Federal Law
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Sect 304
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act)
National Guidance Materials
On October 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education issued notice that it rescinded the 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting (Clery Handbook), the Department of Education’s guidance document interpreting the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The Clery Handbook was replaced by a Clery Act Appendix to the Financial Student Aid Handbook (Appendix).
This Appendix to the Federal Student Aid Handbook was developed by the U.S. Department of Education to assist postsecondary institutions in meeting the campus safety and security requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. Other than the statutory and regulatory requirements included in this document, the contents of the new Appendix do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public. The document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.
These reports are submitted under Section 203(b)(1) of the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979, Pub. L. No. 96–88, which provides: “The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights shall make an annual report to the Secretary, the President, and the Congress summarizing the compliance and enforcement activities of the Office for Civil Rights and identifying significant civil rights or compliance problems as to which such Office has made a recommendation for corrective action and as to which, in the judgment of the Assistant Secretary, adequate progress is not being made.” 20 U.S.C. §3413(b)(1).
U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Annual Reports
Documents posted in the OCR Reading Room were published in the Federal Register or were otherwise made available to the public. Policy and legal interpretations announced in these materials may have been superseded or modified by federal court decisions or by later interpretations of the legal requirements involved. Placement of the document in the reading room does not reflect its importance relative to other OCR documents or to court decisions. The list of OCR documents currently available is not all-inclusive.