Protecting Students from Cybercrimes Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7530 To direct the Attorney General to make grants to assist local educational agencies in developing and implementing plans to address cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. HARDER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Attorney General to make grants to assist local educational agencies in developing and imple- menting plans to address cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities, 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 ‘‘Protecting Students 4 from Cybercrimes Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7530.IH H7530 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7530 IH (1) Educational institutions across the country 1 are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyber at- 2 tacks with the switch to online instruction during 3 the COVID–19 pandemic. 4 (2) Cyber attacks put sensitive and confidential 5 information at risk of disclosure. 6 (3) Increased cyber attacks place sensitive stu- 7 dent information, such as student academic achieve- 8 ment records, grades, medical records, and other 9 personal identifiable information at risk. 10 (4) School districts are not sufficiently equipped 11 to prevent damaging cyber attacks. Increased fund- 12 ing and guidance from the Federal Government are 13 needed to adequately prepare for and defend against 14 potential cyber attacks. 15 (5) Increased Federal funding and guidance will 16 give school districts the ability to reduce their risk 17 and exposure to cyber attacks. 18 (6) Increased Federal funding to school dis- 19 tricts will enable school district residents to pursue 20 formal education, training, and industry recognized 21 certifications for careers in cybersecurity, which will 22 aid in the prevention and mitigation of the effects of 23 future attacks. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7530.IH H7530 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7530 IH (7) Increased Federal funding and guidance will 1 allow school districts, campuses, and institutions of 2 higher education to share information and analysis 3 to prevent future cyber attacks. 4 SEC. 3. SCHOOL CYBERCRIME PROTECTION GRANT PRO- 5 GRAM. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Attorney General, acting 7 through the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investiga- 8 tion (referred to in this section as the ‘‘FBI Director’’), 9 is authorized to make grants to any local educational 10 agency (as such term is defined in section 8101 of the 11 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 12 U.S.C. 7801)) or group of local educational agencies to 13 assist in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and 14 responding to cybercrimes. 15 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 16 (1) LIMITATIONS.—Any grant awarded under 17 this section shall supplement and not supplant local 18 educational agency or local funds, as applicable, and 19 may not be used— 20 (A) to provide any Federal cost-sharing 21 contribution on behalf of a local educational 22 agency; or 23 (B) for any recreational or social purpose. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7530.IH H7530 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7530 IH (2) APPROVED ACTIVITIES FOR GRANTS.—A 1 local educational agency that receives funds through 2 this grant program shall use such funds for one or 3 more of the following activities: 4 (A) Supporting or enhancing information 5 sharing and analysis organizations. 6 (B) Implementing or coordinating systems 7 and services that use cyber threat indicators (as 8 such term is defined in section 102 of the Cy- 9 bersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (6 10 U.S.C. 1501)) to address cybersecurity threats 11 or vulnerabilities. 12 (C) Preventing, preparing for, protecting 13 against, and responding to cybercrimes, includ- 14 ing coordinating with— 15 (i) emergency management elements 16 of the State in which the local educational 17 agency is located, municipality, and local 18 educational agency; 19 (ii) Federal Bureau of Investigation 20 or Department of Homeland Security 21 units, as appropriate; 22 (iii) entities associated with critical in- 23 frastructure or key resources; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7530.IH H7530 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7530 IH (iv) information sharing and analysis 1 organizations; 2 (v) public safety answering points; or 3 (vi) nongovernmental organizations 4 engaged in cybersecurity research as an in- 5 formation analysis and sharing organiza- 6 tion designated by the Federal Bureau of 7 Investigation or the Department of Home- 8 land Security. 9 (D) Establishing programs, such as schol- 10 arships or apprenticeships, to provide financial 11 assistance to students served by the local edu- 12 cational agency who— 13 (i) pursue formal education, training, 14 and industry-recognized certifications for 15 careers in cybersecurity as identified by the 16 National Initiative for Cybersecurity Edu- 17 cation; and 18 (ii) commit to working for a local edu- 19 cational agency for not less than 2 years. 20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 21 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 22 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:10 Aug 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7530.IH H7530 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS