and their levels in the institution’s water supply; and</text>
      </level>
      <level label="iv">
        <text>Describe the institution’s plan for dealing with the water contamination problem until the institution’s water is determined by the appropriate authority to be safe for consumption.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="3">
      <text>The State Board shall consider an institution’s failure to send the notice required under this subsection in determining whether the institution continues to meet the conditions or standards on which the institution’s certificate of approval is based.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="l">
    <text>Each noncollegiate educational institution affiliated with a residential child care program or treatment facility shall comply with the provisions of Title 8, Subtitle 5 of this article.</text>
  </level>
</section>
