(a) The following education and postsecondary educational institutions are exempted from this part except as expressly provided to the contrary:

(1) Institutions exclusively offering instruction at any or all levels from preschool through the twelfth grade;

(2) Education sponsored by a bona fide trade, business, professional, or fraternal organization, so recognized by the commission, solely for that organization's membership or offered on a no-fee basis, not granting degrees;

(3) Education solely avocational or recreational in nature, as determined by the commission, and institutions, not granting degrees, offering such education exclusively;

(4) Postsecondary educational institutions established, operated, and governed by this state, its agencies, or its political subdivisions, as determined by the commission;

(5) Any flight school which holds an applicable federal air agency certificate issued by the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration;

(6) Nonpublic, nonprofit, postsecondary educational institutions which demonstrate annually to the satisfaction of the commission that their purposes are solely to provide programs of study in theology, divinity, religious education, and ministerial training, and that they do not grant postsecondary degrees of a nonreligious nature and that such institutions:

(A) Accept no federal or state funds; and

(B) Accept no student who has a federal or state education loan to attend such institutions;

(7) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, nonpublic law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association which are subject to the regulations and standards established by the Georgia Supreme Court for such schools;

(8) Nonpublic postsecondary educational institutions conducting postsecondary activity on the premises of military installations located in this state which are solely for military personnel stationed on active duty at such military installations, their dependents, or Department of Defense employees and other civilian employees of that installation;

(9) A school where the total instructional program is review or preparation for a specific examination and where the student's occupational training already makes the student eligible to sit for the examination;

(10) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, any nonpublic, nonprofit college or university granting baccalaureate degrees whose principal office and campus are located in this state and its related graduate and professional programs, which have been in existence ten or more years as a nonpublic, nonprofit college or university prior to July 1, 1989, and is accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education;

(11) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, any nonpublic institute of paper science and technology offering graduate degrees and which is allied with a public research university and accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education;

(12) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, any liberal arts college or university whose principal office and campus are located in this state and its related graduate and professional programs, if any, which was chartered prior to 1955 as a nonpublic, nonprofit, degree-granting institution, provided that it is accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education;

(13) Any institution offering only education or training in income tax theory or income tax return preparation when the total contract price for such education or training does not exceed $400.00, provided that the total charges incurred by any student for all instruction, other than instruction which is solely avocational or recreational in nature as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, do not exceed $400.00 in any one calendar year;

(14) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, any nonpublic medical school accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education; and

(15) Any college or university that confers both associate and baccalaureate or higher degrees, that is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, College Division, that is operated in a proprietary status, that provides a $200,000.00 surety bond, and that contributes to the Tuition Guaranty Trust Fund pursuant to Code Section 209-3-250.27.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a) of this Code section, any nonpublic postsecondary educational institution whose students participate in either state or federally funded student financial aid programs is specifically covered by this part.

(c) A postsecondary educational institution which is also regulated pursuant to the provisions of Title 43 shall be exempted only from the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-3-250.5, subsections (a) and (b) of Code Section 20-3-250.6, and Code Section 20-3-250.11.

(d) A postsecondary educational institution which has been granted an exemption from provisions of this part pursuant to paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this Code section shall subsequently submit an annual statement to the commission which affirms that the institution continues to meet the requirements for exempt status as listed in paragraph (6) of subsection (a) of this Code section. The statement shall be submitted using a form provided by the commission. The commission may request information on the form concerning the names of programs of study offered and the titles of degrees, diplomas, certificates, or other credentials conferred. Institutions which qualify for exempt status may include class components or subjects which are nonreligious in nature but relate to the church related work being performed by the institution. The commission may also authorize an annual visitation by the commission staff to the institution.