I
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5735
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 9, 2008
Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Etheridge, and Mr. Poe) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to disclose their emergency response and evacuation procedures.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency
Response Policy and Notification Act
.
Disclosure of emergency response and evacuation procedures
Amendment
Section 485(f)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
A statement of current campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures, including the use of electronic and cellular communication (if appropriate), which shall include procedures—
to activate notification procedures for students and employees in not more than 30 minutes after campus security authorities confirm, or State or local law enforcement agencies report and confirm to campus security authorities, that an emergency exists on campus or public property;
to publicize emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis in a manner designed to reach students and staff; and
to test emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis.
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Regulations
The Secretary shall promulgate regulations regarding the requirements applicable to an institution of higher education under section 485(f)(1)(J) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by subsection (a)) not later than April 1, 2009.
Effective date
The amendment made by subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to any annual security report under section 485(f)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(1)) prepared by an institution of higher education in calendar year 2009 and any subsequent calendar year.