AFR, SBPC and 30 organizations Oppose “Liability Shields” for Colleges Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Americans for Financial Reform joined with the Student Borrower Protection Center in leading a to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions opposing any effort to shield colleges from legal liability if they fail to protect the health and safety of students and workers.

Colleges, led by higher education lobbyists American Council on Education, are pressing lawmakers to remove a key mechanism for accountability when schools engage in careless actions that make their students or workers sick. The Advocates’ letter, sent in advance of the first Senate hearing on reopening colleges and universities following the COVID-19 pandemic, is signed by more than two dozen organizations representing students, consumers and workers, including SEIU, UNITE HERE, Public Citizen, the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), and the Center for Responsible Lending.

You can find a pdf of the letter here.