BPSS Cutting Edge News
Branford Hall Career Institute – Amityville, NY Notification to Current Students of School Closure
The New York State Education Department’s Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS) has determined that Branford Hall, formerly located at 1100 North Broadway, Amityville, New York, has ceased its licensed operation and closed on October 28, 2020. Several options are available to students as the result of this closure.
Tuition Reimbursement Option
Students enrolled at Branford Hall who have been unable to complete their program due to the school’s cessation of operation and closure are entitled to a full refund of all paid tuition costs through New York State’s Tuition Reimbursement Account (TRA). To initiate a refund, students must complete the BPSS Complaint Form, or send an e-mail request to BPSS@nysed.gov.
Transfer Option
Students may also be able to continue their training at a licensed school of their choosing by utilizing a copy of their academic progress report to transfer to another school. BPSS should be able to issue students an academic progress report if they do not already have one.
However, if students transfer to another school, the new school will assess their school records to determine how much credit or advanced standing to give them for their Branford Hall training. Additionally, the transfer school may assess additional tuition fees and will create a new enrollment agreement contract for the transferring student to sign.
It is also important to keep in mind that if a student decides to transfer to another school, the student may not be entitled to a TRA refund, as the student opted to continue his or her training.
Teach-Out Option
BPSS is currently working with other licensed career schools in the area to determine whether they offer comparable programs for which Branford Hall students can continue their training at no additional cost. This is what is referred to as a Teach-Out option. Under a Teach-Out, a licensed career school will fulfill the terms of the student’s original enrollment agreement signed with Branford Hall. Students would only be responsible for the balance of tuition they have not yet paid to Branford Hall.
Additional Questions
Students who have questions or need further assistance may contact Richard Cohen, Supervising Investigator with BPSS, by e-mail at Richard.cohen@nysed.gov.
Domestic Violence Training Requirement for All Appearance Enhancement Curricula
The New York State Department of State has amended its regulations, effective November 10, 2020, to require that all curricula leading to appearance enhancement licensure include a review and discussion of the one-hour online Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Training.
- For the Cosmetology, Natural Hairstyling and Waxing curricula, the new topic will be added to the content of Subject 1, Professional Requirements. There is no change in the hours allotted to that subject.
- For Esthetics, the topic is added to Orientation unit, which is increased by 1 hour to 5 hours while Subject 17, Unassigned Hours, is decreased by 1 hour to 23 hours.
- For Nail Technician, the topic is added to the Orientation unit, which is increased by 1 hour to 5 hours, while the Unassigned Hours are decreased by 1 hour to 37 hours.
- For Nail Specialty Trainee, the topic is added to Subject 1: Course Overview/Content, which is increased by 1 hour to 2 hours, with the overall number of hours of the curriculum raised from 26 to 27 hours.
The New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is available to provide technical assistance or further training on this topic. For assistance, please contact Christine Sadowski, by e-mail at: Christine.Sadowski@opdv.ny.gov
BPSS schools teaching these curricula should email the BPSS curriculum unit, a letter stating that the school has included this topic in its curriculum, and make a formal curriculum change at renewal. An exception would be Nail Specialty Trainee, which will require a formal curriculum amendment, since the new requirements lead to an increase in total clock hours. For more information on curriculum amendments, please contact the BPSS curriculum unit at: BPSSCurriculum@nysed.gov
Distance Education Approval
All BPSS schools that were initially granted temporary approval under section 126.4(a) of the Commissioner’s regulations to offer theory coursework (and limited skills coursework on a case-by-case basis) through online learning modalities are now approved to offer such coursework via online learning modalities for the full duration of their approved curricula, i.e. until the date each curriculum is set to expire and requires reapproval.
In the interests of efficiency, BPSS will not re-issue approval letters for online curricula. The initial notice from BPSS reflecting temporary distance education approval, as per this guidance, shall have the force and effect of approval and shall be considered sufficient evidence of state authorization for distance education for the full duration of the approved curriculum. Such distance education approval may be rescinded for cause, based on a finding of non-compliance with the provisions of Part 126 of the Commissioner’s regulations.
At the time of curriculum reapproval, schools currently approved to offer coursework through online learning modalities will be required to submit additional information and documentation for the purpose of reapproval and meet any new requirements for online reapproval in effect at that time.
Beginning in the 2020-2021 reporting year, all schools approved to offer coursework through online learning modalities will be required to submit Occupational Education Data Survey data (due April 15, 2022) disaggregated by curricula offered in the following formats: 1) fully online; 2) hybrid/blended; and 3) face-to-face only. Schools should ensure current data collection efforts facilitate data reporting in this manner.
Follow-up to the March 13, 2020 Guidance for BPSS-Regulated Schools
BPSS-regulated schools are subject to all State and local laws, regulations, and Executive Orders applicable to private businesses in New York State, including those related to the COVID-19 crisis. Related to the COVID-19 crisis, determinations of whether businesses are essential, whether businesses can re-open, and whether businesses’ COVID-19 risk-reduction plans are approvable, are made and regulated by agencies and municipalities other than the New York State Education Department. Thus, schools should not submit re-opening plans to BPSS for approval, and should instead continue to follow State and Local Department of Health Guidance concerning COVID-19 and the protocols for possible re-opening being implemented by regional control boards. However, once a school has been approved to re-open, the School Director should notify their BPSS Field Associate by e-mail.
To assist in school planning, it is important to note that the March 13, 2020 Guidance for BPSS-Regulated Schools Impacted by the COVID-19, which was not directly tied to mandatory business closure, will remain in effect after businesses are permitted to re-open in order to accommodate educational changes that might be necessary to implement upon re-opening. Specifically, any approvals or special exemptions to offer online learning granted under Part 126.4(a) will remain in effect, as will the procedures for making any adjustments to the conditions of enrollment or course completion that are necessary to respond to COVID-19. Any adjustments to approved school catalogs in response to COVID-19 may also be made by following the same procedures.
BPSS Field Associate e-mail contact information is available here at the BPSS staff webpage.
Requests to Offer Skills Coursework Online
BPSS will consider school requests for a temporary special exemption to offer certain skills-coursework through online learning modalities under the following conditions. In addition to meeting the five criteria set forth in the March 13, 2020 Guidance Memo, School Directors must also attest and agree to meet each of the following conditions:
- Ensure that online skills-training offered by the school affords opportunities for students to:
- View multiple exemplar models of skills being performed, which are clearly explained, and can be broken down into steps in the right sequence.
- Ask questions of teachers and receive feedback in real-time, while examining a few examples of skill performance in-depth.
- Practice skills and receive immediate and quality assessment feedback from teachers.
- Practice skills in conditions that very closely approximate the authentic real-world situations in which skills are performed.
- Practice skills using instructional equipment that is comparable to the equipment currently used by business or industry in the occupational area for which the curriculum was developed, at no additional cost to the student.
- Limit online skills courses to no more than 10 students per course session, taught by at least one appropriately licensed teacher.
*New Clarification – a course session may have 20 students if there are 2 appropriately licensed instructors (maintaining a 1:10 teacher to student ratio). - Adhere to and clearly disclose the following information to students, in writing, prior to their actively agreeing in writing to proceed with online skills training (email disclosure and agreement will count):
- Students may exercise any of the three following options: 1) proceed with online skills-training; 2) take a leave of absence without penalty or additional cost; 3) withdraw from the program with a refund per their enrollment agreement. And, make clear to students that should they initially choose option 1), they may also exercise option 2) and 3) at any point in the training thereafter.
- Identify the specific skills coursework and corresponding clock hours that can be completed online.
- Identify the specific skills coursework and corresponding clock hours that cannot be completed online because there is no comparable at-home alternative to the equipment currently used by business or industry, or because performance of the skill outside the direct supervision of an expert would be a safety risk, if any. And, disclose that such coursework and corresponding clock hours must be completed on-site once the school location can legally and safely re-open.
- For every hour of skills instruction delivered online, upon the request of the student or program completer, the school will provide one-hour of on-site guided skills-practice without undue delay (hours grouped together for full performance of a skill) once the school can legally and safely re-open, at no additional cost. (If a student or program completer wants to practice skills learned initially online, on-site with guidance after a re-opening, the school will provide that opportunity).
- Ensure that the online skills training will enable students to develop those skills and competencies required for employment in the occupational area for which the curriculum was approved.
Certain skills curriculum and courses are not eligible for special exemption for online approval. Curricula and coursework not currently eligible for online delivery include, but are not limited to: Nurse Aide/Assistant, Dental Assistant, Dialysis Technician, EKG, Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide, Medical Assistant – Clinical, Patient Care Technician, Phlebotomy, Ultrasound, Automotive Repairs, Cosmetic Laser Hair Removal, Microblading/Permanent Make-up.
Procedure for Making a Request
To request a special exemption, School Owners/Directors should send an e-mail to their Field Associate, and copy Charmaine Grant, Supervisor of Education Programs. In the e-mail, School Owners/Directors must explicitly attest and agree to meeting each of the four conditions identified above. In addition, where appropriate, School Owners/Directors should provide a very brief, but cogent explanation of how each provision is being met.
Notes
- Any temporary special exemptions granted to offer skill-coursework online will sunset when the schools licensed location can legally and safely re-open. However, it is important to note that schools’ temporary special exemption to offer theory coursework online will remain in effect for an extended period of time after a school’s licensed location has reopened in order to facilitate transitions and safe re-entry scheduling on-site.
- Schools granted a temporary special exemption must consult with state and federal student financial aid oversight bodies, including but not limited to ACCES-VR, accrediting agencies, and United States Departments of Education and/or Veterans Affairs, to determine whether any additional approvals or restrictions apply.
Any questions may be directed to your BPSS Field Associate. Field Associate e-mail contact information is available here at the BPSS staff webpage.
OEDS Submission for the 2018-2019 Reporting Period
The OEDS forms for the 2018-2019 reporting period are now available on the BPSS system. School Directors can download the forms by doing the following:
- Login into the BPSS system.
- Click the HELP link on the header bar.
- Select OEDS FORM-A and OEDS FORM-B from the dropdown list.
- Click Download.
OEDS Form A captures all of the admission, enrollment, and graduate, and funding source data for each program offered by your school when the curriculum consists of 100 clock hours or more, or for curriculums for which a license or certificate is issued under the authority of another state agency-regardless of clock hours. Schools must submit one Form A for each approved curriculum.
OEDS Form B captures data on courses with less than 100 hours that do not lead to licensure or certification by the authority of another state agency. Schools must submit one Form B for each approved course of less than 100 hours.
Submission
Once a form is completed, click on the submit button at the top of the form. By doing this, the form will be programmatically checked for missing information, and then emailed to the Data Unit of BPSS. There are no uploads or excel spreadsheets to submit for the 2018-2019 Data Collection Period. (For record of what was submitted, go to the “sent mail” of your e-mail, which will allow you to locate and download a copy of submitted data form.
Submission Deadline
The submission deadline for the 2018-2019 reporting period has been moved to September 30, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Please note that the submission deadline for the 2019-2020 reporting period will remain April 15, 2021.
If you have any questions, please send an email to: OEDS@nysed.gov or contact your designated BPSS Field Associate.
Additional Guidance for BPSS-Regulated Schools Impacted by COVID-19
- The submission deadline for the 2018-2019 Occupational Education Data Survey (OEDS) has been moved to September 30, 2020. BPSS anticipates OEDS submission forms will be made available in the next few weeks. Please note that the reporting period has not changed, and remains July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. Additionally, schools should continue to collect data for the 2019-2020 reporting period, as the submission deadline for the 2019-2020 reporting period is still planned for April 15, 2021.
- The submission deadline for the filing Annual Financial Statements for the most recently completed fiscal year has been moved to September 30, 2020. This is a one-time extension of filing requirements. The 2021 filing deadline will remain July 1, 2021.
Guidance for BPSS-Regulated Schools Impacted by COVID-19
The Albany and New York City BPSS Offices will be closed to the public for the next two weeks. BPSS staff members will be responding to e-mail inquiries remotely.
Please see the following memo: Guidance for BPSS-Regulated Schools Impacted by the COVID-19. Specific questions regarding the information in this memo can be directed to Schools’ designated BPSS Field Associate by e-mail and copy Charmaine Grant, Supervisor of Education Programs, at: charmaine.grant@nysed.gov. General questions can be directed to BPSS@nysed.gov.
Field Associate e-mail contact information is available here at the BPSS staff webpage.
Updates
- All schools granted special exemption to temporarily utilize online learning in response to COVID-19 shall remain responsible for ensuring that any instruction delivered via online learning modalities is comparable in scope and quality to the face-to-face instruction upon which the original curriculum approval was based, and for accurately documenting that students have completed all required curriculum hours.
- Schools offering appearance enhancement curricula leading to licensure from the New York State Department of State are eligible to request a special exemption to temporarily offer knowledge-based (theory) coursework online. Approvals will be granted if schools are able to satisfy the five elements necessary for special exemption as outlined in the guidance memo.
Advisory Council Updates
Upcoming Meetings
Advisory Council Meeting scheduled for March 12, 2020 10:30- 1:00 at NYSED, 116 West 32nd Street, New York, NY – 6th Floor has been canceled and will be rescheduled for a later date.