SECTIONS 12620-12630 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 12620-12630

12620. This article shall be known and may be cited as the Uniform
Supervision of International Student Exchange Visitor Placement
Organizations Act of 1994.

12621. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall
have the following meaning unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) "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) "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) "Nonimmigrant visa" means a visa category assigned by the
federal Immigration and Naturalization Service 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) "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.).
(e) "Registry" means the Registry of International Student
Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations established pursuant to
Section 12622.

12622. The Attorney General shall establish and maintain a register
of organizations subject to this article. The registry shall be
known as the Registry of International Student Exchange Visitor
Placement Organizations.

12623. (a) Each organization shall, prior to arranging the
placement of any international student exchange visitor in any school
in California, register with the Attorney General's Registry of
International Student Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations on the
registration form prescribed by the Attorney General. Renewals of
registration shall be filed with the registry by January 15 of each
calendar year in which the organization does business and shall be
effective for one year.
(b) The fee for registration and renewal shall be calculated as
follows:
(1) All organizations designated by the USIA shall remit the
following:
(A) A registration fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) shall
be required for the initial registration of an organization and shall
be payable by certified or cashier's check to the Attorney General's
Registry of International Student Exchange Visitor Placement
Organizations at the time of registration.
(B) An annual renewal fee of fifty dollars ($50) shall be required
for renewal of registration of an organization payable as specified
in subparagraph (A).
(C) The Attorney General may seek legislative approval to adjust
the registration or renewal fee. Upon petition by the Attorney
General, the Legislature may adjust the fees in the annual Budget
Act. In no event shall the fees exceed the costs necessary to
administer this article.
(2) All organizations not designated by the USIA shall remit the
following:
(A) A registration fee shall be required for the initial
registration of an organization and shall be payable by certified or
cashier's check to the Attorney General's Registry of International
Student Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations at the time of
registration. The Attorney General shall establish the registration
fee described in this subparagraph.
(B) An annual renewal fee shall be required for renewal of
registration of an organization payable as specified in paragraph
(1). The Attorney General shall establish the renewal fee described
in this subparagraph.
(C) In no event shall the fees enumerated in this paragraph exceed
the costs necessary to administer this article.
(c) The Attorney General may grant an extension of time to file
annual registration.
(d) Failure to register is a violation of this chapter.
(e) Registration pursuant to this article shall not be considered
or be represented as an endorsement of the organization by the
Attorney General or this state.

12624. The Registry of International Student Exchange Visitor
Placement Organizations Fund is hereby created in the State Treasury.
All fees collected by the Attorney General pursuant to this article
shall be deposited into that fund. All money in the Registry of
International Student Exchange Visitor Placement Organizations Fund
shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be expended by the
Attorney General for the exclusive purpose of administering this
article.

12625. Subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted by the
Attorney General, the registry and copies of instruments and the
documents filed with the Attorney General pursuant to this article
shall be open to public inspection.

12626. (a) An application for registration pursuant to this article
shall be submitted in the manner and on the forms prescribed by the
Attorney General. The application shall include all of the following:
(1) Evidence that the organization meets the standards established
by the Attorney General pursuant to Section 12627.
(2) 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.
(3) If the organization has been designated by the USIA pursuant
to the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. Sec. 2451); 22 C.F.R. 514.1 et seq.), the designation number
provided to the organizations pursuant to that act.
(4) Whether the organization is exempt from federal income tax.
(5) A list of the organization's placements in California for the
previous academic year, including the number of students placed,
their home countries, the school district in which they were placed,
and the length of their placements.
(6) Any other information required by the Attorney General to
carry out the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 12627.
(b) 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 of international
student exchange visitors within California. If the Attorney General
determines that the application is complete, the Attorney General
shall file the application and the applicant shall then be
registered.
(c) Each organization registered pursuant to this article shall
inform the Attorney General of any changes in the information
required by subdivision (a) within 30 days of the change.

12627. The Attorney General shall adopt regulations pursuant to the
portion of the Administrative Procedures Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2)
pertaining to rulemaking, as follows:
(a) Regulations on the standards and requirements that
organizations must meet that are consistent with the regulations
adopted by the USIA pursuant to the Mutual Educational and Cultural
Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. Sec. 2451) as set forth in Section
514.1 and following of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations as
those regulations existed on March 19, 1993. If the federal
regulations adopted by the USIA at a minimum require the same
standards and requirements of this article, the Attorney General
shall permit organizations designated by the USIA pursuant to those
regulations to, in lieu of documentation that would otherwise be
required by this article and the regulations adopted pursuant to this
subdivision, provide evidence of designation by the USIA.
(b) Any regulations that are necessary for the administration of
this article.

12628. Each organization shall provide an informational document,
in English, to each student, host family, and designated school
official in which the student is being placed. The informational
document shall be provided before placement of the student in any
host family or school district and shall include the following:
(a) An explanation of services to be performed by the organization
for the student, host family, and the school district in which the
student will be enrolled.
(b) A summary of the requirements of this chapter and any
regulations adopted thereto.
(c) Telephone numbers that the student, host family, and school
district may call for assistance. The telephone numbers shall
include, at a minimum, a telephone number in this state for the
organization and the telephone numbers of the organization's national
headquarters, if any, the USIA, and the Attorney General.

12629. (a) If the Attorney General has probable cause to believe
that the organization is not complying with this article, the
Attorney General may conduct whatever investigation is necessary, and
may seek a subpoena to obtain from public records, court officers,
taxing authorities, trustees, officers and employees of an
organization, and other sources, whatever information, copies of
instruments, documents, reports, and records that are needed for the
establishment and maintenance of the register.
(b) The Attorney General may, upon receipt of a complaint
regarding an international student exchange organization, report the
matter to the organization involved, the USIA, or the Council on
Standards for International Educational Travel, as the Attorney
General deems appropriate.

12630. Any person or organization who violates any provision of
this article or who willfully and knowingly provides false or
incorrect information to the Attorney General in filing documents
required by this article, whether or not the documents are verified,
is guilty of a misdemeanor.