§ 16-50-5. Solicitation — Issuance and revocation of permits.
(a) No person representing any school or other individual or organization offering courses
in this state, or from a place of business in this state, shall sell any course or
solicit students for a course in this state for a consideration or remuneration unless
he or she first secures a permit from the department of elementary and secondary education.
If the agent represents more than one school, a separate permit shall be obtained
for each school represented by the agent. Upon approval for a permit the department
of elementary and secondary education shall issue a pocket card to the person whose
name appears on it, giving that person's name and address, the name and address of
his or her employing school, and certifying that the person whose name appears on
the card is an authorized agent of the school. The application for a permit shall
be made on forms to be furnished by the department of elementary and secondary education
and shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and a surety bond
acceptable to the department of elementary and secondary education in the penal sum
of one thousand dollars ($1,000). The bond may be continuous and shall be conditioned
to provide indemnification to any student suffering loss as a result of any fraud
or misrepresentation used in procuring his or her enrollment, and may be supplied
by the agent of a privately owned school and by the school itself as a blanket bond
covering each of its agents and the school in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
A permit shall be valid for one year from the date on which it was issued. The liability
of the surety on the bond for each representative covered by it shall in no event
exceed the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) as an aggregate for any and all students
for all breaches of the conditions of the bond by the representatives. The surety
of any bond may cancel the bond upon giving thirty (30) days' notice in writing to
the department of elementary and secondary education and after this shall be relieved
of liability for any breach of condition occurring after the effective date of the
cancellation. An application for renewal shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty-five
dollars ($25.00) and a surety bond, as provided in this subsection, if a continuous
bond has not been furnished. All fees collected for the issuance or renewal of the
permits shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.
(b) No person representing a school or other organization offering courses, which school
or other organization is located outside this state, shall sell any course or solicit
students for the course in this state for a consideration or remuneration unless that
person first secures a permit from the department of elementary and secondary education
in the manner and on the terms provided in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Any permit applied for pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section shall be
granted or denied within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the application for it
by the department of elementary and secondary education. If the department of elementary
and secondary education has not completed its determination with respect to the issuance
of a permit pursuant to this section within this period, it shall issue a temporary
permit to the applicant, which permit shall be sufficient to meet the requirements
of this chapter until any time as the determination is made.
(d) Any permit issued may, upon ten (10) days' notice and after a hearing, be revoked
by the department of elementary and secondary education if the holder of the permit
solicits or enrolls students through fraud, deception, or misrepresentation.
(e) The fact that a bond is in force pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section
shall not limit or impair any right of recovery available pursuant to law, nor shall
the amount of damages or other relief to which any plaintiff may be entitled.
(f) No recovery shall be had on any contract for or in connection with a course by any
person selling or administering the course if the representative of the person was
not the holder of a permit as required by this section and the representative did
not display the permit at the time that the representative negotiated the contract
for or sold the course.
(g) The issuance of a permit pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to constitute
approval of any course or the person or institution offering, conducting, or administering
the course. Any representation contrary to this subsection or tending to imply that
a permit issued pursuant to this section constitutes approval shall be misrepresentation
within the meaning of this chapter.