Higher Education Safety: Recent Events Remind Colleges and Universities of the Importance of Complying with the Clery Act to Provide Safe Environments for Students and Staff

08.26.2024

Two recent events have triggered news coverage regarding college campus safety. Both involve the Clery Act.

First, in March 2024, an East Coast private university agreed to pay a $14 million fine to the United States Department of Education (“DOE”) for failing to comply with the Clery Act, and to spend another $2 million on remediation. This is the largest fine ever imposed for a Clery Act violation.

Second, in July 2024, the California State Auditor issued a report stating that of the six California colleges and universities examined, all six had fallen short in fulfilling their obligations under the Clery Act.

These events serve as reminders to all universities and colleges that they must comply with the Clery Act and related safety regulations to protect against potential fines and to provide a safe and secure environment for students, staff, and the public.

Multiple federal and California laws require colleges and universities to take specific steps to track, disclose, prevent, and redress crimes occurring on their properties. Chief among these “safety laws” is the federal “Clery Act,” which applies to universities and colleges participating in federal financial aid programs.

In brief, the Clery Act requires institutions to: 1) track and disclose, in an Annual Security Report published by October 1 of each year, certain crimes (“Clery Crimes”) occurring within a defined area (“Clery Geography”), 2) maintain a daily crime log recording all alleged crimes within the institution’s defined Clery Geography, 3) issue Emergency Notifications to the campus community, or an impacted segment of the community, if appropriate, when there is an immediate health or safety threat, 4) issue Timely Warnings to the entire campus community when a reported Clery Crime poses a serious or ongoing threat, 5) identify Campus Security Authorities and train them to ensure they report alleged crimes to the institution’s designated office, and 6) develop required policies, procedures and programs.

The DOE is empowered to enforce the Clery Act by conducting Campus Crime Program Reviews. The DOE can initiate these reviews randomly and when anyone files a complaint alleging the institution failed to meet a Clery Act requirement. The DOE is authorized to fine any institution in violation of the Clery Act, up to $70,000 per violation, which can be adjusted annually for inflation.

The record $14 million fine referenced above, which was three times higher than the previous record of $4.5 million, was the result of a multi-year investigation in which the DOE found serious and persistent violations of the Clery Act, such as inaccurate crime statistics and an inability to conduct competent investigations and to ensure that the needs of sexual assault survivors were met.

The highest fine against a California school is $2.35 million imposed against a public university for lacking sufficient administrative capability to oversee its Clery Act reporting. Among other violations, the DOE found this institution did not report hate crimes in two ASRs and did not disclose security policies in multiple ASRs.

The recent report by the California State Auditor involves two private institutions, two public universities, and two community colleges. Institutions were selected based on the number of reported crimes, geographic location, institution type, and previous audits. All six institutions were found not in compliance with the Clery Act. According to the State Auditor, the deficiencies identified include the following:

Five of the six institutions reported statistics in their Annual Security Report that were inaccurate or incomplete. One institution did not include all required crimes, while another reported more crimes than required.
Four of six institutions had incomplete daily crime logs.
None of the six institutions disclosed all campus safety policies, procedures, and programs, including campus emergency response and evacuation procedures.
Some institutions lacked adequate reference materials, such as desktop manuals, for staff to follow when preparing Clery Act reports.
Some institutions had not sufficiently trained their staff on the Clery Act and its requirements.
Five of six institutions had not fully complied with analogous state requirements, such as having campus‑specific safety plans and agreements with local police departments.

AALRR can help avoid such problems. AALRR has the experience and expertise to help colleges and universities implement compliant plans and to review existing plans for compliance. In the unfortunate event of a notice of non-compliance, AALRR can assist with a response and crafting a resolution,

For more information, please contact the authors of this alert or your regular AALRR counsel, or click here.