,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ggaj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #ba1 #bjbj,mr4 
,murphy of ,north ,carolina 7for        
himself1 ,mr4 ,weber of ,texas1 ,mr4    
,tiffany1 ,mr4 ,norman1 ,mr4 ,grothman1 
,mrs4 ,wagner1 ,mr4 ,wright1 ,mr4       
,byrne1 ,mr4 ,comer1 ,mr4 ,mooney of    
,west ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,harris1 ,mrs4    
,lesko1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,north          
,carolina1 ,mr4 ,babin1 and ,mr4        
,abraham7 introduced the following bill2
 which was referred to the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide 
liability protection for elementary     
schools1 secondary schools1 and         
institutions of higher education during 
the ,,covid-#ai public health emergency1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,open ,schools ,responsibly ,act4  #b4  
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,in ,december #bjai1 a novel 7new7
 coronavirus known as ,,sars-,co,v-#b   
was first detected in ,wuhan1 ,hubei    

,province1 ,people's ,republic of       
,china1 causing outbreaks of the        
coronavirus disease ,,covid-#ai that has
 now spread globally4  7#b7 ,secretary  
,azar declared a ,public ,health        
,emergency under section #cai of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d7 for the ,united       
,states for the transmission of the     
#bjai novel coronavirus1 originating out
 of ,wuhan1 ,hubei ,province ,china1 on 
,january #ca1 #bjbj4  7#c7 ,president   
,donald ,j4 ,trump proclaimed1 on ,march
 #ac1 #bjbj1 that the ,,covid-#ai       
outbreak in the ,united ,states         
constitutes a national emergency1       
beginning ,march #a1 #bjbj4  7#d7 ,in   
order to catalyze and stabilize         
consistent growth in the economy1       
schools must be protected from liability
 of persons on campus 7including        
students1 employees1 and visitors7 who  
assume the risk of contracting the virus
 upon return to the #bjbj-bjba academic 
school year4 ,there is a strong desire  

from ,congress to make sure academic    
institutions re-open as swiftly and     
safely as possible1 without threat of   
economic penalties from assumed risk4   
#c4 ,limitation on liability for        
elementary schools1 secondary schools1  
and institutions of higher education    
during the ,,covid-#ai public health    
emergency  7a7 ,limitation on liability 
,except as provided in subsection 7b71  
an elementary school1 secondary school1 
or institution of higher education shall
 not be liable under ,federal or ,state 
law to a covered individual for any harm
 caused by an act or omission of the    
school or institution with respect to   
any harm arising from that individual's 
exposure to1 or infection by1 the virus 
that causes ,,covid-#ai during the      
public health emergency with respect to 
,,covid-#ai declared by the ,secretary  
of ,health and ,human ,services         
7referred to in this section as the     
,secretary7 under section #cai of the   
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      

,u4,s4,c4 #bdg;d7 on ,january #ca1      
#bjbj1 if the school or institution was 
in compliance with applicable guidelines
 issued by the ,state and the ,centers  
for ,disease ,control ,prevention4  7b7 
,exceptions ,subsection 7a7 does not    
apply if the harm was caused by an act  
or omission constituting willful or     
criminal misconduct1 gross negligence1  
reckless misconduct1 or a conscious     
flagrant indifference to the rights or  
safety of the covered individual harmed 
by the school or institution4  7c7      
,preemption ,this section preempts the  
laws of a ,state or any political       
subdivision of a ,state to the extent   
that such laws are inconsistent with    
this section1 unless such laws provide  
greater protection from liability4  7d7 
,effective date ,this section shall take
 effect as if enacted on ,january #ca1  
#bjbj1 and applies with respect to a    
claim for harm if the act or omission   
that caused such harm occurred on or    
after such date4  7e7 ,sunset ,this     

section shall sunset on ,january #ca1   
#bjbe4  7f7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 
7#a7 ,the terms elementary school and   
secondary school have the meanings given
 such terms in section #haja of the     
,elementary and ,secondary ,education   
,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ghja74    
7#b7 ,the term institution of higher    
education has the meaning given such    
term in section #ajb of the ,higher     
,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 
#ajjb74  7#c7 ,the term covered         
individual means1 with respect to an    
elementary school1 secondary school1 or 
institution of higher education-- 7,a7 a
 student at the school or institution2  
7,b7 an individual who is employed at   
the school or institution2 or  7,c7 a   
visitor at the school or institution4