Dispute Over Measure on Suing Colleges – Inside Higher Ed
The Republican Senate is moving toward making it harder for students and workers to sue colleges if they contract the coronavirus.
The main umbrella group representing colleges, which have been worried about being sued by students and workers if they become ill when campuses reopen, was pleased with a summary of a proposal being considered by Senate Republicans to make it significantly more difficult to file coronavirus-related lawsuits against colleges, K-12 schools, charities and businesses.
But the summary, obtained by Inside Higher Ed on Friday, was panned by student groups and Senate Democrats who worried it would lessen incentives on the entities to take the necessary steps to keep students, workers and customers safe.
“It’s pretty horrifying. It’s just as bad as we feared, maybe worse,” said Molly Coleman, executive director of the People’s Parity Project, a national group of law students and new lawyers organizing a petition drive on 15 campuses calling on institutions to oppose liability protection.
According to the two-page summary, Republicans are proposing to temporarily raise the standard in personal action lawsuits, so that colleges and other entities would only be held liable for “gross negligence or intentional misconduct” — a higher bar than in state courts, where those being sued need only prove that they acted reasonably.