Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2079
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]
Introduced: 2015-04-28
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration

Civil actions and liability

Higher education

Student aid and college costs
Latest action: action_date: 2015-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-04-28
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2015</b></p> <p>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). <p>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.

tv_txt: I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2079 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 28, 2015 Ms. Maxine Waters of California (for herself, Mr. Cummings , Mr. Ellison , Mr. Blumenauer , Ms. Norton , Mr. Grijalva , Ms. Judy Chu of California , Mr. Rangel , Ms. Lee , Mr. Cohen , and Mr. Takano ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce , and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2015 . 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 For purposes of this section, the term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 0 U.S.C. 1002 ). 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 new paragraph: (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. . 4. Effective date This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.