By Josephine Wang
On January 5, 2026, the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) published its Sunset Review Report in preparation for its Sunset Review Oversight hearing before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee and the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. The joint hearing requires BPPE to justify its existence and effectiveness as a regulatory body under the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) to extend the sunset date by an additional four years. The sunset process provides an opportunity for the DCA, legislature, bureaus, and interested parties to discuss BPPE’s performance and make recommendations for improvements.
BPPE’s Sunset Report includes performance measures on licensing and enforcement programs, as well as responses to issues raised by the legislature during the Bureau’s last sunset review in 2021.
The Report raises twenty-eight new issues that BPPE seeks to discuss with the legislature as part of its sunset review process. Notably, BPPE reports that the revenues generated by its current fee structure is insufficient to protect and support California’s postsecondary education students (Issue #1). Absent legislative action to amend the statutorily set fees, BPPE is slated to become insolvent in 2027–28. BPPE also raises concerns regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of its institutional approvals and accreditation processes (Issues #2–11). BPPE recommends amending various sections of the Education Code to eliminate ambiguities in the statutory language (Issues #2, 6, and 9), better protect students in unaccredited institutions (Issue #4), and address the gaps in oversight over current or accreditation-seeking programs (Issues #3, 5, 7, 8, and 11).
Additionally, the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF) is a Bureau-administered program designed to help students who have been financially harmed by a previously approved private postsecondary educational institution. However, BPPE suggests that its collection range, currently $20–$25 million, is far too narrow and creates administrative impossibilities (Issue #25). To mitigate obstacles to STRF assessments and changes, BPPE proposes expanding the STRF range to $15–$25 million.
BPPE identifies the recent downsizing of the U.S. Department of Education and raises concerns that the diminishing department may result in less federal oversight over private postsecondary educational institutions (Issue #24). While no federal regulation has directly impacted BPPE’s laws or jurisdiction, BPPE braces itself for future developments that may significantly reshape the higher education landscape and primes the potential need for additional staff positions to better monitor institutions’ financial health.
On March 17, 226, the Joint Sunset Review Oversight Hearing conducted its review of BPPE’s sunset. In preparation for BPPE’s Joint Sunset Review Oversight hearing, committee staff issued a background paper for members of the respective Business and Professions committees.
At the time of this writing, there has not been a sunset bill created for BPPE.