Section 261B.11. Exceptions.

  1.  This chapter does not apply to the following types of schools and courses of instruction:

  a.  Schools and educational programs conducted by firms, corporations, or persons solely for the training of their own employees.

  b.  Apprentice or other training programs provided by labor unions solely to members or applicants for membership.

  c.  Courses of instruction of an avocational or recreational nature that do not lead to an occupational objective.

  d.  Seminars, refresher courses, and programs of instruction sponsored by professional, business, or farming organizations or associations for the members and employees of members of these organizations or associations.

  e.  Courses of instruction conducted by a public school district or a combination of public school districts.

  f.  Colleges and universities authorized by the laws of this state to grant degrees.

  g.  Schools or courses of instruction or courses of training that are offered by a vendor solely to the purchaser or prospective purchaser of the vendor’s product when the objective of the school or course is to enable the purchaser or the purchaser’s employees to gain skills and knowledge to enable the purchaser to use the product.

  h.  Schools and educational programs conducted by religious organizations solely for the religious instruction of leadership practitioners of that religious organization.

  i.  Postsecondary educational institutions licensed by the state of Iowa under section 157.8 or 158.7 to operate as schools of cosmetology arts and sciences or as barber schools in the state.

  j.  Higher education institutions that meet the criteria established under section 261.9, subsection 1.

  k.  Postsecondary educational institutions offering programs limited to nondegree specialty vocational training programs.

  l.  Higher education institutions located in Iowa that are affiliated with health care systems located in Iowa, and which offer health professions programs that are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education.

  m.  Higher education institutions located in Iowa whose massage therapy curriculum is approved under administrative rules of the professional licensure division of the department of public health and whose instructors are licensed massage therapists under chapter 152C.

  n.  A postsecondary educational institution established in Bettendorf in 1969 to prepare students for the federal communications commission radio broadcasting examination.

  2.  A school that claims an exemption from registration under subsection 1, paragraph “h”, “i”, “k”, “l”, or “m”, must demonstrate to the commission or its designee that it qualifies for the exemption. The school must apply for approval of its exemption claim on an application supplied by the commission. The commission or its designee may approve the school’s exemption claim or deny it. A school whose exemption claim is approved must reapply to renew its exemption no less frequently than every two years.

  a.  A school that is granted an exemption under this section must file evidence of financial responsibility under section 714.18 or demonstrate to the commission or its designee that the school qualifies for an exemption under section 714.18 or 714.19.

  b.  A for-profit school with at least one program of more than four months in length that leads to a recognized educational credential, such as an academic or professional degree, diploma, or license, must submit to the commission or its designee a tuition refund policy that meets the conditions of section 714.23.

  3.  A school that is denied an exemption claim by the commission or its designee, or that no longer qualifies for a claimed exemption, shall apply for registration or cease operating in Iowa.

84 Acts, ch 1098, §11

; 96 Acts, ch 1158, §13

; 97 Acts, ch 13, §2

; 2005 Acts, ch 78, §1

; 2009 Acts, ch 12, §13

; 2012 Acts, ch 1077, §8

; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §66

; 2015 Acts, ch 140, §49, 53, 54

2015 amendment to subsection 2, paragraph a takes effect July 2, 2015, and applies retroactively to June 30, 2015; 2015 Acts, ch 140, §53, 54

Subsection 2, paragraph a amended