Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4068 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R21905 MAW-F
2	2	By: Smith H.B. No. 4068
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4068:
4	4	By: Smith C.S.H.B. No. 4068
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the regulation of barber schools and beauty culture
10	10	schools; amending provisions subject to a criminal penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 1601.001(a), Occupations Code, is
13	13	amended by amending Subdivisions (1-a), (4-b), and (6) and adding
14	14	Subdivisions (1-b), (4-c), (4-d), (6-a), (6-b), and (7-a) to read
15	15	as follows:
16	16	(1-a) "Barber establishment" means a barbershop,
17	17	mini-barbershop, specialty shop, dual shop, mini-dual shop, mobile
18	18	shop, or barber school that is subject to regulation under this
19	19	chapter.
20	20	(1-b) "Barber school" means a place that holds a
21	21	permit issued under Subchapter H to teach the practice of barbering
22	22	and may be privately or publicly funded. The term includes a barber
23	23	college.
24	24	(4-b) "Course" means an identifiable unit of
25	25	instruction that is part of a course of training.
26	26	(4-c) "Course of training" means the curriculum
27	27	offered by a barber school to satisfy licensure requirements.
28	28	(4-d) "Department" means the Texas Department of
29	29	Licensing and Regulation.
30	30	(6) "Enrollment agreement" means the written terms
31	31	under which a student agrees to attend a course of training.
32	32	(6-a) "Executive director" means the executive
33	33	director of the department.
34	34	(6-b) "Manager" means the person who controls or
35	35	directs the business of a barbershop or directs the work of a person
36	36	employed in a barbershop.
37	37	(7-a) "Owner" means, with respect to a barber
38	38	establishment:
39	39	(A) the individual owner of the barber
40	40	establishment;
41	41	(B) any partner of a partnership that owns the
42	42	barber establishment;
43	43	(C) the corporation that owns the barber
44	44	establishment and its directors, its officers, and each shareholder
45	45	owning shares of issued and outstanding stock aggregating at least
46	46	10 percent of the total of the issued and outstanding shares;
47	47	(D) the beneficiary of a trust that holds an
48	48	ownership interest in the barber establishment; or
49	49	(E) each person who owns not less than 10 percent
50	50	of a legal entity that owns the barber establishment.
51	51	SECTION 2. Section 1601.3571(b), Occupations Code, is
52	52	amended to read as follows:
53	53	(b) The comptroller shall invest the account in the same
54	54	manner as other state funds. Sufficient money from the account
55	55	shall be appropriated to the department for the purpose of
56	56	refunding unearned [unused] tuition if a barber school ceases
57	57	operation before its course of instruction is complete. The
58	58	department shall administer claims made against the account. In
59	59	this subsection, "unearned tuition" has the meaning assigned by
60	60	Section 1601.550.
61	61	SECTION 3. Subchapter L, Chapter 1601, Occupations Code, is
62	62	amended by adding Section 1601.550 to read as follows:
63	63	Sec. 1601.550. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
64	64	(1) "Earned tuition" means the portion of tuition and
65	65	fees owed by a student to a barber school for instruction the
66	66	student has received.
67	67	(2) "Fees" means charges assessed by a barber school
68	68	that are in addition to tuition. The term includes charges for
69	69	instructional supplies, books, and kits, student activity fees,
70	70	laboratory fees, services charges, and deposits.
71	71	(3) "Tuition" means the agreed amount to be charged
72	72	for a complete course of training.
73	73	(4) "Unearned tuition" means the portion of tuition
74	74	and fees charged by a barber school to a student for which the
75	75	student has not yet received instruction.
76	76	SECTION 4. Section 1601.556, Occupations Code, is amended
77	77	to read as follows:
78	78	Sec. 1601.556. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO PROSPECTIVE
79	79	STUDENT. The holder of a barber school permit shall furnish each
80	80	prospective student with:
81	81	(1) a course outline;
82	82	(2) a schedule of the tuition and each fee [other fees]
83	83	assessed;
84	84	(3) the school's policies [refund policy] required
85	85	under Sections 1601.562 and [Section] 1601.563 and the information
86	86	provided by Section 1601.564;
87	87	(4) the school's grading policy and rules relating to
88	88	incomplete grades;
89	89	(5) the school's rules of operation and conduct,
90	90	including rules relating to absences;
91	91	(6) the department's name, mailing address, and
92	92	telephone number for the purpose of directing complaints to the
93	93	department; and
94	94	(7) the current rates of job placement and employment
95	95	of students who complete a course of training.
96	96	SECTION 5. Section 1601.563, Occupations Code, is amended
97	97	by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (b-1),
98	98	(d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
99	99	(a) A barber school permit holder shall maintain a refund
100	100	policy to provide for the refund of the unearned [unused part of]
101	101	tuition charged to [, fees, and other charges paid by] a student
102	102	who, after the expiration of the cancellation period established
103	103	under Section 1601.562:
104	104	(1) fails to begin the course of training;
105	105	(2) withdraws from the course of training; or
106	106	(3) is terminated from the course of training before
107	107	completion of the course of training.
108	108	(b-1) The minimum refund of unearned tuition to a student is
109	109	calculated by dividing the number of hours remaining in the course
110	110	for which the student has been charged after the effective date of
111	111	the termination by the total number of hours in the course for which
112	112	the student has been charged, and then multiplying the resulting
113	113	number by the amount of the tuition.
114	114	(c) A barber school permit holder shall publish in the
115	115	catalogue and enrollment agreement of the school a description of
116	116	the refund policies [policy].
117	117	(d) The owner of a barber school shall calculate the refund
118	118	on a form approved by the department or in a manner acceptable to
119	119	the department.
120	120	(e) Refunds for fees charged to the student shall be made in
121	121	a reasonable manner.
122	122	(f) The owner of a barber school may seek recovery from a
123	123	student of the unpaid portion of earned tuition owed by the student.
124	124	SECTION 6. Sections 1601.564(a) and (c), Occupations Code,
125	125	are amended to read as follows:
126	126	(a) If a student who begins a course of training [scheduled
127	127	to last not more than 12 months] withdraws from the course or is
128	128	terminated from the course by the barber school, the school:
129	129	(1) may retain 100 percent of the earned [$100 in]
130	130	tuition [and fees paid by the student]; and
131	131	(2) is not obligated to refund any unearned
132	132	[additional outstanding] tuition if the student withdraws or is
133	133	terminated during the last 25 [50] percent of the course.
134	134	(c) If a student withdraws or is terminated after 50 percent
135	135	of the course has been completed, the school shall allow the student
136	136	to reenter the school at any time before the second [fourth]
137	137	anniversary of the date of withdrawal or termination.
138	138	SECTION 7. Section 1601.565(b), Occupations Code, is
139	139	amended to read as follows:
140	140	(b) A student who receives a grade of incomplete may
141	141	reenroll in the course of training before the second [fourth]
142	142	anniversary of the date the student withdraws and may complete the
143	143	subjects without incurring [paying] additional tuition charges.
144	144	SECTION 8. Sections 1601.566(a), (b), and (d), Occupations
145	145	Code, are amended to read as follows:
146	146	(a) A barber school shall pay a refund owed under this
147	147	subchapter not later than the 30th day after the later of:
148	148	(1) the effective date of the termination; or
149	149	(2) the date the student otherwise becomes eligible
150	150	for the refund.
151	151	(b) A school that fails to pay the refund within the period
152	152	required by this section shall pay penalty interest on the amount of
153	153	the refund for the period beginning on the first [31st] day after
154	154	the date the school was required to pay the refund under Subsection
155	155	(a) [student becomes eligible for the refund] and ending on the day
156	156	preceding the date the refund is made. The Texas Workforce
157	157	Commission [commissioner of education] shall annually set the
158	158	penalty interest rate at a rate sufficient to deter a school from
159	159	retaining money paid by a student.
160	160	(d) The executive director [department] may waive [exempt a
161	161	school from] the payment of penalty interest if the school makes a
162	162	good faith effort to refund the tuition but is unable to locate the
163	163	student. The school shall provide to the department on request
164	164	documentation of the school's effort to locate the student.
165	165	SECTION 9. Subchapter L, Chapter 1601, Occupations Code, is
166	166	amended by adding Section 1601.567 to read as follows:
167	167	Sec. 1601.567. EFFECT OF SCHOOL CLOSURE. (a) A school that
168	168	ceases to operate shall refund unearned tuition.
169	169	(b) A refund under this section may be paid from the barber
170	170	school tuition protection account. The amount paid from the
171	171	account may not exceed $1,000 per student.
172	172	SECTION 10. Section 1602.001, Occupations Code, is amended
173	173	by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a),
174	174	(2-b), (2-c), (3-b), and (4-a) to read as follows:
175	175	(1) "Beauty culture school" means a cosmetology
176	176	school, public or private, that is subject to regulation under this
177	177	chapter.
178	178	(1-a) "Board" means the Advisory Board on Cosmetology.
179	179	(2-a) "Cosmetology establishment" means a beauty
180	180	salon, beauty shop, specialty salon, specialty shop, mini-salon,
181	181	dual shop, mini dual-shop, mobile shop, or beauty culture school,
182	182	public or private, that is subject to regulation under this
183	183	chapter.
184	184	(2-b) "Course" means an identifiable unit of
185	185	instruction that is part of a course of training.
186	186	(2-c) "Course of training" means the curriculum
187	187	offered by a beauty culture school to satisfy licensure
188	188	requirements.
189	189	(3-b) "Enrollment agreement" means the written terms
190	190	under which a student agrees to attend a course of training.
191	191	(4-a) "Owner" means, with respect to a cosmetology
192	192	establishment:
193	193	(A) the individual owner of the cosmetology
194	194	establishment;
195	195	(B) any partner of a partnership that owns the
196	196	cosmetology establishment;
197	197	(C) the corporation that owns the cosmetology
198	198	establishment and its directors, its officers, and each shareholder
199	199	owning shares of issued and outstanding stock aggregating at least
200	200	10 percent of the total of the issued and outstanding shares;
201	201	(D) the beneficiary of a trust that holds an
202	202	ownership interest in the cosmetology establishment; or
203	203	(E) each person who owns not less than 10 percent
204	204	of a legal entity that owns the cosmetology establishment.
205	205	SECTION 11. Subchapter J, Chapter 1602, Occupations Code,
206	206	is amended by adding Section 1602.450 to read as follows:
207	207	Sec. 1602.450. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
208	208	(1) "Earned tuition" means the portion of tuition and
209	209	fees owed by a student to a beauty culture school for instruction
210	210	the student has received.
211	211	(2) "Fees" means charges assessed by a beauty culture
212	212	school that are in addition to tuition. The term includes charges
213	213	for instructional supplies, books, and kits, student activity fees,
214	214	laboratory fees, services charges, and deposits.
215	215	(3) "Tuition" means the agreed amount to be charged
216	216	for a complete course of training.
217	217	(4) "Unearned tuition" means the portion of tuition
218	218	and fees charged by a beauty culture school to a student for which
219	219	the student has not yet received instruction.
220	220	SECTION 12. Section 1602.452, Occupations Code, is amended
221	221	to read as follows:
222	222	Sec. 1602.452. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO PROSPECTIVE
223	223	STUDENT. The holder of a private beauty culture school license
224	224	shall furnish each prospective student with:
225	225	(1) a course outline;
226	226	(2) a schedule of the tuition and each fee [other fees]
227	227	assessed;
228	228	(3) the policies [refund policy] required under
229	229	Sections 1602.457 and [Section] 1602.458 and the information
230	230	provided by Section 1602.459;
231	231	(4) the school grading policy and rules relating to
232	232	incomplete grades;
233	233	(5) the school rules of operation and conduct,
234	234	including rules relating to absences;
235	235	(6) the name, mailing address, and telephone number of
236	236	the department for the purpose of directing complaints to the
237	237	department; and
238	238	(7) the current rates of job placement and employment
239	239	of students who complete a course of training.
240	240	SECTION 13. Section 1602.455(d), Occupations Code, is
241	241	amended to read as follows:
242	242	(d) The department may [On evaluation and approval, the
243	243	executive director shall] certify [in writing] to the student and
244	244	to the school to which the student seeks a transfer that:
245	245	(1) the stated courses and hours have been
246	246	successfully completed; and
247	247	(2) the student is not required to repeat the hours of
248	248	instruction.
249	249	SECTION 14. Section 1602.458, Occupations Code, is amended
250	250	to read as follows:
251	251	Sec. 1602.458. REFUND POLICY. (a) The holder of a private
252	252	beauty culture school license shall maintain a refund policy to
253	253	provide for the refund of any unearned [unused part of] tuition
254	254	charged to [, fees, and other charges paid by] a student who, at the
255	255	expiration of the cancellation period established under Section
256	256	1602.457:
257	257	(1) fails to enter the course of training;
258	258	(2) withdraws from the course of training; or
259	259	(3) is terminated from the course of training before
260	260	completion of the course of training.
261	261	(b) The refund policy must provide that:
262	262	(1) the refund is based on the period of the student's
263	263	enrollment, computed on the basis of course time expressed in
264	264	scheduled hours, as specified by an enrollment agreement, contract,
265	265	or other document acceptable to the department;
266	266	(2) the effective date of the termination for refund
267	267	purposes is the earliest of:
268	268	(A) the last date of attendance, if the student
269	269	is terminated by the school;
270	270	(B) the date the license holder receives the
271	271	student's written notice of withdrawal; or
272	272	(C) 10 school days after the last date of
273	273	attendance; and
274	274	(3) the school may retain not more than $100 if:
275	275	(A) tuition is collected before the course of
276	276	training begins; and
277	277	(B) the student does not begin [fails to withdraw
278	278	from] the course of training before the cancellation period
279	279	expires.
280	280	(c) The minimum refund of unearned tuition to a student is
281	281	calculated by dividing the number of hours remaining in the course
282	282	for which the student has been charged after the effective date of
283	283	the termination by the total number of hours in the course for which
284	284	the student has been charged, and then multiplying the resulting
285	285	number by the amount of the tuition.
286	286	(d) The owner of a beauty culture school shall calculate the
287	287	refund on a form approved by the department or in a manner
288	288	acceptable to the department.
289	289	(e) Refunds for fees charged to the student shall be made in
290	290	a reasonable manner.
291	291	(f) The owner of a beauty culture school may seek recovery
292	292	from a student of the unpaid portion of earned tuition owed by the
293	293	student.
294	294	SECTION 15. Section 1602.459(a), Occupations Code, is
295	295	amended to read as follows:
296	296	(a) If a student begins a course of training at a private
297	297	beauty culture school [that is scheduled to run not more than 12
298	298	months] and, during the last 25 [50] percent of the course,
299	299	withdraws from the course or is terminated by the school, the
300	300	school:
301	301	(1) may retain 100 percent of the earned tuition and
302	302	fees paid by the student; and
303	303	(2) is not obligated to refund unearned [any
304	304	additional outstanding] tuition.
305	305	SECTION 16. Section 1602.460, Occupations Code, is amended
306	306	by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection
307	307	(a-1) to read as follows:
308	308	(a) A beauty culture school shall pay a refund owed under
309	309	this subchapter not later than the 30th day after the later of:
310	310	(1) the effective date of the termination; or
311	311	(2) the date the student otherwise becomes eligible
312	312	for the refund.
313	313	(a-1) If tuition is not refunded within the period required
314	314	by this section [Section 1602.459], the school shall pay penalty
315	315	interest on the amount of the refund for the period beginning the
316	316	first day after the date the school was required to pay the refund
317	317	under Subsection (a) [period expires] and ending the day preceding
318	318	the date the refund is made.
319	319	(c) The Texas Workforce Commission [commissioner of
320	320	education] shall annually set the penalty interest rate at a rate
321	321	sufficient to deter a school from retaining money paid by a student.
322	322	(d) The executive director [department] may waive [exempt a
323	323	school from] the payment of penalty interest if the school makes a
324	324	good faith effort to refund the tuition but is unable to locate the
325	325	student. The school shall provide to the department on request
326	326	documentation of the effort to locate the student.
327	327	SECTION 17. Section 1602.461, Occupations Code, is amended
328	328	to read as follows:
329	329	Sec. 1602.461. REENTRY OF STUDENT AFTER WITHDRAWAL OR
330	330	TERMINATION. If a student voluntarily withdraws or is terminated
331	331	after completing 50 percent of the course at a private beauty
332	332	culture school, the school shall allow the student to reenter at any
333	333	time during the 24-month [48-month] period following the date of
334	334	withdrawal or termination.
335	335	SECTION 18. Section 1602.462(b), Occupations Code, is
336	336	amended to read as follows:
337	337	(b) A student who receives a grade of incomplete may
338	338	reenroll in the program during the 24-month [48-month] period
339	339	following the date the student withdraws and complete the subjects
340	340	without incurring [payment of] additional tuition charges.
341	341	SECTION 19. Sections 1602.463(a), (b), and (c), Occupations
342	342	Code, are amended to read as follows:
343	343	(a) If a private beauty culture school ceases to operate
344	344	[closes], the department shall attempt to arrange for students
345	345	enrolled in the closed school to attend another [private beauty
346	346	culture] school.
347	347	(b) If a student from a closed school is placed in another [a
348	348	private beauty culture] school, the expense incurred by the
349	349	receiving school in providing training directly related to
350	350	educating the student, including the applicable tuition for the
351	351	period for which the student paid tuition, shall be paid from the
352	352	private beauty culture school tuition protection account.
353	353	(c) A school that ceases to operate shall refund unearned
354	354	tuition. [If a student from a closed school cannot be placed in
355	355	another school, the student's tuition and fees shall be refunded as
356	356	provided by Section 1602.458. If a student from a closed school
357	357	does not accept a place that is available and reasonable in another
358	358	school, the student's tuition and fees shall be refunded under the
359	359	refund policy maintained by the closed school under Section
360	360	1602.459.] A refund under this subsection may [shall] be paid from
361	361	the private beauty culture school tuition protection account. The
362	362	amount of the refund may not exceed $35,000.
363	363	SECTION 20. The following provisions of the Occupations
364	364	Code are repealed:
365	365	(1) Section 1601.001(b);
366	366	(2) Section 1601.564(b);
367	367	(3) Section 1602.455(e); and
368	368	(4) Sections 1602.459(b) and (c).
369	369	SECTION 21. Not later than December 1, 2015, the Texas
370	370	Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules
371	371	implementing Chapters 1601 and 1602, Occupations Code, as amended
372	372	by this Act.
373	373	SECTION 22. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
374	374	to a student enrolling in a barber school or beauty culture school
375	375	on or after February 1, 2016. A student enrolling in a barber
376	376	school or beauty culture school before that date is governed by the
377	377	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
378	378	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
379	379	SECTION 23. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.