united-states consumer-protection education state-university students
Do public colleges in the US have to follow education laws on misrepresentation (34 CFR &#167; 668.71-75)?
<p>The registrar at a public college in the US claims that a lecture course is &quot;substantially equivalent&quot; to a course that was to be held in a lab to teach lab skills. They also claim that being a public institution makes it exempt to state consumer law and 34 CFR § 668.71-75.</p>
<p>Student me wonders if the registrar is mistaken. The change in venue was not announced until the first day of class.</p>

<p>A state institution is subject to 34 CFR § 668.71-75. State consumer-protection laws probably do not apply, but there are 50 states so it depends. Here are the <a href="https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.86&amp;full=true" rel="nofollow noreferrer">laws for Washington</a>. State universities have not yet found to be &quot;businesses&quot; in WA, so it is unlikely that those laws apply to university conduct. Whether or not a certain practice is legally actionable depends on what the action is: there is no misrepresentation, given what you describe, just consumer dissatisfaction.</p>
