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Court Legal Access and Student Support Act of 2025
To provide that chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements, shall not apply to enrollment agreements made between students and certain institutions of higher education, and to prohibit limitations on the ability of students to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher education.
Summary
This bill would prohibit higher education institutions from requiring students to use arbitration instead of pursuing legal claims in court as part of their enrollment agreements. It also prohibits colleges and universities from requiring students to waive their right to a jury trial, choose specific laws that apply, or agree to a particular venue when resolving disputes with the institution. The requirements take effect one year after the bill becomes law.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
11 cosponsors
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ)
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA)
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY)
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI)
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA)
- Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD)
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA)
- Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI] (D-RI)
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Richard J. Durbin’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- SIMMONS HANLY CONROY LLC $19,133
- THE GORI LAW FIRM $18,300
- CLIFFORD LAW OFFICES PC $17,750
- POWER ROGERS & SMITH LLP $17,300
- MAUNE RAICHLE HARTLEY FRENCH & MUDD $14,638
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Richard J. Durbin → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jun 11, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S3348) · senate
- Jun 11, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2025
Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. Reed, Ms. Warren, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Booker, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
A BILL
To provide that chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements, shall not apply to enrollment agreements made between students and certain institutions of higher education, and to prohibit limitations on the ability of students to pursue claims against certain institutions of higher education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Court Legal Access and Student Support Act of 2025” or the “CLASS Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. INAPPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 9, UNITED STATES CODE, TO ENROLLMENT AGREEMENTS MADE BETWEEN STUDENTS AND CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) In General.—Chapter 1 of title 9 of the United States Code (relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements) shall not apply to an enrollment agreement made between a student and an institution of higher education.
(b) Definitions.—In this section:
(1) Enrollment agreement.—The term “enrollment agreement” means any contract or agreement between a student and an institution of higher education under which the student makes a financial commitment to the institution in exchange for enrollment in a program of study at the institution.
(2) Institution of higher education.—The term “institution of higher education” has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON LIMITATIONS ON ABILITY OF STUDENTS TO PURSUE CLAIMS AGAINST CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(30) The institution will not require any student to agree to, and will not enforce, any limitation or restriction (including a limitation or restriction on any available choice of applicable law, a jury trial, or venue) on the ability of a student to pursue a claim, individually or with others, against an institution in court.”.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>
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