[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5229 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5229
To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 21, 2019
Mr. Diaz-Balart (for himself, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Rutherford, 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
2019''.
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 2214 the following:
``SEC. 2215. 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 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 has been shown to
have a significant effect on improving the health,
safety, and welfare of persons in school settings,
including--
``(i) evidence from an experimental or
quasi-experimental study;
``(ii) high-quality research findings or a
positive evaluation that such activity,
strategy, or intervention is likely to improve
the health, safety, and welfare of persons in
school settings;
``(iii) findings and data from previous
Federal or State commissions relating to school
climate, health, safety, and welfare; or
``(iv) any other supporting evidence or
findings relied upon by the Clearinghouse in
determining best practices and recommendations;
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 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 provided by Federal Government programs
for implementation; and
``(B) establish an external advisory board, which
shall be comprised of appropriate State, local, 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 and engaging with
appropriate officials to support 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 2214 the
following:
``Sec. 2215. 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 2215 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 2215 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 2215 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 2215 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 all grant programs administered by their
respective agency and identify any grant program that may be
used to award grants for the purposes of implementing 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 awarded for the purposes of implementing the best
practice or recommendation; and
(3) 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 to award grants 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. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
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.).
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