The federal requirement for a school safety plan is outlined in the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, commonly known as the Clery Act. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal student financial aid programs to develop and publish an annual security report that includes certain safety-related policies, procedures, and crime statistics.
The Clery Act requires that schools include specific information in their security reports, including:
- The school’s crime statistics for the previous three years.
- Information about the school’s policies and procedures related to campus safety and security.
- Information about crime prevention programs and services offered by the school.
- Information about the school’s emergency response and evacuation procedures.
- Information about the school’s policies and procedures for addressing and reporting incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
- Information about the school’s drug and alcohol policies and prevention programs.
While the Clery Act only applies to colleges and universities that receive federal student financial aid, many states and school districts have adopted similar requirements for K-12 schools to develop and implement comprehensive safety plans. These plans may include many of the same elements as Clery Act-compliant security reports, such as emergency response protocols, crime prevention programs, and policies for addressing incidents of violence and harassment.
Example Reports:
Michigan State University: 2022 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report
Davenport University: 2022 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report
Central Michigan University: 2022 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report
March 2020 Update
The most recent changes to the Clery Act were made in March 2020, when the Department of Education published the final rule amending the Clery Act regulations. The changes include:
- Expanding the definition of sexual harassment to include quid pro quo and hostile environment harassment, which aligns with Title IX regulations.
- Requiring institutions to report stalking and domestic violence in addition to existing crime categories.
- Adding hazing as a reportable crime category.
- Requiring institutions to compile and publish hate crime statistics for all categories of prejudice, including gender identity and national origin.
- Requiring institutions to include specific policies and procedures in their annual security reports, such as those related to prevention and response to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
- Requiring institutions to provide survivor-centered and trauma-informed services to individuals who report or experience sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking.
- Requiring institutions to include information about prevention and response to cyberbullying and electronic harassment in their annual security reports.
- Allowing institutions to provide annual security reports electronically and requiring institutions to make their crime statistics publicly available on their website.
These changes aim to strengthen the Clery Act’s requirements for campus safety and to better address sexual harassment and other forms of violence on college and university campuses.
Clery Act Appendix for FSA Handbook
| Every new federal law involving paperwork creates an uncountable number of trade associations and compliance enterprises. A simple web search on “Cleary Act” will reveal half the internet full of pages for more information. Our focus is on the user-side — i.e. making inquiries and pushing back on the gaudy proliferation of regulatory requirements, the integrity of purpose of the law notwithstanding. We maintain this title on the standing agenda on all of our Security colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone. |
