AN ACT Relating to exchange student placement services; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; 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:

(1) To protect the health, safety, and welfare of foreign students studying in Washington;

(2) To promote quality education and living experiences for foreign students living in Washington;

(3) To promote international awareness among Washington residents, by encouraging Washington residents to interact with foreign students;

(4) To encourage public confidence in foreign student placement agencies; and

(5) To encourage and assist with compliance with federal immigration regulations, United States information agency regulations, and nationally established guidelines.

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

(1) "Exchange student placement agency" means a foreign student placement agency.

(2) "Foreign student placement agency" means a person, partnership, corporation, or other entity that provides services to foreign students under the age of twenty-one for the purpose, in whole or in part, of allowing the students an opportunity to study in the United States, but does not include:

(a) Any nonprofit organization that does not charge an agency administrative fee for the foreign student services and that makes a suitable placement in the home of a member of the nonprofit organization.

(b) Any institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016;

(d) Any school which is a component of the Washington common school system; and

(e) Any approved private school, authorized by law to issue a high school diploma.

(3) "Department" means the department of licensing.

(4) "Director" means the director of the department of licensing.

(5) "Suitable placement" means placement of a foreign student with a host family or a school operated dormitory which provides a healthful and safe living environment, which provides adequate living space and an adequate diet for the student, which supports the educational goals of the student, and which does not require the student to provide services in exchange for the placement.

(6) "Student" means a foreign student instructed at a postsecondary education institution in Washington for one academic quarter or more; or a foreign student instructed at public or approved private secondary schools in Washington for one-half an academic year or more.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any person or other entity to operate in this state as a foreign student placement agency, unless the agency is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Each foreign student placement agency shall have the following obligations and shall keep records in Washington of services rendered to host families and students. The records and obligations shall include:

(a) The name, home address, and telephone number of the student to whom services are provided or promised;

(b) A statement that in the judgment of the placement agency each student placed in a publicly supported educational institution has sufficient English language capabilities to benefit from the educational program;

(c) The name, address, and phone number of the host family with whom the student is placed, which shall be on file at least seven days prior to the student's arrival in the state of Washington;

(d) The amount of the foreign student placement agency's fee or fees charged to a student by the American and the international organization and an itemization of the services attributable to individual portions of the fee or fees;

(e) A complete copy of any written agreements entered into between the agency and students and the host families which must include a signed agreement from the host family to provide a suitable placement;

(f) Proof of health and accident insurance policies which are in force in the state of Washington for the appropriate period for each student; and

(g) Copies of visas and other federal documents required for the students to remain in the United States.

(2) All other records may be examined by the department wherever located. At the election of the department and upon proper identification by the department of the records requested, records located outside the state shall be made available to the department by the agency, at the agency's expense and within seven days of receipt of the request, at a location within the state, which shall be determined by the director.

Unless otherwise provided by the rules adopted by the director, the records shall be maintained for a period of one year from the date on which the student arrives in the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A foreign student placement agency shall provide each student and host family with an informational document regarding the agency services, in English, which shall have printed on it or attached to it a copy of this chapter and shall contain at a minimum the following:

(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the foreign student placement agency, including an emergency telephone hot-line available twenty-four hours a day, which is regularly answered by agency staff or representatives, or a live answering service, which can page agency staff twenty-four hours a day, and the telephone number of the appropriate division within the department of licensing;

(2) Trade name of the foreign student placement agency, if any;

(3) The amount of the fee to be charged the student, and an itemization of the services attributable to individual portions of the fee or the method of computation of the fee, and the time and method of payments;

(4) The name and address of the financial institution in which the trust account required in section 11 of this act will be deposited;

(5) The name, address, and phone number of the carriers providing insurance coverage as provided in section 4(1)(f) of this act; and

(6) The name, address, and phone number of the agency representative located nearest to the host family.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The director shall administer this chapter and shall adopt rules for enforcing and carrying out this chapter.

(2) The director shall appoint an advisory committee composed of representatives from foreign student placement agencies, United States immigration and naturalization service, office of the superintendent of public instruction, host parents, foreign students, resident students, representatives of public and private high schools and institutions of postsecondary education. These individuals shall advise the director on implementation of this chapter, including development of rules. The members shall serve at the discretion of the director.

The director shall have supervisory and investigative authority over all foreign student placement agencies.

(3) The director shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses by the issuance of subpoenas, to administer oaths, and to take testimony and proofs concerning all matters pertaining to the administration of this chapter.

(4) Upon receipt of a complaint, the director may investigate the living conditions and circumstances of the student. Persons authorized to conduct the investigation must be determined by the department to be competent to conduct such investigation. The investigation may include a criminal background check.

(5) All records and other information received or compiled by the department in the investigation of a complaint, including the complaint itself, shall be exempt from public inspection and copying, pursuant to RCW 42.17.310(1) (d) and (e).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Every applicant for a foreign student placement agency license shall file with the director a written application stating:

(a) The name, address, and phone numbers of the applicant;

(b) The street and number of the building in which the business of the agency is to be conducted;

(d) The name under which the business of the agency is to be carried on;

(e) The name, address, phone number, and occupation or employer of anyone holding over twenty percent interest in the agency;

(f) The name, address, and phone numbers and occupation or employer of the officers and directors of the agency, which shall be signed and sworn to by the president and secretary of the corporation;

(g) Business relationships with organizations in which officers, board members, or agency employees have a financial interest;

(h) A unified business identifier number;

(i) The type or types of immigration visas used to bring students to the United States;

(j) A student orientation procedure;

(k) The names and addresses of all partners of the business, which shall be signed and sworn to by all of them, and which shall also state whether or not the applicant is, at the time of making the application, or has at any previous time been, engaged in or interested in or employed by anyone engaged in the business of a foreign student placement agency;

(l) The applicant accepts responsibility for assuring suitable placements for all students;

(m) The applicant accepts responsibility for meeting the responsibilities to students that are advertised in agency brochures or other advertisements;

(n) The applicant accepts responsibility for arranging suitable assistance to students upon their arrival and departure from the state; and

(o) The applicant has in place a dispute resolution mechanism that allows for both students and host families to express their views to the placement agency as it makes decisions about the suitability of placement of a student.

The application shall be signed by the applicant and sworn to before a notary public.

(2) The director shall establish a renewal procedure whereby the licensee shall only be required to update information provided in the original license application.

(3) The application shall require a certification that no officer, holder, or manager of more than twenty percent interest in the business has been convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude which relates to the business for which the license is sought, or had any judgment entered against such person in any civil action involving fraud, misrepresentation, or conversion.

(4) The application shall contain a copy of the articles of incorporation or partnership agreement covering the organization.

(5) All applications for foreign student placement agency licenses shall be accompanied by a copy of the form of any agreement and fee schedule to be used between the agency and students or host families.

(6) All applications shall be accompanied by one copy each of all promotional materials and advertisements used in recruiting students.

(7) An organization which sets standards for high quality international educational travel and monitors compliance with those standards may be authorized by an agency to submit a license application on behalf of the agency. However, the agency on whose behalf a license is sought shall certify in writing the accuracy of the information submitted on its behalf. The director shall develop rules for considering the eligibility of such organizations for this application procedure.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A foreign student placement agency license shall expire December 31st of each year. A license shall not be issued upon application for reinstatement until all fees and penalties previously accrued under this chapter have been paid.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A license granted under this chapter is not transferable. A foreign student placement agency shall not permit any person not mentioned in the license application to become connected with the business as an owner, member, or officer without notifying the director and modifying the license application.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The director shall determine the fee to be charged for original applications, renewals, and late renewals. The fees shall be set at a level sufficient to recover the costs of administering this chapter. The director may establish a sliding fee scale based on the number of students placed in Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A separate trust account shall be established and maintained by each license applicant or licensee for all funds to be disbursed to students or host families. The director shall have the authority to examine financial records in such trust accounts. The trust account shall be established and administered pursuant to rules promulgated by the director.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. In accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW, the director may by order deny, suspend, or revoke the license of any foreign student placement agency if he or she finds that the applicant or licensee or any director or officer or individual managing a program in Washington:

(1) Was previously the holder of a license issued under this chapter, which was revoked for cause and never reissued by the director, or which license was suspended for cause and the terms of the suspension have not been fulfilled;

(2) Has been found guilty of any felony involving moral turpitude, or for any misdemeanor concerning fraud, conversion, or a violation of section 17 of this act, or suffering any judgment in any civil action involving willful fraud, misrepresentation or conversion;

(3) Has made a false statement of a material fact in his or her application or in any data attached to the application;

(4) Fails to provide a suitable placement for a foreign student with whom the agency has contracted for services unless the contract is terminated pursuant to the contractual agreement of the student and agency;

(5) Has violated any provisions of this chapter, or failed to comply with any rule or regulation issued by the director pursuant to this chapter;

(6) Has violated any requirement of federal law pertaining to students, including but not limited to immigration requirements;

(7) Fails to provide a promised or agreed upon airline ticket for the student's return to his or her home country;

(8) Has failed to make a good faith effort to assure the student's safe and timely departure from the United States; or

(9) Fails to maintain records as required in section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1) The director may refer evidence as may be available to the director concerning violations of this chapter or of any rule adopted under this chapter to the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the alleged violation arose. The attorney general or prosecuting attorney may, in his or her discretion, with or without the reference and in addition to any other action that might be commenced, bring an action in the name of the state against any person to restrain the doing of any act or practice prohibited by this chapter. This chapter shall be considered in conjunction with chapters 9.04 and 19.86 RCW and the powers and duties of the attorney general and the prosecuting attorney as provided in chapters 9.04 and 19.86 RCW shall apply against all persons subject to this chapter.

(2) In the enforcement of this chapter, the attorney general or prosecuting attorney may accept an assurance of discontinuance from a person deemed in violation of this chapter. The assurance shall be in writing and shall be filed with and subject to the approval of the superior court of the county in which the alleged violator resides or has the principal place of business, or in Thurston county.

(3) Any person who violates the terms of any court order or temporary or permanent injunction issued under this chapter, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars per violation. For the purpose of this section, the superior court issuing an injunction shall retain continuing jurisdiction and the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney acting in the name of the state may petition for the recovery of civil penalties.

(4) The director may refer evidence as may be available to the director concerning violations of this chapter or of any rule adopted under this chapter to the United States immigration and naturalization service, the United States internal revenue service, or other federal law enforcement agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The director shall reassign students from an agency whose license is suspended or revoked prior to a student's departure from Washington. The director shall reassign students to an appropriate licensed agency, subject to the agreement of the receiving agency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) A foreign student placement agency may not bring or maintain a cause of action in any court of this state for compensation for, or seeking equitable relief in regard to, services rendered to students or host families unless the agency alleges and proves that at the time of rendering the services or contracting for the services, it was validly licensed under this chapter.

(2) Any person who gives consideration of any kind to any foreign student placement agency for the placement of foreign students in this state when the agency is not validly licensed under this chapter shall have a cause of action against the agency. Any court having jurisdiction may enter judgment for treble the amount of the consideration paid, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. The legislature finds and declares that any violation of this chapter substantially effects the public interest and is an unfair and deceptive act or practice and unfair method of competition in the conduct of trade or commerce as set forth in RCW 19.86.020.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. It is a gross misdemeanor for any person to operate a foreign student placement agency in this state unless he or she is licensed as required by this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. Sections 1 through 17 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. This act shall take effect January 1, 1991.