NY A02182

Prohibits proprietary institutions (for-profit career schools, ESL schools, online education marketplaces, and for-profit degree-granting institutions) from including mandatory binding arbitration clauses in student enrollment contracts

Extends the complaint filing period for alleged violations from 2 years to 6 years, and removes the previous 3-year cap on filing complaints after the date of violation

Increases civil penalties for violations from $3,500 to $5,000 for first offenses and from $7,500 to $10,000 for repeat violations within five years; raises maximum penalties for serious violations from $75,000 to $100,000

Raises the tuition reimbursement account balance thresholds (from $1.8 million to $2.8 million and from $1.3 million to $2.3 million) and authorizes up to $500,000 to be appropriated for hiring additional regulatory oversight staff when the account reaches $3 million

Requires proprietary schools to annually submit gainful employment outcome data for each program, including average student debt incurred and average adjusted gross income of students three years after completion, with violations subject to fraud penalties