Luke and Alex School Safety Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 102 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 111 [Report No. 117–29] To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs JULY 19, 2021 Reported by Mr. PETERS, without amendment 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Luke and Alex School 4 Safety Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 111 RS SEC. 2. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SCHOOL SAFETY 1 BEST PRACTICES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title XXII of the 3 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) 4 is amended by inserting after section 2215 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 2216. FEDERAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON SCHOOL SAFETY 6 BEST PRACTICES. 7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina- 9 tion with the Secretary of Education, the Attorney 10 General, and the Secretary of Health and Human 11 Services, shall establish a Federal Clearinghouse on 12 School Safety Best Practices (in this section referred 13 to as the ‘Clearinghouse’) within the Department. 14 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The Clearinghouse shall be 15 the primary resource of the Federal Government to 16 identify and publish online through 17 SchoolSafety.gov, or any successor website, the best 18 practices and recommendations for school safety for 19 use by State and local educational agencies, institu- 20 tions of higher education, State and local law en- 21 forcement agencies, health professionals, and the 22 general public. 23 ‘‘(3) PERSONNEL.— 24 ‘‘(A) ASSIGNMENTS.—The Clearinghouse 25 shall be assigned such personnel and resources 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 111 RS as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry 1 out this section. 2 ‘‘(B) DETAILEES.—The Secretary of Edu- 3 cation, the Attorney General, and the Secretary 4 of Health and Human Services may detail per- 5 sonnel to the Clearinghouse. 6 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTIONS.— 7 ‘‘(A) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT.— 8 Chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 9 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 10 Act’) shall not apply to any rulemaking or in- 11 formation collection required under this section. 12 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE 13 ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 14 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply for the purposes of 15 carrying out this section. 16 ‘‘(b) CLEARINGHOUSE CONTENTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION.—In identifying the best 18 practices and recommendations for the Clearing- 19 house, the Secretary may consult with appropriate 20 Federal, State, local, Tribal, private sector, and non- 21 governmental organizations. 22 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR BEST PRACTICES AND REC- 23 OMMENDATIONS.—The best practices and rec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 111 RS ommendations of the Clearinghouse shall, at a min- 1 imum— 2 ‘‘(A) involve comprehensive school safety 3 measures, including threat prevention, pre- 4 paredness, protection, mitigation, incident re- 5 sponse, and recovery to improve the safety pos- 6 ture of a school upon implementation; 7 ‘‘(B) include any evidence or research ra- 8 tionale supporting the determination of the 9 Clearinghouse that the best practice or rec- 10 ommendation under subparagraph (A) has been 11 shown to have a significant effect on improving 12 the health, safety, and welfare of persons in 13 school settings, including— 14 ‘‘(i) relevant research that is evidence- 15 based, as defined in section 8101 of the 16 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 17 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), supporting the 18 best practice or recommendation; 19 ‘‘(ii) findings and data from previous 20 Federal or State commissions recom- 21 mending improvements to the safety pos- 22 ture of a school; or 23 ‘‘(iii) other supportive evidence or 24 findings relied upon by the Clearinghouse 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 111 RS in determining best practices and rec- 1 ommendations to improve the safety pos- 2 ture of a school upon implementation; and 3 ‘‘(C) include information on Federal grant 4 programs for which implementation of each best 5 practice or recommendation is an eligible use 6 for the program. 7 ‘‘(3) PAST COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.— 8 To the greatest extent practicable, the Clearinghouse 9 shall present, as appropriate, Federal, State, local, 10 Tribal, private sector, and nongovernmental organi- 11 zation issued best practices and recommendations 12 and identify any best practice or recommendation of 13 the Clearinghouse that was previously issued by any 14 such organization or commission. 15 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—The Secretary 16 may produce and publish materials on the Clearinghouse 17 to assist and train educational agencies and law enforce- 18 ment agencies on the implementation of the best practices 19 and recommendations. 20 ‘‘(d) CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.—The Secretary 21 shall— 22 ‘‘(1) collect for the purpose of continuous im- 23 provement of the Clearinghouse— 24 ‘‘(A) Clearinghouse data analytics; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 111 RS ‘‘(B) user feedback on the implementation 1 of resources, best practices, and recommenda- 2 tions identified by the Clearinghouse; and 3 ‘‘(C) any evaluations conducted on imple- 4 mentation of the best practices and rec- 5 ommendations of the Clearinghouse; and 6 ‘‘(2) in coordination with the Secretary of Edu- 7 cation, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 8 and the Attorney General— 9 ‘‘(A) regularly assess and identify Clear- 10 inghouse best practices and recommendations 11 for which there are no resources available 12 through Federal Government programs for im- 13 plementation; and 14 ‘‘(B) establish an external advisory board, 15 which shall be comprised of appropriate State, 16 local, Tribal, private sector, and nongovern- 17 mental organizations, including organizations 18 representing parents of elementary and sec- 19 ondary school students, to— 20 ‘‘(i) provide feedback on the imple- 21 mentation of best practices and rec- 22 ommendations of the Clearinghouse; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 111 RS ‘‘(ii) propose additional recommenda- 1 tions for best practices for inclusion in the 2 Clearinghouse. 3 ‘‘(e) PARENTAL ASSISTANCE.—The Clearinghouse 4 shall produce materials to assist parents and legal guard- 5 ians of students with identifying relevant Clearinghouse 6 resources related to supporting the implementation of 7 Clearinghouse best practices and recommendations.’’. 8 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of con- 9 tents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 10 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended 11 by inserting after the item relating to section 2215 the 12 following: 13 ‘‘Sec. 2216. Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices.’’. SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION OF CLEARINGHOUSE. 14 (a) NOTIFICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF EDU- 15 CATION.—The Secretary of Education shall provide writ- 16 ten notification of the publication of the Federal Clearing- 17 house on School Safety Best Practices (referred to in this 18 section and section 4 as the ‘‘Clearinghouse’’), as required 19 to be established under section 2216 of the Homeland Se- 20 curity Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act, to— 21 (1) every State and local educational agency; 22 and 23 (2) other Department of Education partners in 24 the implementation of the best practices and rec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 111 RS ommendations of the Clearinghouse, as determined 1 appropriate by the Secretary of Education. 2 (b) NOTIFICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF HOME- 3 LAND SECURITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 4 shall provide written notification of the publication of the 5 Clearinghouse, as required to be established under section 6 2216 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as added 7 by section 2 of this Act, to— 8 (1) every State homeland security advisor; 9 (2) every State department of homeland secu- 10 rity; and 11 (3) other Department of Homeland Security 12 partners in the implementation of the best practices 13 and recommendations of the Clearinghouse, as deter- 14 mined appropriate by the Secretary of Homeland Se- 15 curity. 16 (c) NOTIFICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH 17 AND HUMAN SERVICES.—The Secretary of Health and 18 Human Services shall provide written notification of the 19 publication of the Clearinghouse, as required to be estab- 20 lished under section 2216 of the Homeland Security Act 21 of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act, to— 22 (1) every State department of public health; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 111 RS (2) other Department of Health and Human 1 Services partners in the implementation of the best 2 practices and recommendations of the Clearing- 3 house, as determined appropriate by the Secretary of 4 Health and Human Services. 5 (d) NOTIFICATION BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 6 The Attorney General shall provide written notification of 7 the publication of the Clearinghouse, as required to be es- 8 tablished under section 2216 of the Homeland Security 9 Act of 2002, as added by section 2 of this Act, to— 10 (1) every State department of justice; and 11 (2) other Department of Justice partners in the 12 implementation of the best practices and rec- 13 ommendations of the Clearinghouse, as determined 14 appropriate by the Attorney General. 15 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM REVIEW. 16 (a) FEDERAL GRANTS AND RESOURCES.—The Sec- 17 retary of Education, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 18 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the At- 19 torney General shall each— 20 (1) review grant programs administered by 21 their respective agency and identify any grant pro- 22 gram that may be used to implement best practices 23 and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 111 RS (2) identify any best practices and rec- 1 ommendations of the Clearinghouse for which there 2 is not a Federal grant program that may be used for 3 the purposes of implementing the best practice or 4 recommendation as applicable to the agency; and 5 (3) periodically report any findings under para- 6 graph (2) to the appropriate committees of Con- 7 gress. 8 (b) STATE GRANTS AND RESOURCES.—The Clearing- 9 house shall, to the extent practicable, identify, for each 10 State— 11 (1) each agency responsible for school safety in 12 the State, or any State that does not have such an 13 agency designated; 14 (2) any grant program that may be used for the 15 purposes of implementing best practices and rec- 16 ommendations of the Clearinghouse; and 17 (3) any resources other than grant programs 18 that may be used to assist in implementation of best 19 practices and recommendations of the Clearing- 20 house. 21 SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 22 (a) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this 23 Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 111 RS strued to create, satisfy, or waive any requirement 1 under— 2 (1) title II of the Americans With Disabilities 3 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.); 4 (2) the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 5 701 et seq.); 6 (3) title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 7 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); 8 (4) title IX of the Education Amendments of 9 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or 10 (5) the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 11 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.). 12 (b) PROHIBITION ON FEDERALLY DEVELOPED, MAN- 13 DATED, OR ENDORSED CURRICULUM.—Nothing in this 14 Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be con- 15 strued to authorize any officer or employee of the Federal 16 Government to engage in an activity otherwise prohibited 17 under section 103(b) of the Department of Education Or- 18 ganization Act (20 U.S.C. 3403(b)). 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 102 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 111 [Report No. 117–29] A BILL To establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best Practices, and for other purposes. JULY 19, 2021 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Jul 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S111.RS S111 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS