Opinion No. (1998)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE STEVE BALDWIN, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY, has requested an opinion on the following question: Do California statutes specifying accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or other regional accrediting organizations, unlawfully discriminate against alternative accreditation agencies? CONCLUSION California statutes specifying accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or other regional accrediting organizations, do not unlawfully discriminate against alternative accreditation agencies. ANALYSIS A number of California statutes specify accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges ("WASC") or other regional accrediting organizations for various purposes involving institutions of higher education. For example, a clinical laboratory bioanalyst must have obtained his education from an institution maintaining standards equivalent to those institutions accredited by WASC (Bus. Prof. Code, § 1260 ), a clinical laboratory scientist must have obtained his education from an institution maintaining standards equivalent to…