Hacker boot camps have sprung up across the world in recent years, offering crash courses in the art and science of computer programming. These schools are particularly prevalent in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of the tech world. And in a place where demand for coders just keeps going up, the schools are very popular.

But now these Silicon Valley schools have a problem.

Over the past month, California regulators sent cease and desist letters to many of these hacker boot camps, saying they run afoul of the state's educational laws, as first reported by Venturebeat. "They're not properly licensed, and the law requires them to be licensed to offer an educational service like they are," says Russ Heimerich, a spokesperson for the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, or BPPE.

It's unclear how difficult it will be for these schools to comply with state laws, and though they are likely to stay open in the short term, they may have to change the way they do things. The news is yet another example of the fast-and-loose Silicon Valley ethos running up against the more straight-laced attitudes of government regulators.

Regulators in Hackerland ————————

With names like Dev Bootcamp, Hackbright, and Hack Reactor, these schools are a response to the growing demand for skilled programming across Silicon Valley and beyond. They offer short but intensive courses, usually lasting from nine to 12 weeks, with students often spending 12 to 16 hours a day on projects and course work.

They aren't your traditional vocational schools. There are no grades, no degrees, and no diplomas. They're usually staffed by professional coders, not licensed teachers. Many of the teachers are volunteers – even though the schools are usually private companies, not non-profit organizations. And many schools are backed by investments from big-name Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

>These regulations were developed for schools that grant degrees and diplomas, and certain requirements may not translate well to boot camps

At least eight of these schools have now received a cease and desist letter – though, according to Michael Choi, the co-founder of the hacker boot camp Coding Dojo, who recently met with the leaders of several other hacker boot camps, some boot camps have not received the letter. Those who did could face steep fines. But Heimerich says the state would rather get the schools into compliance and licensed.

The regulations came as a surprise to many of the schools. "Prior to the letters from the BPPE, we were not aware of them," says HackBright co-founder David J. Phillips. But it's not hard to see why the agency would zero in on boot camps, given that many of these companies charge upwards of $10,000 and make bold claims about alumni making six figure salaries upon graduation. Part of the BPPE's mission is to license private vocational schools and ensure that they aren't diploma mills or scams.

Last year, Fast Company published an article questioning the business model of these companies and the promises they make. For example, while the schools boast of high placement rates, many students either quit or are kicked out, which inflates placement numbers. The article also criticized some programs for accepting recruitment fees from partner companies that hire alums.

The founders of these boot camps say they're not opposed to regulation, but they worry that some state laws and regulations may not translate well from traditional schools to hacker boot camps.

"We welcome regulation and oversight," says Appacademy co-founder Kush Patel. "We have nothing to fear from that process. We think it makes sense." But he says these regulations were developed for schools that grant degrees and diplomas, and certain requirements may not translate well to boot camps. Because the company is still in discussions with the BPPE, he declines to name any specific regulation that Appacademy might have trouble complying with. "Whatever the case, we're going to comply with the regulations of the state," he says.

One concern is the time that it will take the companies to go through the license process, and whether they will be able to continue operating. Heimerich wouldn't go so far as to say that the agency will turn a blind eye to the schools' activities during the applications process, but he did say that as long as the schools make a good faith effort to come into compliance, shutting them down will fall low on the agency's list of priorities.

Striking a Balance ——————

This isn't the first time hacker boot camps have come under fire from government regulators. Last summer, Toronto-based school Bitmaker Labs temporarily closed during an investigation by Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities. The government agency was worried that Bitmaker had violated a 2005 law that prohibits any institution offering "instruction in the skills and knowledge required in order to obtain employment in a prescribed vocation" without approval.

>It would be relatively easy for a fly-by-night operation to advertise a developer bootcamp, collect tuition, and then provide low-quality education

At the time, Gray worried that Bitmaker would go out of business before it could complete the application process, which could have taken months. But the agency quickly decided that Bitmaker was exempt from the law thanks to its standards for entry. "When they looked at our program, it sounded more like a professional development program than a vocational program, which gave us an exemption," Bitmaker co-founder Matt Gray told us last year.

But it's unlikely that the California boot camps will dodge regulation the same way their Canadian counterpart did. "It doesn't look like it, based on our reading of the law," says Heimerich. He says the only exemptions are for courses than cost less than $2,500, programs affiliated with accredited schools, and certain religious education programs.

That may be a good thing. Although the legal loophole was good news for Bitmaker, it didn't address the broader issue: that it would be relatively easy for a fly-by-night operation to advertise a developer bootcamp, collect tuition, and then provide low-quality education – or skip town before the courses were even set to begin. Even if the current crop of hacker boot camps are perfectly ethical, there's no guaranteeing the integrity of future entrants into the market.

Given the level of demand – DevBootcamp's San Francisco program is booked through summer – you can bet more of these schools are on the horizon. Many more.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Coding Dojo as Coder Dojo. These are two completely separate organizations.