Title: Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2017
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2017
This bill makes procedures for the enforcement of arbitration agreements inapplicable to an enrollment agreement between a student and an institution of higher education (IHE).
The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to forbid an IHE that participates in federal student aid programs, including work-study programs, from requiring a student to agree to any restriction on the student's ability to pursue a claim, individually or with others, against it in court.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 553 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 553

    To provide that chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, 
relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements, shall not apply 
to enrollment agreements made between students and certain institutions 
  of higher education, and to prohibit limitations on the ability of 
   students to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher 
                               education.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2017

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Franken, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, Mr. 
    Reed, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blumenthal, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide that chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, 
relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements, shall not apply 
to enrollment agreements made between students and certain institutions 
  of higher education, and to prohibit limitations on the ability of 
   students to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher 
                               education.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Court Legal Access and Student 
Support (CLASS) Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. INAPPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 9, UNITED STATES CODE, TO 
              ENROLLMENT AGREEMENTS MADE BETWEEN STUDENTS AND CERTAIN 
              INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code 
(relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements) shall not apply 
to an enrollment agreement made between a student and an institution of 
higher education.
    (b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``institution of higher 
education'' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON LIMITATIONS ON ABILITY OF STUDENTS TO PURSUE 
              CLAIMS AGAINST CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

    Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(30) The institution will not require any student to 
        agree to, and will not enforce, any limitation or restriction 
        (including a limitation or restriction on any available choice 
        of applicable law, a jury trial, or venue) on the ability of a 
        student to pursue a claim, individually or with others, against 
        an institution in court.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act.
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