Legal Issues Abroad

Goals Issue Spotting When in Doubt, Ask

Outline Sample Laws Legal Risks Legal Concepts ADA/Section 504 FERPA Clery Act Vendor Selection Title IX Inadequate Crisis Planning or Orientation Legal Concepts High Risk Activities or Locations Negligence Reasonable Care AoR, Exculpatory/Indemnity Due Diligence These are the questions that would be asked in court if a case were brought for injury abroad.

Disability Laws ADA and Section 504 Prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities *Screening Out Prohibited *If new request for reasonable accommodation abroad, consult DSS *Health Information – Confidential and Available Phil Magalong, the DSS Director, is going to talk more in depth about accommodations while abroad. Screening out = asking an applicant about a disability and prohibiting or dissuading from participation. We ask certain health information questions AFTER admission. But students are encouraged to get in touch with DSS ASAP in the process DSS will work with you if there are any accommodations you need to be aware of before leaving. But if a new request comes in, contact DSS Health information form contains very private information. Need to balance keeping information confidential but need to have that information since it was provided. University on notice Bird Case: Lewis and Clark college sued because the college promised they could provide her reasonable accommodations in her wheelchair, but she alleged 22 locations were inaccessible (assistance to leave her lodgings, group excursions, etc) – Important not to overpromise

FERPA Protects student education records University employee’s access Health or safety emergency exception * Think about how you will safely store and access records Directory information (i.e. name, address, photo) may be released w/o permission of the student unless the student has placed a hold on release

EU General Data Protection Regulation This is a new European Union Privacy law. Effective May 2018. It will make staff at EU institutions very cautious about sharing info back to home campus. There is a fundamental human right to privacy in the EU Nothing in this law prevents our students from getting back to us on a problem, nor does it prevent our faculty from getting in touch with the home campus. We will more answers on this as the law develops. We will be working with Global Ed to figure out how best to address this new law.

Campus Security Act Reports first to local police in the host country Mandates the Reporting and Disclosure of Certain Crimes by Program Directors Crimes to report - see handout Location: non-campus building or property Reports first to local police in the host country *Then report the matter to DPS at tel. (202) 319-5111 and to gregoryk@cua.edu Alcohol and Drugs arrests or referrals if illegal in host country, Illegal Weapons Possession, Domestic violence, stalking, and dating violence, Hate crimes Non-campus building or property for Catholic University purposes includes any foreign campuses or building or property owned or controlled by the University and used for educational purposes (including through a lease agreement). 

Negligence Failure to use reasonable care Questions to consider: What would a reasonable person do in this situation? Questions to consider: What did you know? What should you have known? How much control did you have? Were best practices followed? These are the questions that would be asked in court if a case were brought for injury abroad.

Due Diligence How do you evaluate the reliability and services you procure? Transportation** (insurance, ASIRT) Housing Restaurants Tour Guides or Operators Medical Facilities Excursions Other Vendors Whenever possible, site visits These are the questions that would be asked in court if a case were brought for injury abroad. Driving or being a passenger in a vehicle abroad can be risky. One in 10 claims submitted to United Educators, an insurance company for educational institutions, involves a transportation incident. CDC states road traffic accidents are the leading cause of deaths to US citizens abroad.