Coding bootcamps are scrambling to figure out how they can save their programs, after a California regulator slapped them with cease and desist letters ordering them to shut down, pay a $50,000 fine, and offer refunds to past students. The problem, according to the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) which sent the letters, is these bootcamps arent technically private schools under the law. Since 2009, California has required such private entities to apply for that status and meet a series of minimum standards to protect would-be students from fraud. As VentureBeat reports, the BPPE sent the cease-and-desists to at least six programming bootcamps, including App Academy, Dev Academy, Hackbright Academy, Hack Reactor, and Zipfian Academy so far, though sources tell the publication that Coding Dojo, Coding House and General Assembly are also targets.