BILL NUMBER:  S5487A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
clarifying licensure requirements for schools which provide
instruction in photography

 PURPOSE :

To clarify the types of activities that are exempt from educational
licensing requirements to include schools which provide instruction in
photography.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Amends subdivision 2 of Section 5001 of the Education Law
by adding a new paragraph p to exempt from the licensing requirements
of subdivision 1 of Section 5001 students who enroll in schools which
provide instruction in photography for non-occupational purposes.

Section 2: Provides for an immediate effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Recently the Board of Proprietary Schools of the State Education
Department raised a question about the need for the International
Center of Photography (ICP) to register as a licensed private career
              

school under Section 5001 (1) of the State Education Law. However,
Section 5001 (1) pertains to the licensure of business schools or
computer training facilities which are not exempt from licensure.

This bill clarifies that ICP is exempt from Section 5001(1) under
provisions of current law. Current State Education Law, Section 5001
(2) (g), provides an exemption for "schools in which the course of
instruction is licensed, registered or approved under any other
section of this chapter or by any other department or agency of the
state." ICP was issued a charter by the Board of Regents on May 22,
1981, in part, for the purpose to "teach and encourage the
photographic art." In accord with the rules of the regents, ICP
reports annually to them on its status. By chartering ICP in the
manner in which it did, the Regents of the University of the State of
New York put these activities outside of the jurisdiction of the
Bureau of Proprietary Schools.

In addition, Section 5001 (2) (f) exempts any number of schools, among
them schools providing instruction in religion, dancing, music,
painting, drawing, sculpture, poetry, dramatic art, languages, reading
comprehension, mathematics, recreation, yoga, martial arts, pilates
and athletics. For some reason, photography is not specifically
included on that list, though a case could be made that the exceptions
for painting and drawing, especially in this digital age, should be
read broadly enough to encompass the public instructional activities
of ICP.

ICP recognizes the need from a consumer protection perspective for the
Bureau of Proprietary Schools to license and monitor providers who may
prey on the public, offering career-based training or instruction of
questionable merit. However, ICP is not vocational school to train for
a career. Rather, it has an artistic focus with a stated purpose in
its Board of Regents Charter "to cultivate, develop, promote and
sponsor, as an artistic, scientific, literary and educational
endeavor, the understanding of creative photography, and the use of
photography as a medium for revealing the human condition, improving
understanding among people, and fostering international cooperation."

Except when offered in conjunction with a licensed college or
university, there is no "credit" for members of the public taking ICP
courses. ICP lacks a registrar's office for this reason. ICP also
lacks the traditional career services offered by vocational schools
and does not have a placement office or career counselors.

Adding photography to the list of exempt subjects would further
clarify ICP's position that it is not a vocational or career school
and that photography is no less a creative endeavor than music,
sculpture, painting, drawing, or dance.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.