AN ACT Relating to international student exchange programs; amending RCW 28A.300.200 and 74.15.020; adding a new section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. It is the intent of the legislature to:

(1) Promote the health, safety, and welfare of international student exchange visitors in Washington in accordance with uniform national standards;

(2) Promote quality education and living experiences for international student exchange visitors living in Washington;

(3) Promote international awareness among Washington residents, by encouraging Washington residents to interact with international student exchange visitors;

(4) Encourage public confidence in international student exchange visitor placement organizations operating in Washington;

(5) Encourage and assist with compliance with United States information agency regulations and nationally established standards; and

(6) Promote the existence and quality of international student visitor exchange programs operating in Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "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 allowing the student an opportunity to attend school in the United States.

(2) "International student exchange visitor" or "student" means any person eighteen years of age or under, or up to age twenty-one if enrolled or to be enrolled in high school in this state, placed by an international student exchange visitor placement organization, who enters the United States with a nonimmigrant visa.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) All international student exchange visitor placement organizations that place students in public schools in the state shall register with the secretary of state.

(2) Failure to register is a violation of this chapter.

(3) Information provided to the secretary of state under this chapter is a public record.

(4) Registration shall not be considered or be represented as an endorsement of the organization by the secretary of state or the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The secretary of state shall adopt standards for international student exchange visitor placement organizations. In adopting the standards, the secretary of state shall strive to adopt standards established by the United States Information Agency and the council on standards for international educational travel and strive to achieve uniformity with national standards. The secretary of state may incorporate standards established by the United States Information Agency or the council on standards for international educational travel by reference and may accept an organization's designation by the United States Information Agency or acceptance for listing by the council on standards for international educational travel as evidence of compliance with such standards.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) An application for registration as an international student exchange visitor placement organization shall be submitted in the form prescribed by the secretary of state. The application shall include:

(a) Evidence that the organization meets the standards established by the secretary of state under section 4 of this act;

(b) The name, address, and telephone number of the organization, its chief executive officer, and the person within the organization who has primary responsibility for supervising placements within the state;

(d) The organization's United States Information Agency number, if any;

(e) Evidence of council on standards for international educational travel listing, if any;

(f) Whether the organization is exempt from federal income tax; and

(g) A list of the organization's placements in Washington for the previous academic year including the number of students placed, their home countries, the school districts in which they were placed, and the length of their placements.

(2) The application shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the organization and the person within the organization who has primary responsibility for supervising placements within Washington. If the secretary of state determines that the application is complete, the secretary of state shall file the application and the applicant is registered.

(3) International student exchange visitor placement organizations that have registered shall inform the secretary of state of any changes in the information required under subsection (1) of this section within thirty days of the change.

(4) Registration under this chapter is valid for one year. The registration may be renewed annually.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The secretary of state may adopt rules as necessary to carry out its duties under this chapter. The rules may include providing for a reasonable registration fee, not to exceed fifty dollars, to defray the costs of processing registrations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. International student exchange organizations that have agreed to provide services to place students in the state shall provide an informational document, in English, to each student, host family, and superintendent of the school district in which the student is being placed. The document shall be provided before placement and shall include the following:

(1) An explanation of the services to be performed by the organization for the student, host family, and school district;

(2) A summary of this chapter prepared by the secretary of state;

(3) Telephone numbers that the student, host family, and school district may call for assistance. The telephone numbers shall include, at minimum, an in-state telephone number for the organization, and the telephone numbers of the organization's national headquarters, if any, the United States Information Agency, and the office of the secretary of state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The secretary of state may, upon receipt of a complaint regarding an international student exchange organization, report the matter to the organization involved, the United States Information Agency, or the council on standards for international education travel, as he or she deems appropriate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or who willfully and knowingly gives false or incorrect information to the secretary, attorney general, or county prosecuting attorney in filing statements required by this chapter, whether or not such statement or report is verified, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The legislature finds that the practices covered by this chapter are matters vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. Violations of this chapter are not reasonable in relation to the development and preservation of business. A violation of this chapter is an unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce and an unfair method of competition for the purpose of applying the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall annually make available to school districts and approved private schools, from data supplied by the secretary of state, the names of international student exchange visitor placement organizations registered under chapter 19.‑‑ RCW (sections 1 through 10 of this act) to place students in public schools in the state and a summary of the information the organizations have filed with the secretary of state under chapter 19.‑- RCW (sections 1 through 10 of this act).

(2) The superintendent shall provide general information and assistance to school districts regarding international student exchange visitors, including, to the extent feasible with available resources, information on the type of visa required for enrollment, how to promote positive educational experiences for visiting exchange students, and how to integrate exchange students into the school environment to benefit the education of both the exchange students and students in the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) The secretary of state shall create and chair a task force on international student exchange. The task force shall include representatives of the legislature, the office of the superintendent of public instruction, international student exchange visitor placement organizations operating in Washington, school districts, business, exchange students, and other representatives as the secretary deems appropriate. Members shall be selected by the secretary of state.

(2) The task force shall, within available resources:

(a) Estimate the number of foreign exchange students studying in Washington schools in a given year, and provide summary information about the countries they are from, the school districts in which they are placed, the type of organization placing them, and the students' average length of stay;

(b) Estimate the number of public school students from this state who are foreign exchange students in other nations in a given year, and provide summary information about the school districts they are from, the countries in which they are placed, the type of organization placing them, and the students' average length of stay;

(c) Investigate ways to promote student and teacher exchanges with K-12 schools in other nations, with an emphasis on sending more Washington students to other nations;

(d) Examine reported problems in the international student exchange visitor placement industry operating in the public schools of the state and the effect of sections 1 through 10 of this act on these problems; (e) Examine the adequacy of the fee structure established under section 6 of this act.

(3) The task force shall report findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 1, 1992.

(4) This section shall expire December 1, 1992.

*Sec. 12 was vetoed, see message at end of chapter.

Sec. 13. RCW 28A.300.200 and 1990 c 243 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

To complement RCW 28A.630.230 and chapter 28B.107 RCW, the superintendent of public instruction shall ((~~encourage school districts to establish exchange programs for teachers with~~)), subject to available funding, coordinate and sponsor student and teacher exchanges between Washington schools and schools in Pacific Rim nations and other nations. The superintendent may solicit and accept grants and donations from public and private sources for the student and teacher exchange program.

Sec. 14. RCW 74.15.020 and 1988 c 176 s 912 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purpose of chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031, and unless otherwise clearly indicated by the context thereof, the following terms shall mean:

(1) "Department" means the state department of social and health services;

(2) "Secretary" means the secretary of social and health services;

(3) "Agency" means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, or facility which receives children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities for control, care, or maintenance outside their own homes, or which places, arranges the placement of, or assists in the placement of children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities for foster care or placement of children for adoption, and shall include the following irrespective of whether there is compensation to the agency or to the children, expectant mothers or persons with developmental disabilities for services rendered:

(a) "Group-care facility" means an agency, other than a foster-family home, which is maintained and operated for the care of a group of children on a twenty-four hour basis;

(b) "Child-placing agency" means an agency which places a child or children for temporary care, continued care, or for adoption;

(c) "Maternity service" means an agency which provides or arranges for care or services to expectant mothers, before or during confinement, or which provides care as needed to mothers and their infants after confinement;

(d) "Day-care center" means an agency which regularly provides care for a group of children for periods of less than twenty-four hours;

(e) "Foster-family home" means an agency which regularly provides care on a twenty-four hour basis to one or more children, expectant mothers, or persons with developmental disabilities in the family abode of the person or persons under whose direct care and supervision the child, expectant mother, or person with a developmental disability is placed;

(f) "Crisis residential center" means an agency which is a temporary protective residential facility operated to perform the duties specified in chapter 13.32A RCW, in the manner provided in RCW 74.13.032 through 74.13.036.

(4) "Agency" shall not include the following:

(a) Persons related by blood or marriage to the child, expectant mother, or persons with developmental disabilities in the following degrees: Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, and/or first cousin;

(b) Persons who are legal guardians of the child, expectant mother, or persons with developmental disabilities;

(c) Persons who care for a neighbor's or friend's child or children, with or without compensation, where the person does not engage in such activity on a regular basis, or where parents on a mutually cooperative basis exchange care of one another's children, or persons who have the care of an exchange student in their own home;

(d) A person, partnership, corporation, or other entity that provides placement or similar services to exchange students or international student exchange visitors;

(e) Nursery schools or kindergartens which are engaged primarily in educational work with preschool children and in which no child is enrolled on a regular basis for more than four hours per day;

((~~(e)~~)) (f) Schools, including boarding schools, which are engaged primarily in education, operate on a definite school year schedule, follow a stated academic curriculum, accept only school-age children and do not accept custody of children;

((~~(f)~~)) (g) Seasonal camps of three months' or less duration engaged primarily in recreational or educational activities;

((~~(g)~~)) (h) Hospitals licensed pursuant to chapter 70.41 RCW when performing functions defined in chapter 70.41 RCW, nursing homes licensed under chapter 18.51 RCW and boarding homes licensed under chapter 18.20 RCW;

((~~(h)~~)) (i) Licensed physicians or lawyers;

((~~(i)~~)) (j) Facilities providing care to children for periods of less than twenty-four hours whose parents remain on the premises to participate in activities other than employment;

((~~(j)~~)) (k) Facilities approved and certified under chapter 71A.22 RCW;

((~~(k)~~)) (l) Any agency having been in operation in this state ten years prior to June 8, 1967, and not seeking or accepting moneys or assistance from any state or federal agency, and is supported in part by an endowment or trust fund;

((~~(l)~~)) (m) Persons who have a child in their home for purposes of adoption, if the child was placed in such home by a licensed child-placing agency, an authorized public or tribal agency or court or if a replacement report has been filed under chapter 26.33 RCW and the placement has been approved by the court;

((~~(m)~~)) (n) An agency operated by any unit of local, state, or federal government or an agency, located within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation, licensed by the Indian tribe;

((~~(n)~~)) (o) An agency located on a federal military reservation, except where the military authorities request that such agency be subject to the licensing requirements of this chapter.

(5) "Requirement" means any rule, regulation or standard of care to be maintained by an agency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Sections 1 through 11 and 13 through 16 of this act shall take effect January 1, 1992.