Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1430 To provide that chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements, shall not apply to enroll- ment agreements made between students and certain institutions of high- er education; and to prohibit limitations on the ability of students to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher education. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2019 Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. COHEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor, 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 jurisdic- tion 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 agree- ments, shall not apply to enrollment agreements made between students and certain institutions of higher edu- cation; and to prohibit limitations on the ability of stu- dents to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher education. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:35 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1430.IH H1430 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1430 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Court Legal Access 2 and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. INAPPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 9, 4 UNITED STATES CODE, TO ENROLLMENT 5 AGREEMENTS MADE BETWEEN STUDENTS 6 AND CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 7 EDUCATION. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 9 of the United 9 States Code (relating to the enforcement of arbitration 10 agreements) shall not apply to an enrollment agreement 11 made between a student and an institution of higher edu- 12 cation. 13 (b) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 14 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning 15 given such term in section 102 of the Higher Education 16 Act of 1965. 17 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON LIMITATIONS ON ABILITY OF STU- 18 DENTS TO PURSUE CLAIMS AGAINST CER- 19 TAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 20 Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 21 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 22 following new paragraph: 23 ‘‘(30) The institution will not require any stu- 24 dent to agree to, and will not enforce, any limitation 25 or restriction (including a limitation or restriction on 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:35 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1430.IH H1430 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1430 IH any available choice of applicable law, a jury trial, 1 or venue) on the ability of a student to pursue a 2 claim, individually or with others, against an institu- 3 tion in court.’’. 4 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 5 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 6 take effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 7 Act. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:35 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1430.IH H1430 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS