Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Requires registration of international student exchange visitor placement organizations with Commissioner of Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the placement of international students in public schools and supplementing Title 18A of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
”Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.
“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.
“International student exchange visitor placement organization” or “organization” means a person, partnership, corporation, school, 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. a. An international student exchange visitor placement organization that places students in public schools in the State shall register with the Commissioner of Education. To be eligible for registration, an international student exchange visitor placement organization shall:
(1) be in compliance with United States Department of State regulations on exchange visitor programs at 22 C.F.R. s.62.1 through 62.17, and at 22 C.F.R. 62.25, or be certified by the Council of Standards for International Educational Travel and be listed on the council’s Advisory List of International Educational Travel and Exchange Programs; and
(2) present to the commissioner current credentials from the United States Department of State or the Council of Standards for International Educational Travel that attest to such compliance.
b. Registration with the commissioner shall not be considered or represented as an endorsement of the organization by the commissioner or by the State. Information provided to the commissioner pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is a public record.
c. The commissioner shall annually create a list of all registered international student exchange visitor placement organizations. The commissioner shall annually distribute the list to all school districts.
d. A person who fails to register as required pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3. The Commissioner of Education shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the “Administrative Procedures Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to implement the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
4. This act shall take effect 180 days following the date of enactment except that the Commissioner of Education may immediately take such anticipatory action as may be required to implement the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires international student exchange visitor placement organizations to register with the Commissioner of Education. An international student exchange visitor placement organization is defined as an entity that regularly arranges the placement of international student exchange visitors for the purpose of allowing the student an opportunity to attend school in the United States. Under the bill, an international student is a person 18 years of age or under, or up to 21 years of age if enrolled in high school, placed by an international student exchange visitor placement organization, who enters the United States with a nonimmigrant visa. These organizations are overseen at the federal level by the United States Department of State.
Under the bill, to be eligible for registration, an international student exchange visitor placement organization must:
(1) be in compliance with United States Department of State regulations on exchange visitor programs at 22 C.F.R. s.62.1 through 62.17, and at 22 C.F.R. 62.25, or be certified by the Council of Standards for International Educational Travel and be listed on the council’s Advisory List of International Educational Travel and Exchange Programs; and
(2) present to the commissioner current credentials from the United States Department of State or the Council of Standards for International Educational Travel that attest to such compliance.
The Commissioner of Education would annually create a list of all registered international student exchange visitor placement organizations and distribute the list to all school districts.