1.This Act may be cited as the
Campus Fire Safety Education Act of
2010
.
2.The purpose of this Act is to help provide
fire safety education and training to students attending institutions of higher
education.
3.Establishment of the campus fire safety
education competitive grant program
(a)Authorization of Grant
ProgramFrom the amounts
appropriated under section 7, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Administrator, shall establish a grant program to award grants, on a
competitive basis, to eligible entities for—
(1)initiating, expanding, or improving fire
safety education programs at institutions of higher education; and
(2)increasing fire safety awareness among
students enrolled at such institutions, including students living in off-campus
housing.
(b)To seek a grant under this Act, an eligible
entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(c)In making grants under this Act, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that plan to use grant funds
received under this Act to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education
programs that include educational material specifically prepared for students
with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.
(d)Grants under this Act shall be awarded for
not longer than a 2-year period, and may be renewed for an additional 2-year
period, at the Secretary’s discretion.
(e)The Secretary shall ensure that grants
awarded under this Act are of sufficient size and scope to enable grantees to
carry out all required activities and otherwise meet the purpose of this Act,
except that an eligible entity may not be awarded more than $250,000 per fiscal
year under this Act.
(f)An eligible entity receiving a grant under
this Act shall provide non-Federal matching funds in an amount equal to not
less than 25 percent of the costs of the activities for which assistance is
sought. Such non-Federal matching funds may be in cash or in kind.
(g)Funds made available under this Act shall
be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal, State, or private funds
that would otherwise be expended to carry out fire safety education
programs.
4.
(a)An eligible entity receiving a grant under
this Act shall use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a fire safety
education program that—
(1)in the case of an eligible entity that is
an institution of higher education, reaches, to the extent practicable, all
students enrolled in the institution of higher education, including students
living on-campus and off-campus;
(2)is carried out in a manner to ensure
maximum exposure to, increased awareness of, and effectuate change in behavior
with respect to fire safety by students through—
(A)conducting outreach to students at a
minimum of twice per academic year (at the beginning of the fall and spring
semesters, or the equivalent); and
(B)measures that provide fire safety
information to any student upon the request of the student;
(3)includes minimum instruction with respect
to—
(A)awareness of fire behavior;
(B)mechanisms of fire injury and death;
(C)common ignition scenarios;
(D)fire safety systems such as automatic fire
sprinklers;
(E)fire alarms;
(F)fire extinguishers; and
(G)importance of means of egress; and
(4)includes a mechanism for carrying out the
evaluations described in subsection (b).
(b)Not later than 6 months after the end of an
eligible entity’s grant period, the eligible entity shall—
(1)conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness
of the program carried out by the entity in increasing awareness or improving
fire safety behavior at such entity; and
(2)prepare and submit to the Secretary a
report on the results of the evaluation conducted by the entity.
5.
(a)Not later than 12 months after the date of
receipt of the first report submitted pursuant to section 4(b)(2) and annually
thereafter, the Secretary shall provide to Congress a report that includes the
following:
(1)The number and types of eligible entities
receiving assistance under this Act.
(2)The fire safety education programs being
implemented with assistance under this Act and the costs of such
programs.
(3)Any other information determined by the
Secretary to be useful in evaluating the overall effectiveness of the program
established under this Act in improving the fire safety knowledge of college
students.
(b)The Secretary, in consultation with the
Administrator, shall use the information provided under subsection (a) to
publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or improving fire
safety education programs that shall be made available to all institutions of
higher education and other interested parties.
6.In this Act:
(1)The term Administrator
means
the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
(2)Fire safety education programThe term fire safety education
program
means a program that provides fire safety and prevention
activities.
(3)Institution of higher
educationThe term
institution of higher education
has the meaning given to such
term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1001).
(4)The term eligible entity
means either of the following:
(A)An institution of higher education,
including an institution of higher education in a collaborative partnership
with—
(i)a nonprofit or fire safety
organization;
(ii)a public safety department; or
(iii)a social fraternity or sorority exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
501(a)), the active membership of which consists primarily of students in
attendance at the institution of higher education.
(B)A consortium of institutions of higher
education located in the same State.
(5)The term Secretary
means the
Secretary of Education.
7.Authorization of
AppropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2011 through 2015.