Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices for use by state and local educational and law-enforcement agencies, institutions of higher education, health professionals, and the public.
The bill requires DHS to collect clearinghouse data analytics, user feedback on the implementation of best practices and recommendations identified by the clearinghouse, and any evaluations conducted on these best practices and recommendations. In addition, DHS must coordinate with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Justice to assess and identify best practices and recommendations and establish an advisory board to provide feedback and propose additional recommendations.
Further, the bill specifies the criteria for best practices and recommendations of the clearinghouse, including evidence that the best practice or recommendation has had a significant effect on improving the health, safety, and welfare of individuals in school settings.
Finally, the bill provides for grant program review.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 750 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 750
To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 3, 2021
Mr. Diaz-Balart (for himself, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Deutch, and Mrs.
Murphy of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee
on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices,
and for other purposes.
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 ``Luke and Alex School Safety Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SCHOOL SAFETY BEST PRACTICES.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title XXII of the Homeland Security
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 2215 the following:
``SEC. 2216. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SCHOOL SAFETY BEST PRACTICES.
``(a) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, and the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, shall establish a Federal
Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices (in this section
referred to as the `Clearinghouse') within the Department.
``(2) Purpose.--The Clearinghouse shall be the primary
resource of the Federal Government to identify and publish
online through SchoolSafety.gov, or any successor website, the
best practices and recommendations for school safety for use by
State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher
education, State and local law enforcement agencies, health
professionals, and the general public.
``(3) Personnel.--
``(A) Assignments.--The Clearinghouse shall be
assigned such personnel and resources as the Secretary
considers appropriate to carry out this section.
``(B) Detailees.--The Secretary of Education, the
Attorney General, and the Secretary of Health and Human
Services may detail personnel to the Clearinghouse.
``(4) Exemptions.--
``(A) Paperwork reduction act.--Chapter 35 of title
44, United States Code (commonly known as the
`Paperwork Reduction Act') shall not apply to any
rulemaking or information collection required under
this section.
``(B) Federal advisory committee act.--The Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply
for the purposes of carrying out this section.
``(b) Clearinghouse Contents.--
``(1) Consultation.--In identifying the best practices and
recommendations for the Clearinghouse, the Secretary may
consult with appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, private
sector, and nongovernmental organizations.
``(2) Criteria for best practices and recommendations.--The
best practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse shall,
at a minimum--
``(A) involve comprehensive school safety measures,
including threat prevention, preparedness, protection,
mitigation, incident response, and recovery to improve
the safety posture of a school upon implementation;
``(B) include any evidence or research rationale
supporting the determination of the Clearinghouse that
the best practice or recommendation under subparagraph
(A) has been shown to have a significant effect on
improving the health, safety, and welfare of persons in
school settings, including--
``(i) relevant research that is evidence-
based, as defined in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 7801), supporting the best practice
or recommendation;
``(ii) findings and data from previous
Federal or State commissions recommending
improvements to the safety posture of a school;
or
``(iii) other supportive evidence or
findings relied upon by the Clearinghouse in
determining best practices and recommendations
to improve the safety posture of a school upon
implementation; and
``(C) include information on Federal grant programs
for which implementation of each best practice or
recommendation is an eligible use for the program.
``(3) Past commission recommendations.--To the greatest
extent practicable, the Clearinghouse shall present, as
appropriate, Federal, State, local, Tribal, private sector, and
nongovernmental organization issued best practices and
recommendations and identify any best practice or
recommendation of the Clearinghouse that was previously issued
by any such organization or commission.
``(c) Assistance and Training.--The Secretary may produce and
publish materials on the Clearinghouse to assist and train educational
agencies and law enforcement agencies on the implementation of the best
practices and recommendations.
``(d) Continuous Improvement.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) collect for the purpose of continuous improvement of
the Clearinghouse--
``(A) Clearinghouse data analytics;
``(B) user feedback on the implementation of
resources, best practices, and recommendations
identified by the Clearinghouse; and
``(C) any evaluations conducted on implementation
of the best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse; and
``(2) in coordination with the Secretary of Education, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney
General--
``(A) regularly assess and identify Clearinghouse
best practices and recommendations for which there are
no resources available through Federal Government
programs for implementation; and
``(B) establish an external advisory board, which
shall be comprised of appropriate State, local, Tribal,
private sector, and nongovernmental organizations,
including organizations representing parents of
elementary and secondary school students, to--
``(i) provide feedback on the
implementation of best practices and
recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and
``(ii) propose additional recommendations
for best practices for inclusion in the
Clearinghouse.
``(e) Parental Assistance.--The Clearinghouse shall produce
materials to assist parents and legal guardians of students with
identifying relevant Clearinghouse resources related to supporting the
implementation of Clearinghouse best practices and recommendations.''.
(b) Technical Amendments.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 116 Stat. 2135)
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2215 the
following:
``Sec. 2216. Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices.''.
SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE.
(a) Notification by the Secretary of Education.--The Secretary of
Education shall provide written notification of the publication of the
Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices (referred to in
this section and section 4 as the ``Clearinghouse''), as required to be
established under section 2216 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
added by section 2 of this Act, to--
(1) every State and local educational agency; and
(2) other Department of Education partners in the
implementation of the best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of
Education.
(b) Notification by the Secretary of Homeland Security.--The
Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide written notification of
the publication of the Clearinghouse, as required to be established
under section 2216 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by
section 2 of this Act, to--
(1) every State homeland security advisor;
(2) every State department of homeland security; and
(3) other Department of Homeland Security partners in the
implementation of the best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of
Homeland Security.
(c) Notification by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.--
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide written
notification of the publication of the Clearinghouse, as required to be
established under section 2216 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
added by section 2 of this Act, to--
(1) every State department of public health; and
(2) other Department of Health and Human Services partners
in the implementation of the best practices and recommendations
of the Clearinghouse, as determined appropriate by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(d) Notification by the Attorney General.--The Attorney General
shall provide written notification of the publication of the
Clearinghouse, as required to be established under section 2216 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act, to--
(1) every State department of justice; and
(2) other Department of Justice partners in the
implementation of the best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse, as determined appropriate by the Attorney
General.
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM REVIEW.
(a) Federal Grants and Resources.--The Secretary of Education, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and the Attorney General shall each--
(1) review grant programs administered by their respective
agency and identify any grant program that may be used to
implement best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse;
(2) identify any best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse for which there is not a Federal grant program
that may be used for the purposes of implementing the best
practice or recommendation as applicable to the agency; and
(3) periodically report any findings under paragraph (2) to
the appropriate committees of Congress.
(b) State Grants and Resources.--The Clearinghouse shall, to the
extent practicable, identify, for each State--
(1) each agency responsible for school safety in the State,
or any State that does not have such an agency designated;
(2) any grant program that may be used for the purposes of
implementing best practices and recommendations of the
Clearinghouse; and
(3) any resources other than grant programs that may be
used to assist in implementation of best practices and
recommendations of the Clearinghouse.
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Waiver of Requirements.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments
made by this Act shall be construed to create, satisfy, or waive any
requirement under--
(1) title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.);
(2) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.);
(3) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.);
(4) title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C.
1681 et seq.); or
(5) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et
seq.).
(b) Prohibition on Federally Developed, Mandated, or Endorsed
Curriculum.--Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act
shall be construed to authorize any officer or employee of the Federal
Government to engage in an activity otherwise prohibited under section
103(b) of the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C.
3403(b)).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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