Bill Text: CA SB1198 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: International student exchange visitor placement organizations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1198 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1198-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1198 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Huff
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 12621 of, and to add Sections 12626.5 and
12626.7 to, the Government Code, relating to international student
exchange visitors.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1198, as introduced, Huff. International student exchange
visitor placement organizations.
Existing law, the Uniform Supervision of International Student
Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations Act of 1994, requires
international student exchange visitor placement organizations to
register with the Attorney General, meet certain requirements, and
perform specified duties, including providing prescribed information
to participating students, host families, and school districts. That
act requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain the
Registry of International Student Exchange Visitor Placement
Organizations and to adopt regulations to establish standards and
requirements for organizations in a manner consistent with specified
federal regulations and for the administration of the act. The act
establishes the Registry of International Student Exchange Visitor
Placement Organizations Fund in the State Treasury and requires the
deposit of all registration and renewal fees collected into that fund
for the purposes of administering the act. The act authorizes a
school district to require proof of registration with the Attorney
General from any organization seeking to place an international
student exchange visitor in the school district as a condition to
agreeing to enroll that student. A violation of the act, including
the failure to register, is a misdemeanor.
This bill would establish specific fees relating to the schooling
and care of a student that may be imposed on a student. The bill
would require an organization to disclose all charges imposed on
students to a prospective student and to submit a schedule of those
charges to the Attorney General for publication on the Internet Web
site for the registry. The bill would impose other restrictions on an
organization's administration of student funds, including a
requirement that an organization that has received tuition for
schooling, if the student resigns, is expelled, or transfers from the
school, refund within 15 days of the event a prorated amount of that
tuition directly to the student. The bill would make such an
organization, upon failure to comply with that last requirement,
liable to the student for up to 10 times that prorated amount.
The bill would require a school to publish, and provide upon
request by a prospective student, a full listing of all the courses
offered by the school, a proposed class schedule, and graduation
requirement plan or worksheet. The bill would require a school to
disclose to prospective students the percentage of foreign students
at the school. The failure to comply with these publication and
disclosure requirements would make a school liable for a full refund
of fees and tuition to any student being expelled, transferring, or
resigning from the school.
The bill would impose other requirements on a school's
administration of a student's tuition, travel permission, and
documents, including a specific federal nonimmigrant student status
form. The bill would provide for certain related fees and refunds,
including a requirement that, if a student requests a transfer, and
any required tuition and fees for services provided have been paid, a
school transfer the records of the student and the student's federal
nonimmigrant student status form within 3 business days of that
request. The failure to comply with that requirement would subject a
school to the requirement to refund to the student the total tuition
and fees paid to that school by the student, and, if it does not
comply with that refund requirement, make the school liable for up to
10 times the amount due to the student, plus attorney's fees.
The bill would require an organization or other entity that
provides or facilitates homestay for a student under the act to
ensure that the host family complies with specific requirements. The
bill would make a host family coresponsible with the school and a
parent, relative, or any other individual or entity responsible for
the overall welfare of the student and would require a host family to
ensure that student transportation and nutrition needs are met. The
bill would require unused portions of a host family charge imposed on
a student no longer residing with the host family to be refunded to
the student.
By imposing new requirements under the act, the violation of which
would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12621 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
12621. For the purposes of this article, the following
terms shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly
requires otherwise: article:
(a) "I-20 form" means a federal Form I-20 titled "Certificate of
Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status."
(a)
(b) "International student exchange visitor placement
organization" or "organization" means a person, partnership,
corporation, or other entity that regularly arranges the placement of
international student exchange visitors for the purpose, in whole or
in part, of providing the students with the opportunity to attend a
school that maintains kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in
the United States.
(b)
(c) "International student exchange visitor" or
"student" means any person 18 years of age or under, or up to 21
years of age if enrolled or to be enrolled in high school in this
state, who enters the United States on a nonimmigrant visa and who is
placed by an international student exchange visitor placement
organization in an elementary or secondary school or other
educational program in this state.
(c)
(d) "Nonimmigrant visa" means a visa category assigned
by the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service or a
successor agency pursuant to Section 1101 of Title 8 of the
United States Code to nonresident aliens whose primary purpose for
visiting the United States is to study at the elementary or secondary
school level or participate in any other educational program.
(d)
(e) "USIA" means the United States Information Agency
designated to administer the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. Sec. 2451; 22 C.F.R. 514.1 et seq.).
seq.), or a successor agency.
(f) "Registered organization" means an organization registered in
accordance with this article, including, but not limited to, an
agent, guardian, or housing or homestay agency.
(e)
(g) "Registry" means the Registry of International
Student Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations established pursuant
to Section 12622.
SEC. 2. Section 12626.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12626.5. (a) An organization shall disclose all charges imposed
on students to a prospective student and shall submit a schedule of
those charges to the Attorney General for publication on the Internet
Web site for the registry. The organization, upon request, shall
substantiate disclosure to a student pursuant to this subdivision. An
organization may fulfill the requirement of this subdivision by
providing to a student the link to the Internet Web site for the
registry.
(b) A registered organization may charge a student the following
fees for services provided:
(1) A one-time facilitation fee, not to exceed six thousand
dollars ($6,000).
(2) A monthly guardian fee, not to exceed five hundred dollars
($500) per month.
(3) A one-time host family placement fee, not to exceed one
thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
(4) A homestay fee, not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200) per
month, if the agent and homestay agency is a registered organization.
If the homestay agency plays any role in the placement of the
student in a school or guardianship, the home stay agency shall also
be a registered organization.
(c) An organization acting as a facilitator shall not borrow money
from a student or the family of a student and shall not use the
funds received from a student for any purpose not directly related to
the education and housing of the individual student. If the
organization holds money on a student's behalf, the money shall be
placed in a separate bank account and shall not commingle with other
funds, and the organization shall keep an accounting of the
disbursement of funds in that bank account on behalf of the student.
(d) An organization that has received tuition for schooling, if
the student resigns, is expelled, or transfers from the school, shall
refund within 15 days of the event a prorated amount of that tuition
directly to the student. If the organization does not comply with
this subdivision, it shall be liable to the student for up to 10
times that amount, regardless of any provision to the contrary in any
agreement between the organization and the student, parent of the
student, or guardian entered into or amended on or after January 1,
2017.
(e) (1) If a student requests a transfer, and any required tuition
and fees for services provided have been paid, a school shall
transfer the records of the student and the student's I-20 form
within three business days of that request. A school that does not
comply with this paragraph shall refund to the student the total
tuition and fees paid to that school by the student. A school that
does not comply with that refund requirement shall be liable for up
to 10 times the amount due to the student, plus attorney's fees.
(2) If a student requests a transfer from a school, the school may
impose on the student a transfer fee not to exceed seven hundred
fifty dollars ($750) if the student and the parent, guardian, and
facilitator had notice of the transfer fee and there was no
misconduct on the part of the school.
(f) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a school shall provide
a student with copies of documents relating to the student within
three business days of a request by the student. A school that does
not comply with this subdivision shall pay in damages to the student
as a sum equal to the total tuition and fees paid to that school by
the student for the current term.
(g) A school may charge fees for English as a Second Language
(ESL) classes, not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) per
year.
(h) A school shall accommodate a student that requests to return
to his or her home for any school break that exceeds 10 days,
including, but not limited to, providing a travel authorization
signature on the student's I-20 form.
(i) A school shall accommodate a student needing a replacement
I-20 form within five business days of notification. A school may
impose a replacement fee of up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250)
for the first request for a replacement document and up to five
hundred dollars ($500) for subsequent requests. The student shall
bear any costs for postage or delivery of a replacement document.
(j) A school shall publish, and provide upon request by a
prospective student, a full listing of all the courses offered by the
school, including the semester a course is offered, a proposed class
schedule, and a graduation requirement plan or worksheet. A school
shall disclose to prospective students the percentage of foreign
students at the school, broken down by campus if the school operates
multiple campuses. If a school fails to disclose this information in
a timely and accurate manner, it shall be liable for a full refund of
fees and tuition to any student being expelled, transferring, or
resigning from the school.
(k) A school that offers host family placement shall not make its
placement program mandatory for students.
SEC. 3. Section 12626.7 is added to the Government Code, to read:
12626.7. (a) An organization or other entity that provides or
facilitates homestay for a student under this article, either
temporary or longterm, shall ensure that the host family complies
with all of the following:
(1) Provides a room for the student with a door that has a lock
operable by an occupant of the room, a smoke detector, and, for each
occupant of the room, a permanent noninflatable bed. A room shall be
either private or shared with no more than one other student in
accordance with this paragraph. Students sharing a room shall be the
same gender, and the sharing shall be by mutual consent of the
student's parent, guardian, and homestay facilitator.
(2) Provides a key or combination to allow entry to and exit from
through an outer door of the home.
(3) Provides an alarm code if necessary for entry and exit of the
home.
(4) Provides window coverings to windows in the student's room to
ensure privacy.
(b) A host family shall have coresponsibility with the school and
a parent, relative, or any other individual or entity responsible for
the overall welfare of the student and shall ensure that student
transportation and nutrition needs are met.
(c) Unused portions of a host family charge imposed on a student
no longer residing with the host family shall be refunded to the
student.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
