Minnesota Session Laws - 1993, Regular Session

  
    Laws of Minnesota 1993 

                         CHAPTER 238-S.F.No. 34 
           An act relating to student exchange programs; 
          regulating student exchange programs; imposing a 
          penalty; appropriating money; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1992, section 299C.61, subdivision 5; 
          proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, 
          chapter 5A. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  [5A.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] The definitions in this section 
apply to this chapter. 
    Subd. 2.  [INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE VISITOR PLACEMENT 
ORGANIZATION; ORGANIZATION.] "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. 
    Subd. 3.  [INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXCHANGE VISITOR; 
STUDENT.] "International student exchange visitor" or "student" 
means a person 18 years of age or under, or up to age 21 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. 
    Sec. 2.  [5A.02] [ORGANIZATION REGISTRATION.] 
    (a) All international student exchange visitor placement 
organizations that place students in schools in the state shall 
register with the secretary of state. 
    (b) Information provided to the secretary of state under 
this chapter is a public record. 
    (c) Registration must not be considered or be represented 
as an endorsement of the organization by the secretary of state 
or the state of Minnesota.  
    Sec. 3.  [5A.03] [ORGANIZATION APPLICATION FOR 
REGISTRATION.] 
    (a) An application for registration as an international 
student exchange visitor placement organization must be 
submitted in the form prescribed by the secretary of state.  The 
application must include: 
    (1) evidence that the organization meets the standards 
established by the secretary of state by rule; 
    (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) the organization's unified business identification 
number, if any; 
    (4) the organization's United States Information Agency 
number, if any; 
    (5) evidence of Council on Standards for International 
Educational Travel listing, if any; 
    (6) whether the organization is exempt from federal income 
tax; and 
    (7) a list of the organization's placements in Minnesota 
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. 
    (b) The application must be signed by the chief executive 
officer of the organization and the person within the 
organization who has primary responsibility for supervising 
placements within Minnesota.  If the secretary of state 
determines that the application is complete, the secretary of 
state shall file the application and the applicant is registered.
    (c) Organizations that have registered shall inform the 
secretary of state of any changes in the information required 
under paragraph (a), clause (1), within 30 days of the change. 
    (d) Registration under this chapter is valid for one year.  
The registration may be renewed annually. 
    Sec. 4.  [5A.04] [RULES.] 
    (a) The secretary of state shall adopt by rule standards 
for international student exchange visitor placement 
organizations.  In adopting the rules, the secretary of state 
may adopt standards established by the United States Information 
Agency and the Council on Standards for International 
Educational Travel.  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 the standards. 
    (b) The secretary of state may adopt rules as necessary to 
carry out its duties under this chapter.  The rules may provide 
for a reasonable registration fee not to exceed $150 for each 
initial registration and $50 for each annual renewal to defray 
the costs of processing registrations.  Fees collected by the 
secretary of state under this provision shall be deposited in 
the state treasury and credited to the general fund and are 
added to the appropriation from which registration costs are 
paid. 
    (c) The secretary of state must require that an 
international student exchange visitor placement organization's 
application form for participation as a host family include a 
signed document complying with section 299C.62, subdivision 2, 
that gives the organization permission to conduct a background 
check on members of the host family.  Sections 299C.60 to 299C.64 
apply to the background check, except that for purposes of this 
section the term "background check crime" includes any felony. 
    Sec. 5.  [5A.05] [INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENT.] 
    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 must be provided 
before placement and must 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; and 
    (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. 
    Sec. 6.  [5A.06] [COMPLAINTS.] 
    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 Educational Travel, as the secretary of state 
considers appropriate. 
    Sec. 7.  [5A.07] [VIOLATIONS; MISDEMEANOR.] 
    A person who fails to register as required by this chapter 
or who willfully and knowingly gives false or incorrect 
information to the secretary of state in filing statements 
required by this chapter, whether or not the statement or report 
is verified, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
     Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 299C.61, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  [CHILDREN'S SERVICE PROVIDER.] "Children's 
service provider" means a business or organization, whether 
public, private, for profit, nonprofit, or voluntary, that 
provides children's services, including a business or 
organization that licenses or certifies others to provide 
children's services.  "Children's service provider" includes an 
international student exchange visitor placement organization 
under chapter 5A. 
    Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 3, 5, 6, and 8, are effective January 1, 1994.
Section 4 is effective the day following final enactment.  
Section 7 is effective January 1, 1994, and applies to crimes 
committed on or after that date. 
    Presented to the governor May 14, 1993 
    Signed by the governor May 17, 1993, 3:07 p.m.