Director Responsibilities

The following Policy Guideline is designed to replace Informational Policy Memorandum (IPM) 67, issued November 4, 1993.

Section 5002(6) of the Education Law states that "No person shall be employed by a private school as a director or a teacher who is not licensed in such capacity by the department pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner . . ."

Section 5002(6)(b) states that "A school director shall have access to all student and school records which shall be maintained in accordance with this article and the regulations of the commissioner and shall make such records available to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee upon request during an on site school inspection."

Section 126.6(d)(1) states in part that, "Each licensed school and registered business school/computer training facility shall employ a director who shall be responsible for all activities of the school or done in the name of the school..."

Section 126.6(d)(3) states that "Directors shall have the administrative and educational competency to operate a school, as determined by the commissioner. The factors considered by the commissioner in evaluating administrative and educational competency shall include, but not be limited to, patterns of violations of the duties and responsibilities of a director relating to the administration of a school, as set forth in this Part and Article 101 of the Education Law."

In order to fulfill the duties of school director, the Department's belief is that a director must be present at the school during most of its operating hours and shall have designated someone with sufficient authority to function as director in his/her absence. The Department encourages schools, which have night and/or weekend classes, to have a second individual licensed as director. In order to supervise a school effectively, the Department expects a director to do the following:

1. Be available during the normal operational hours of the school and have designated backup support available in the director's absence.
2. Supervise admission's staff and certified agents to ensure that they are adhering to recruiting practices acceptable according to Education Law and Commissioner's Regulations.
3. Evaluate the delivery of the school's educational programs.
4. Evaluate the performance of teachers both through student feedback and classroom observation.
5. Ensure that teachers are maintaining appropriate attendance records in compliance with Commissioner's Regulations.
6. Ensure that the school license or registration is current and that application for renewal is submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioner's Regulations.
7. Ensure that all curricula/courses offered by the school are approved and that curriculum/course reapproval requests are submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioner's Regulations.
8. Ensure that all school personnel are appropriately licensed and that license requests and reapprovals are submitted within the timeframe established by Education Law and/or Commissioner's Regulations.
9. Ensure that teachers take any prerequisite training prior to the expiration of their licenses so that they will be eligible to receive the next level of licensure.
10. Adhere to Commissioner's Regulations by processing student refunds according to the terms of the approved enrollment agreement.
11. Be responsive to inquiries from State Education Department staff at the time that the request is made.
12. Be accessible to students and State Education Department staff in working to resolve student complaints.
13. Have access to all student and school records which shall be maintained in accordance with Education Law and the Commissioner's Regulations and make them available to the Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee upon request during an on-site school inspection.

Section 126.6(c) of the Commissioner's Regulations states in part that "Directors" licenses shall be valid only for the school for which they are issued. No individual may be enrolled as a director at more than one school without the approval of the commissioner. . . . "

The Department considers each separate trade license or business registration as a separate school even though they may share the same quarters. In order for the Commissioner to determine if an individual can adequately perform the functions of a director for more than one school, the Department requires the submission of a management plan along with a director application for any individual seeking to be employed as the director of more than one school. The management plan requests that the schools provide an organizational chart showing the number of employees who provide support to the director. It also requests information regarding the number of students in each school, the number of faculty at each school, the administrative responsibilities of the director, etc. The purpose of the management plan is to ensure that the appropriate management and support exist enabling the director to effectively supervise more than one school.