Z-0813.1
SENATE BILL 6140
State of Washington | 66th Legislature | 2020 Regular Session |
BySenators Randall, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Kuderer, Lovelett, Nguyen, Stanford, Frockt, and Wilson, C.; by request of Lieutenant Governor
Prefiled 01/07/20.Read first time 01/13/20.Referred to Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development.
AN ACT Relating to prohibiting the practice of transcript withholding and limiting the practice of registration holds at institutions of higher education as debt collection practices; and amending RCW
28B.10.293.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW
28B.10.293 and 1977 ex.s. c 18 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
((Each state public or private))(1) Institutions of higher education may, in the control and collection of any debt or claim due owing to it, impose reasonable financing and late charges, as well as reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the collection of such debts, if provided for in the note or agreement signed by the debtor.
(2) Institutions of higher education may not do any of the following for the purposes of debt collection:
(a) Refuse to provide an official transcript for a current or former student on the grounds that the student owes a debt;
(b) Condition the provision of an official transcript on the payment of the debt, other than a fee charged to provide the official transcript;
(c) Charge a higher fee for obtaining the official transcript, or provide less than favorable treatment of an official transcript request because a student owes a debt; or
(d) Use transcript issuance as a tool for debt collection.
(3) Institutions of higher education may not withhold registration privileges as a debt collection tool, excluding the case of any debts related to nonpayment of tuition fees as defined in RCW 28B.15.020, services and activities fees as defined in RCW 28B.15.041, or technology fees as defined in RCW 28B.15.051. (4) For the purposes of this section:
(a) "Debt" means any money, obligation, claim, or sum, due or owing, or alleged to be due or owing, from a student, but does not include the fee, if any, charged to all students for the actual costs of providing the transcripts or the cost of tuition.
(b) "Institutions of higher education" means the same as in RCW 28B.92.030. --- END ---