Title: College Athlete Pandemic Safety Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
College Athlete Pandemic Safety Act
This bill requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) to take certain health and safety actions to respond to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), specifically for college athletes.
Specifically, the bill prohibits IHEs from (1) allowing any individual to agree to a liability waiver for any sporting activity, or (2) canceling a scholarship or any other financial aid provided to a college athlete who does not participate in team activities due to concerns about COVID-19.
Further, each IHE must inform its college athletes when a college athlete or a staff member of its athletic department tests positive for COVID-19, without revealing any personally identifiable information about the individual.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must, within 90 days, develop health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19 for athletic departments of IHEs. IHEs must comply with these guidelines.
The bill also provides a private right of action for individuals affected by violations of the bill.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4102 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4102

 To ensure that institutions of higher education take steps to protect 
     their college athletes from COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 2020

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Booker) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To ensure that institutions of higher education take steps to protect 
     their college athletes from COVID-19, and for other purposes.

    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 ``College Athlete Pandemic Safety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTING INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETES FROM COVID-19.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) College athlete.--The term ``college athlete'' means an 
        individual that participates in an intercollegiate sport for an 
        institution of higher education.
            (2) COVID-19.--The term ``COVID-19'' means the novel 
        coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
    (b) Prohibition on Waivers.--No postsecondary educational 
institution shall allow any individual to agree to a waiver of the 
liability of the institution regarding COVID-19 with respect to any 
sporting activity.
    (c) Athletic Department Health and Safety Guidelines.--By not later 
than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall develop health and 
safety guidelines relating to COVID-19 for athletic departments of 
postsecondary educational institutions.
    (d) Institutional Responsibilities.--A postsecondary educational 
institution shall comply with the following requirements:
            (1) The institution shall comply with subsection (b).
            (2) The institution shall not cancel a scholarship or any 
        other financial aid provided to a college athlete who refrains 
        from participating in team activities due to concerns about 
        contracting or transmitting COVID-19.
            (3) The institution shall comply with the COVID-19 health 
        and safety guidelines developed under subsection (c).
            (4) The institution shall inform all college athletes of 
        the institution when a college athlete or a staff member of the 
        athletic department of the institution has tested positive for 
        COVID-19, without revealing the identity or any personally 
        identifiable information of the infected individual.
    (e) Private Right of Action.--A person may, if otherwise permitted 
by the law of the applicable State or rules of the applicable State 
court, bring in an appropriate court of that State--
            (1) an action based on a violation of this section or any 
        regulations prescribed under this section to enjoin such a 
        violation;
            (2) an action to recover damages for each such violation, 
        including punitive damages; or
            (3) both such actions.
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