Bill > S835

This bill aims to ensure safe and healthy public higher education campuses. Key provisions include: 1. Requiring public colleges and universities to implement COVID-19 testing programs for students and employees, including daily symptom monitoring, twice-weekly testing for on-campus and in-person students and certain employees, contact tracing, and notification requirements. The testing programs would be funded by available state or federal funds. 2. Requiring public colleges and universities to provide face coverings, masks, and other personal protective equipment to employees and students, also funded by available state or federal funds. 3. Amending state law to add "maintaining healthy and safe campuses, including maintaining adequate pandemic planning" as an objective for public higher education accountability and performance measurement. 4. Establishing new ventilation requirements for campus buildings, including minimum air changes per hour, outdoor air supply, and humidity levels, and requiring regular assessments, repairs, and reporting. The costs of these ventilation upgrades would be covered by state or federal funds, not campus operating budgets. 5. Requiring the establishment of health and safety committees on each public college and university campus, with representatives from employee unions and campus facilities/environmental health departments, to assess and make recommendations on campus health and safety issues. The bill aims to protect the health and safety of students and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond through a comprehensive set of requirements and funding provisions.

Education

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/S835