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This article is shared with LebTown by content partner Spotlight PA.

By Sara Simon of Spotlight PA

HARRISBURG โ€” In the face of criticism from students, faculty, and legal experts, Pennsylvania State University said Thursday it will reverse course and provide an alternate legal agreement students must sign regarding the coronavirus before returning to campus.

The original agreement required students to โ€œassume any and all riskโ€ of COVID-19, which some said amounted to a liability waiver. Penn State, with an enrollment nearing 100,000, plans to hold half of its fall semester classes with at least some in-person instruction.

One day after Spotlight PA and the Daily Collegian published stories about the agreement โ€” noting it was โ€œon the more extreme endโ€ of what other colleges and universities were requiring โ€” Penn State said it would provide an updated option.

โ€œ[W]e have heard from some concerned with language requiring students to assume the risks of exposure to COVID-19,โ€ the statement said. โ€œOthers have misinterpreted the language of the compact as a waiver of studentsโ€™ rights, which was neither the case, nor the intent.โ€

Penn State students who will be on campus for the fall semester are still required to sign the compact โ€” acknowledging that returning to campus does pose risk of exposure to COVID-19 โ€” but there will be a second option with modified language available to students โ€œin the coming days,โ€ the statement said.

Previously, the compact said, โ€œI assume any and all risk of exposure to COVID-19 that may result from attending Penn State, or participating in Penn State activities, and I acknowledge that exposure or infection may result in personal injury, illness, permanent disability, or death.โ€

The compact appeared before students could access the universityโ€™s online portal, which includes class registration and information about finances and health insurance.

The modified option will state, โ€œEven with the mitigation steps taken by Penn State and my compliance with this compact, I acknowledge that Penn State cannot prevent the risks of exposure to COVID-19 that may result from attending Penn State or participating in Penn State activities.โ€

Penn Stateโ€™s statement, published Thursday morning, said, โ€œTo reiterate: This is not a waiver and was not intended to be. It is an acknowledgement.โ€

The statement added that students who will be fully remote for the semester can bypass the compact and still be able to access Penn Stateโ€™s online system.

Heidi Li Feldman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who focuses on legal liability and who had strongly urged Penn State students against signing the original compact, said the modified language โ€œeliminates legal terms of artโ€ meant to shield Penn State from liability.

โ€œEqually important, if not more so, than the changed language is Penn Stateโ€™s public announcement of its understanding of the compact: that it isnโ€™t meant to limit the universityโ€™s legal obligation to take reasonable, prudent precautions to safeguard studentsโ€™ health,โ€ Feldman said.

100% ESSENTIAL: Spotlight PA relies on funding from foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. If you value this reporting, please give a gift today at spotlightpa.org/donate.


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