§ 5004. Private school agent's certificate. 1. a. No party may, for a
consideration or remuneration procure, solicit or enroll any student for
instruction in or given by any school within or without the state of New
York, unless (i) the party is a salaried employee of the school and (ii)
the party shall have secured a private school agent's certificate from
the department pursuant to regulations of the commissioner.

b. Upon submission of a complete new application for licensure, an
applicant may procure, solicit or enroll any student for instruction;
provided, however, that such applicant be in possession at all times
during the procurement, solicitation or enrollment processes of a
temporary approval certificate which the commissioner shall issue within
five days of receipt by mail or on the same day at designated offices. A
school shall submit such application for licensure on or before the
first day of employment of such individual.

c. No consideration or remuneration shall be paid in the form of a fee
per student enrolled by a private school agent except pursuant to the
following limitations:

(1) a school may pay twenty-five percent of the consideration or
remuneration after the student has completed three weeks of the program;

(2) a school may pay the remainder of the consideration or
remuneration after the student has completed eight weeks of the program;

(3) the total amount of the consideration or remuneration paid per
student may not exceed one percent of the annual salary paid to the
agent.

d. In promulgating regulations in relation to the issuance of such
certificates and the conduct of the holders of such certificates, the
commissioner shall give consideration to:

(1) good moral character of the candidate for such certificate;

(2) the use of ethical and fair practices in the presentation of the
school's offerings; and

(3) whether the prospective agent has within five years of the date of
the application violated any provision of this article or the
regulations of the commissioner adopted pursuant to this article.

2. Instruction, as contemplated by this section, shall be any plan or
method for teaching any subject or subjects in any form or manner,
including correspondence or home study.

3. a. Exempted from the requirements of this section are persons
acting solely for schools which are not required to be licensed or are
specifically exempted from the licensing requirements of this article.

b. (i) Also exempted from the requirements of this section is an
online education marketplace as defined in paragraph c of subdivision
one of section five thousand one of this article, provided that the
online education marketplace complies with each of the following:

(1) An online education marketplace shall not solicit, procure, or
enroll any student for instruction in a licensed private career school
or certified ESL school, as defined by the commissioner in regulations.

(2) Upon receipt of any monies collected by an online education
marketplace from a prospective student for payment of tuition and/or
fees, the prospective student and the licensed private career school or
certified ESL school shall execute an enrollment agreement in accordance
with regulations of the commissioner. If an enrollment agreement is not
executed, the monies shall be promptly returned to the prospective
student in a timeframe and manner prescribed by the commissioner in
regulations.

(3) If an enrollment agreement is executed, the online education
marketplace shall forward the monies received from the prospective
student to the licensed private career school or certified ESL school in
a timeframe and manner prescribed by the commissioner in regulations.

(4) An online education marketplace shall not receive from a student
an amount greater than the tuition or fees to be charged by the licensed
private career school or certified ESL school to the student, and shall
separately account for monies received from the prospective student to
be thereafter transferred to a licensed private career school or
certified ESL school in payment of tuition or fees, and any remuneration
and/or compensation received by the online education marketplace from a
licensed private career school or certified ESL school in payment for
services rendered to such school by the online education marketplace.
The licensed private career school or certified ESL school shall also
separately account for tuition or fees transferred to the school by an
online education marketplace on behalf of a student in payment of
tuition or fees, and payments made by the school to an online education
marketplace for services rendered to the school by the online education
marketplace.

(5) The commissioner may take disciplinary action against an online
education marketplace pursuant to section five thousand three of this
article, to the extent such provisions are deemed applicable by the
commissioner in regulations.

(6) An online education marketplace is prohibited from offering
advertising/marketing services to an unlicensed private career school or
uncertified ESL school.

(ii) Any licensed private career school or certified ESL school that
contracts with an online education marketplace shall comply with the
provisions of this subdivision and the regulations of the commissioner
or they may be subject to disciplinary action pursuant to section five
thousand three of this article.

c. Persons who are paid to procure, solicit or enroll students on the
premises of schools required to be licensed shall not be exempt from the
provisions of this section.

4. Application and renewal application for a private school agent's
certificate shall be filed on forms to be prescribed and provided by the
commissioner. Said certificate shall be valid for three years from the
date of issuance. Certificates which have been renewed shall be valid
for a period of three years from the expiration date of the certificate
which has been renewed. Every applicant and renewal applicant shall pay
to the department a fee of two hundred dollars.

4-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this
section, the school director may apply for a private school agent's
certificate on forms to be prescribed and provided by the commissioner
without incurring the agent application fee.

5. No recovery shall be had against any student or enrollee and full
recovery shall be made on any contract for or in connection with any
instruction if the student or enrollee was procured, solicited or
enrolled outside or on the school premises by a person paid to procure,
solicit or enroll students but not having a valid private school agent's
certificate pursuant to the provisions of this section at the time that
the contract was negotiated or executed or the sale of the instruction
was made, or by a person who holds such a certificate but has made
fraudulent or improper claims. Each enrollment agreement shall include,
where applicable the name of the agent responsible for procuring,
soliciting or enrolling the student or enrollee.

6. The issuance of such a private school agent's certificate shall not
be deemed to constitute approval of any course or of the person or
institution offering, conducting or administering the same.

7. The commissioner, after giving to the certificate holder due notice
and opportunity to be heard, may fine a private school agent, suspend or
revoke a private school agent's certificate at any time for failure to
comply with the provisions of the law or the regulations of the
commissioner or for any other good cause.

8. No employer of a private school agent other than a school may
indemnify, save harmless or otherwise reimburse any agent for the amount
of any fines imposed pursuant to this section. If a person fined
pursuant to this section can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
commissioner that the action for which the fine was imposed was
undertaken pursuant to explicit instructions from the employer, the
employer shall idemnify, save harmless, and reimburse that person for
the fine and shall pay to the commissioner an additional fine of an
equal amount.