110 HR 5735 IH: Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act.

2.

Disclosure of emergency response and evacuation procedures

(a)

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: (J)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— (i)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; (ii)to publicize emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis in a manner designed to reach students and staff; and (iii)to test emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis. . (b)

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. (c)

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.