Reopen Our Schools Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7152 To prohibit the Secretary of Education from providing funding to certain educational institutions unless the institutions return to in-person in- struction, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 11, 2020 Mr. BANKS (for himself and Mr. TIFFANY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To prohibit the Secretary of Education from providing fund- ing to certain educational institutions unless the institu- tions return to in-person instruction, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Reopen Our Schools 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS FAILING 6 TO PROVIDE IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION. 7 (a) PROHIBITION ON FUNDING.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7152.IH H7152 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7152 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to academic 1 year or school year 2020–2021, no funds shall be 2 made available under any applicable program to an 3 educational agency or institution unless the edu- 4 cational agency or institution provides a certification 5 to the Secretary of Education that the educational 6 agency or institution— 7 (A) will begin providing in-person instruc- 8 tion not later than September 8, 2020, and in 9 a manner substantially similar to that provided 10 in previous academic years or school years; and 11 (B) has a detailed plan in place to protect 12 the health of students and personnel. 13 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 14 to any funds (including loans made under part D of 15 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965) made 16 available under any applicable program that an edu- 17 cational agency or institution provides to a student 18 attending such agency or institution. 19 (3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re- 20 quirements of paragraph (1) with respect to an edu- 21 cational agency or institution if the Secretary deter- 22 mines that doing so is in the public interest. 23 (b) PROHIBITION ON LIABILITY.—An educational 24 agency or institution that provides a certification under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7152.IH H7152 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7152 IH subsection (a)(1), including personnel thereof, may not be 1 held liable in any cause of action before a State or Federal 2 court for any act or omission related to in-person instruc- 3 tion that results in an alleged exposure to coronavirus. 4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) APPLICABLE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘appli- 6 cable program’’ has the meaning given such term in 7 section 400(c) of the General Education Provisions 8 Act (20 U.S.C. 1221(c)). 9 (2) CORONAVIRUS.—The term ‘‘coronavirus’’ 10 means SARS–CoV–2 or another coronavirus with 11 pandemic potential. 12 (3) EDUCATIONAL AGENCY OR INSTITUTION.— 13 The term ‘‘educational agency or institution’’ means 14 the following: 15 (A) An elementary school (as such term is 16 defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 17 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 18 7801)). 19 (B) A secondary school (as such term is 20 defined in such section 8101). 21 (C) An institution of higher education (as 22 such term is defined in section 101 of the High- 23 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7152.IH H7152 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7152 IH (D) A local educational agency (as such 1 term is defined in such section 8101). 2 (E) A State educational agency (as such 3 term is defined in such section 8101). 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7152.IH H7152 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS