International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
Washington Office: PO Box 468/Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 PHONE: (304) 702-1698
Website: www.iaclea.org
ISSUE BRIEF
NATIONAL CENTER FOR CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY
Goal: To secure ongoing funding for research and program development for the National Center for
Campus Public Safety.
Background: The National Center for Campus Public Safety was approved in the House of
Representatives, without objection, for three Congresses in a row. Senate Committee approval was
sidetracked by unrelated issues and has never come to a vote. Nonetheless, funding was appropriated
for the Center in 2013 and 2014 under the Omnibus Appropriations Acts for those years.
A total of $4.3 million has been allocated for this period, or about 25 cents total for all postsecondary
students over the life of the appropriated budget.
The purpose of the Center is to research challenges in college and university safety and provide best
practices for campus public safety professionals to keep facilities open and safe. Along with student,
faculty and staff protection, campus public safety officers ensure the safety of critical research projects,
on site nuclear reactors, waste from university hospitals and crowd management for sports and cultural
performances on campus.
Much like firefighters who have the resources of the National Fire Academy and local law enforcement
who can rely on the FBI, campus public safety now has a federal center to conduct research and provide
training for a large but historically unfunded sector of first responders. This is an area of federal
responsibility because of the critical military, technological and medical research that occurs on
campuses as well as education of tomorrow’s leaders.
Process: The two years of appropriations without authorization has started the Center and IACLEA is
grateful that Congress has recognized the importance of this initiative. The challenges and incidents
that led to the creation of a Center, however, will not be addressed in four years and we are requesting
an authorization be passed along with modest annual contributions to ensure the Center continues its
important work.
House sponsor Bobby Scott (VA) has introduced HR 359 and Mark Warner (VA) has introduced its
companion bill S. 433.
Request: IACLEA asks that authorization of the existing Center be passed in order to ensure ongoing
support for this critical initiative.
IACLEA is a professional association of more than 1200 institutional members, representing half of
traditional college and university public safety agencies. IACLEA is a leader in professional training,
accreditation and best practices support to maintain open and safe campuses for 17 million students.
International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
Washington Office: PO Box 468/Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 PHONE: (304) 702-1698
Website: www.iaclea.org
ISSUE BRIEF
EQUITY IN BENEFITS FOR SWORN OFFICERS
Goal: To secure federal death benefit eligibility for sworn officers killed in the line of duty at private
institutions of higher education.
Background: Sworn officers at public colleges and universities are eligible for federal death benefits if
killed in the line of duty. Those officers with the same responsibilities and training who are employed at
private institutions are not. This inequity is based on the source of the paycheck, not the
responsibilities and powers of the officers who are trained and sworn like their municipal colleagues.
With the definition of a campus extended to surrounding neighborhoods, there is no distinction
between campus public safety officers and officers with the municipality or county that grants them
traditional law enforcement powers. Even President Obama’s house in Chicago is part of a private
university’s jurisdiction.
The recent death of Office Sean Collier of MIT during the search for the Boston Marathon bombers is an
example of a privately employed law enforcement officer sworn to the responsibilities of his host
community. A Cambridge officer, or an officer at the University of Massachusetts-Boston would be
eligible for federal death benefits if killed in the same circumstances as Officer Collier. Officer Collier’s
family was not eligible.
IACLEA believes if the responsibilities are equal to municipal officers and police powers granted by the
municipality, then officers regardless of the source of their compensation should be treated equally.
Process: In the House of Representatives, legislation has been introduced to bring about this equity.
H.R. 2235 garnered the support of the entire Massachusetts delegation. In the Senate, Jack Reed of
Rhode Island has agreed to introduce a companion bill if he can attract cosponsors.
Request: Support for this legislation will bring about equity among public safety officers with equal
responsibilities and we urge your cosponsorship.
IACLEA is a professional association of more than 1200 institutional members, representing half of
traditional college and university public safety agencies. IACLEA is a leader in professional training,
accreditation and best practices support to maintain open and safe campuses for 17 million students.
International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
Washington Office: PO Box 468/Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 PHONE: (304) 702-1698
Website: www.iaclea.org
ISSUE BRIEF
REGULATORY REFORM IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Goal: To re-evaluate current laws and regulations which institutions of higher education must meet
under the Higher Education Act.
Background: Over the past 20 years, Congress has required greater transparency in higher education to
allow prospective and current students information on student aid costs and campus safety. These
goals are shared by IACLEA. However, as the law has been amended over the past two decades and
regulations have become a 600-page book of guidance for three pages of law, IACLEA believes that
changes can be made that protect the integrity of the original disclosure intent, but in a way that is less
onerous and easier to understand.
Process: Last year, a bipartisan group of Senators asked the higher education community to report on
laws and regulations that were duplicative, unclear and costly. IACLEA is part of that working group of
12 college and university presidents who will submit their report in December. Even before the Senate
Task Force, House Education Committee Chair initiated a review of oppressive regulations.
Among the examples of over-regulation is one incident that under current law and regulations would
need to be reported 31 times. Certainly prospective and current students should be aware of crimes
and incidents on campus. However, what do 31 reports of the same incident mean? How does a
student read the information? Did something happen 31 times? The answer is no, there was one
horrific incident that by regulation must be reported as 31 times.
Another example is required reporting of categories of crime and incidents that are not in state criminal
code. For example, in federal law and regulation, gender violence is listed in several ways, including
date rape. However, only Texas has that kind of crime on the books. Assault and rape in standard
crime reporting codes (maintained by the FBI) would capture the crime, without campus police asking
the victim and the perpetrator if they were dating. What is served by adding a category not recognized
by 49 states and that can be captured by other means?
We believe information should be readily available to students, their parents and those on campus. We
do not, however, believe that the Department of Education should be in the business of defining crimes
when categories of behavior are already captured in existing Department of Justice criteria. Nor do we
believe that over-reporting of a crime or incident adds more to understanding the safety of a campus.
Request:
When the report is submitted to Congress in December of this year, we ask you carefully consider its
recommendations and support resulting bipartisan legislation, as well as direction which will be
recommended on US Department of Education rulemaking policies.