SECTIONS 17552-17556.5 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 17552-17556.5

17552. (a) "Educational travel organization" or "organization"
means a person, partnership, corporation, or other entity who offers
educational travel programs for students residing, in the State of
California.
(b) "Student traveler" or "student" means a person who is enrolled
in elementary or secondary school, grade kindergarten through grade
12, at the time an educational travel program is arranged with an
educational travel organization.
(c) "Educational travel program," means travel services, as
defined in Section 17550.9, that are arranged through or offered to
an elementary or secondary school in this state, and where the
services are represented to include an educational program as a
component.

17553. Nothing in this article shall be construed as exempting an
educational travel organization from compliance with Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 17540), Article 2.6 (commencing with Section
17550), or Article 2.7 (commencing with Section 17550.35) of Chapter
1 of Part 3 of Division 7.

17554. An educational travel organization may not arrange an
educational travel program before the organization involved has first
entered into a written contract with the educational institution.
The written contract shall include all of the following:
(a) The educational travel organization's name, trade or business
name, business address, and business telephone number, including a
24-hour emergency telephone number or 24-hour emergency contact by
pager, voice mail, or other method of 24-hour telecommunications.
(b) An itemized statement of the services to be provided as a part
of the program and the agreed cost for the services. The statement
shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A statement as to whether or not the educational travel
organization maintains insurance that supplies coverage in the event
of injury to any student traveler. The statement shall include the
type and amount of coverage, the policy number and issuer, and the
name, address, and telephone number of the person or organization who
is able to verify the coverage.
(2) Any additional costs to students.
(3) The qualifications, if any, for experience and training that
are required to be met by the educational travel organization's staff
who shall accompany students on the educational travel program.
(c) A written description of the educational program being
contracted for, including a copy of all materials to be provided to
students.
(d) The number of times the educational travel program or a
substantially similar educational travel program that is the subject
of the contract has been conducted by the educational travel
organization and the number of students who completed that program.
(e) The length of time the educational travel organization has
either been arranging or conducting educational travel programs, and,
at the option of the educational travel organization, other travel
services with substantially similar components.
(f) The name of each owner and principal of the educational travel
organization.
(g) A statement as to whether any owner or principal of the
educational travel organization has had entered against him or her
any judgment, including a stipulated judgment, order, made a plea of
nolo contendere, or been convicted of any criminal violation, in
connection with the sale of any travel services for a period of 10
years predating the contract.
For purposes of this section, "owner" means a person or
organization who owns or controls 10 percent or more of the equity
of, or otherwise has claim to 10 percent or more of the net income
of, the educational travel organization; and "principal" means an
owner, an officer of a corporation, a general partner of a
partnership, or a sole proprietor of a sole proprietorship.

17555. In addition to other requirements and prohibitions of this
article, it is a violation of this article for an educational travel
organization to place or use any misleading or untruthful advertising
or statements or make a substantial misrepresentation in conducting
an educational travel program.

17556. (a) Where any school or student, or that student's parent or
guardian, is injured by a violation of this article, the school, the
student, or his or her parent or guardian, may bring an action for
recovery of damages or for injunctive relief, or both. Proceedings
for injunctive relief shall be governed by Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
except that no undertaking shall be required.
(b) Judgment shall be entered for actual damages. An award, if the
trial court deems it proper, may be entered for punitive damages.
The plaintiff shall also be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees
and costs.
(c) The remedies or penalties provided by this article are not
exclusive to each other nor to any other remedies or penalties
provided under any other law, and shall not be construed as a
limitation on any other applicable remedy or penalty.

17556.5. Except as otherwise provided, a person who violates a
provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor, which offense
is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000),
or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by
both that fine and imprisonment. In addition, upon a conviction of a
violation of this article, the court may issue an injunction and
prohibit the convicted person from acting as an educational travel
organization in this state, in which case the court shall inform the
Attorney General of that action.