Section 80 Higher Education COVID-19 Limited Liability

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"Claim", any claim or cause of action seeking any legal or equitable remedy or relief.

"COVID-19 emergency", the state of emergency concerning the COVID-19 outbreak declared by the governor on March 10, 2020 and terminated on June 15, 2021.

"Damages", injury, loss of property, personal injury or death, including economic or non-economic losses.

"Institution of higher education", any postsecondary institution, whether public or nonpublic, including the owners, directors, trustees, officers, employees, contractors and agents of such institution.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, except as provided in subsection (c), an institution of higher education shall be immune from civil liability for any damages or equitable monetary relief alleged to have been sustained due to an act or omission of an institution of higher education if: (i) the claim arises out of or in connection with tuition or fees paid to the institution of higher education for the spring academic term of 2020; (ii) the claim alleges losses or damages arising from an act or omission by the institution of higher education during or in response to the COVID-19 emergency; (iii) the alleged act or omission of the institution of higher education was reasonably related to protecting public health and safety interests in response to the COVID-19 emergency, in compliance with federal, state or local guidance, including, but not limited to: (A) transition to online or otherwise remote instruction; (B) pause or modification to instruction and ancillary student activities and services available through the institution of higher education; or (C) closure of, or modification to, operations of on-campus facilities of the institution of higher education; and (iv) the institution of higher education offered online and otherwise remote learning options that allowed students to complete the coursework in the spring academic term of 2020.

(c) The civil immunity provided in subsection (b) shall not apply if the damage alleged was caused by an act or omission of an institution of higher education that was malicious or in bad faith.

(d) This section shall apply to claims commenced on or after March 10, 2020, for which a judgment has not become final before the effective date of this section and which were based on acts or omissions that occurred during the spring 2020 academic term.