Opening a private postsecondary school in Florida starts with a provisional license application to the Commission for Independent Education (CIE). The application is really a description of the school you plan to run, so the decisions behind it matter as much as the forms.
What’s involved
You’ll need to settle what the school will teach, the credential for each program, the location, and how instruction will be delivered. Those decisions then have to show up consistently in your catalog, enrollment agreement, refund policy, program information, and financial materials. Your leadership, CPA, and attorney each own part of that work.
Timing
Treat the first submission as the start of a review process, not the finish line. Expect follow-up requests from CIE and leave time to answer them. Depending on your application, the process may include an appearance at a Commission meeting, so check the published meeting dates and deadlines early. Hold off on firm opening or marketing commitments until you’ve checked them against CIE’s current instructions.
Where new schools get stuck
- Drafting before the plan is settled. When a program name, length, or location changes late, every document has to change with it.
- Working from an old application. Another school’s package isn’t a substitute for CIE’s current instructions.
- Details that don’t match. Program hours, tuition, names, and ownership information differ between documents.
- No one assigned. Decisions that belong to leadership, the CPA, or the attorney sit unresolved.