State authorization requirements for distance education programs

Section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting, in accordance with subsection (d) before the semicolon; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (d) State authorization (1) In general An institution that offers postsecondary education through distance education or correspondence courses shall meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2) by being legally authorized within each State in which the institution's enrolled students are located, subject to paragraph (2). (2) State authorization reciprocity agreements An institution described in paragraph (1) that is located in a State that participates in a State authorization reciprocity agreement with another State and that is covered by such State authorization reciprocity agreement, is considered to meet State requirements for the institution to be legally offering postsecondary distance education or correspondence courses in the other State— (A) subject to any additional requirements of that State; and (B) if the institution documents, in the manner required by the Secretary, that each State in which the institution's enrolled students are located has a State process— (i) to review and take appropriate action on complaints from any of such enrolled students concerning the institution, including enforcing applicable State law; and (ii) to make the complaints public. (3) State authorization reciprocity agreement defined In this subsection, the term State authorization reciprocity agreement means an agreement between 2 or more States that— (A) authorizes an institution located and legally authorized in a State covered by the agreement to provide postsecondary education through distance education or correspondence courses to students located in other States covered by the agreement; and (B) does not prohibit any State in the agreement from enforcing the State's own statutes and regulations, regardless as to whether such statutes and regulations are general and apply to all educational institutions or specifically directed at a subset of educational institutions..