Title: Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2019
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2019
This bill forbids institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs from restricting students' ability to pursue claims against IHEs in court. In addition, the bill makes mandatory arbitration agreements inapplicable to enrollment agreements between students and IHEs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 608 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 608

    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

                           February 28, 2019

  Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Warren, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
   Brown, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Markey) 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 2019''.

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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