Sec. 13b.01.01.20. Sanctions

A. The Secretary shall deny approval to or withdraw the approval of a school found to be in violation of these regulations or of the Education Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland.

B. A school's authority to operate becomes void if instruction does not begin within 6 months from the date of approval.

C. A school's authority to operate becomes void if all instruction is discontinued unless the Secretary determines there are extenuating circumstances which justify or excuse the discontinuation of instruction.

D. A school's authority to offer a program becomes void if instruction in that program does not occur for a period of 1 year, unless the Secretary determines there are extenuating circumstances that justify or excuse a school's failure to offer that program.

E. The Secretary may withdraw approval from any school found to be in violation of any commitment made to the Commission as a prerequisite to the obtaining or maintaining of a certificate of approval in its application for approval of the school or of a program, or for failing to report changes in operating circumstances as required in these regulations.

F. The Secretary shall deny approval to or withdraw approval from any school found to have provided the Maryland Higher Education Commission with false or misleading information.

G. Sanctions.

(1) Notice.

(a) If the Secretary believes that a private career school does not meet the conditions or standards established by these regulations, or the conditions or standards on which its certificate of approval or any other approval issued by the Commission or the Secretary was based, the Secretary shall give the school written notice as set forth in this section specifying the deficiencies believed to exist.

(b) The notice shall specify the alleged deficiencies and direct the school to correct them within a period of not less than 30 days.

(c) If the school requests a hearing within 20 days of the notice, the Commission shall hold a hearing on the matter. The hearing before the Commission shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, State Government Article, Title 10, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland, and COMAR 13B.04.01.

(d) If a hearing is timely requested, subject to §G(6) of this regulation, action on the notice of deficiencies shall be stayed until a determination is made after the hearing.

(e) If a hearing is timely requested, action on any approval request by a school issued a notice of deficiencies may be stayed until a determination is made after the hearing.

(2) If a hearing is not requested within the specified time period, or if the notice of deficiencies is upheld in whole or in part after a hearing, the Commission may reprimand the school or suspend or revoke the school’s certificate of approval or any other approval issued by the Commission or Secretary.

(3) Instead of, or in addition to, reprimanding a private career school, or suspending or revoking an approval issued to the school, the Secretary may impose a penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation of these regulations or of the conditions on which any approval issued to the school was based.

(4) In imposing any sanctions under this section, the Secretary shall consider one or more of the following:

(a) The seriousness of the deficiency;

(b) The harm caused by the deficiency including, but not limited to, the number of individuals affected and the degree to which they were harmed;

(c) The good faith of the school and any corrective actions taken, including all reasonable steps or procedures taken by the school that are necessary and appropriate to comply with statutes and regulations and to correct the violations;

(d) Any history of previous deficiencies including, but not limited to, any prior violations by the school of statutes, regulations, or orders administered, adopted, or issued by the Secretary;

(e) Other pertinent circumstances.

(5) The amount of a penalty imposed by the Secretary is determined by the criteria listed in §G(4) of this regulation, and is subject to the following limitations:

(a) The penalty may not be less than $100 per day per violation; and

(b) The total penalty may not exceed $5,000 per violation.

(6) Judicial Remedies.

(a) The Secretary may seek an injunction or other judicial remedy at any time following written notice of the deficiencies and before the Commission's final decision, if the Secretary determines that the public interest requires enforcement of the provisions of Education Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, or any applicable regulations.

(b) If a court grants relief before a hearing that was requested on a timely basis, the Commission shall schedule a hearing in regard to the notice of deficiencies within 2 weeks of the issuance of the court's order, unless the school requests a delay. The hearing before the Commission shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, State Government Article, Title 10, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland, and COMAR 13B.04.01.

(7) Judicial Review.

(a) A school that is aggrieved by an order of the Secretary or Commission has the right to judicial review provided by State Government Article, Title 10, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland.

(b) The decision of the Commission shall be presumed correct and the school has the burden of proving otherwise.

(c) The Commission shall be a party to the proceeding.

(8) Summary Order to Revoke or Suspend Certificate of Approval.

(a) The Commission may summarily order the revocation or suspension of a certificate of approval of a private career school if:

(i) The school's owner or director, or a person in whose name the approval is issued, is convicted of a crime of moral turpitude or a crime relating to the operation of the school if the conviction is final and the period of appeal has expired; or

(ii) An agency that exercises concurrent authority over the private career school has revoked any approval to operate required by law if the revocation is final and the period of appeal has expired.

(b) The Commission may summarily order a revocation or suspension of a certificate of approval of a private career school under §G(8)(a) of this regulation only if it gives the school:

(i) Prior oral or written notice of the proposed revocation or suspension, and a brief, informal opportunity for response;

(ii) Prior or prompt subsequent written notice of the revocation or suspension and the findings on which the revocation or suspension is based; and

(iii) After the revocation or suspension is effective, an opportunity to be heard promptly before the Commission or the Commission's designee.

(c) In any hearing held on the grounds for revocation under §G(8)(a) of this regulation, the Commission may limit the issues to be determined to whether the alleged:

(i) Conviction in fact occurred; or

(ii) Revocation under §G(8)(a)(ii) of this regulation in fact occurred.

(d) Notwithstanding §G(8)(c) of this regulation, in any hearing held on the ground for revocation under §G(8)(a) of this regulation, a private career school may present matters in mitigation of the offense alleged by the Commission.