College presidents have been considering steps to safely reopen campuses for the fall, including mandatory coronavirus testing, robust contact-tracing efforts and class-size reductions.
Whether those measures would shield institutions from a lawsuit remains unclear. Legal experts say students or employees at a college who were sickened by the virus would likely still sue their institution.
With these dilemmas in mind, higher ed’s top lobbying group has asked Congress to approve short-term liability protections against the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, for colleges and their affiliated entities.
