[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 246 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 246

To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support fire 
             safety education programs on college campuses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 2017

 Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support fire 
             safety education programs on college campuses.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to help provide fire safety education 
and training to students attending institutions of higher education.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Fire Administration of the 
        Federal Emergency Management Agency.
            (2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
        institution of higher education, or a consortium of 
        institutions of higher education located in the same State, in 
        a collaborative partnership with a nonprofit organization or a 
        public safety department. Such a collaborative partnership may 
        also include a social fraternity or sorority exempt from 
        taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986, the active membership of which consists primarily of 
        students enrolled at the institution or institutions.
            (3) Fire safety education program.--The term ``fire safety 
        education program'' means a program that provides fire safety 
        and prevention activities.
            (4) Institution of higher education.--The 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).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Education.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION COMPETITIVE 
              GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization of Grant Program.--From 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) Application.--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) Selection Priority.--In making grants under this Act, the 
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that plan to use 
grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education 
programs that include educational material specifically prepared for 
students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.
    (d) Grant Period.--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) Grant Size.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall ensure that grants awarded under this Act are of 
        sufficient size and scope to enable eligible entities to carry 
        out all required activities and otherwise meet the purpose of 
        this Act.
            (2) Maximum amount.--An eligible entity may not be awarded 
        more than $250,000 per fiscal year under this Act.
    (f) Matching Requirement.--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) Supplement Not Supplant.--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.

SEC. 5. REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.

    (a) Required Uses of Funds.--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, increase 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;
                    (G) importance of means of egress;
                    (H) fire prevention techniques that may prevent a 
                fire from occurring (such as candle safety, cooking 
                safety, and smoking safety); and
                    (I) fire safety actions to be taken if a fire 
                occurs to minimize the potential for death, injury, and 
                property damage (such as knowing how to use a fire 
                extinguisher, how to put out a cooking fire, calling 
                911, and evacuating); and
            (4) includes a mechanism for carrying out the evaluations 
        described in subsection (b).
    (b) Evaluations.--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 eligible entity in increasing 
        awareness or improving fire safety behavior at such eligible 
        entity; and
            (2) prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on the 
        results of the evaluation conducted by the entity.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 12 months after the date of 
receipt of the first report submitted pursuant to section 5(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) Best Practices Report.--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.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
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