IACLEA Urges Passage of Campus Safety Bill

In response to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, Chairman Patrick Leahy of the Senate Judiciary Committee has combined several pre-existing bills into a comprehensive package that would provide for improvements in school safety and law enforcement. This legislation was approved by Committee and is waiting for full consideration by the Senate.

The Senate package -- titled The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007 ("SSLEIA") -- combines four bills previously reported to or by the Senate Judiciary Committee, with some modifications:

• The School Safety Enhancements Act (S.1217)
• The NICS Improvement Amendments Act (H.R. 2640)
• The Equity in Law Enforcement Act (S.1448)
• The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007 (S.376)

The bill would, among other things,:

• Establish a National Center for Campus Public Safety to foster collaboration among campus safety stakeholders by serving as a focal point for research, model policies and best practices, education, and public policy formulation to enhance the safety and security of U.S. college and university campuses
• Establish a $50 million grant program for institutions of higher education to use for their campus public safety offices, in a 50-50 match.

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) is urging passage of act. A bill Summary and Legislative Alert and Sample Letter distributed by IACLEA provides more information.