Bill Summary
The Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2020 is a bill that aims to provide grants to the Secretary of Education to support fire safety education programs on college campuses. The purpose of this bill is to increase fire safety awareness and training for students attending institutions of higher education. Key definitions in this bill include the Administrator, who is the head of the United States Fire Administration, and eligible entity, which refers to an institution of higher education or consortium of institutions in partnership with a non-profit organization or public safety department. The bill establishes a competitive grant program to award grants to eligible entities for initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs. These grants can be used to reach all students enrolled in the institution, provide fire safety information, and conduct evaluations on the effectiveness of the program. The Secretary is required to report to Congress on the number and types of entities receiving assistance and the best practices for fire safety education programs. The bill authorizes $15 million for each fiscal year from 2020-2024 to carry out this program.
Possible Impacts
1) Students attending institutions of higher education may receive more comprehensive fire safety education and training as a result of the grant program established by this bill.
2) Non-profit organizations and public safety departments may benefit from collaborative partnerships with institutions of higher education to improve fire safety education programs.
3) The Secretary of Education and the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration may have increased responsibilities and workload as they establish and oversee the grant program and evaluate its effectiveness.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3209 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3209
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support fire
safety education programs on college campuses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 16, 2020
Mr. Menendez introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to support fire
safety education programs on college campuses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Campus Fire Safety Education Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to help provide fire safety education
and training to students attending institutions of higher education.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Fire Administration of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
institution of higher education, or consortium of institutions
of higher education located in the same State, in a
collaborative partnership with a nonprofit organization or a
public safety department. Such a collaborative partnership may
also include a social fraternity or sorority exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, the active membership of which consists primarily of
students enrolled at the institution or institutions.
(3) Fire safety education program.--The term ``fire safety
education program'' means a program that provides fire safety
and prevention activities.
(4) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given to
such term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1001).
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CAMPUS FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION COMPETITIVE
GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Authorization of Grant Program.--From the amounts appropriated
under section 7, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator,
shall establish a grant program to award grants, on a competitive
basis, to eligible entities for--
(1) initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety
education programs at institutions of higher education; and
(2) increasing fire safety awareness among students
enrolled at such institutions, including students living in
off-campus housing.
(b) Application.--To seek a grant under this Act, an eligible
entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
(c) Selection Priority.--In making grants under this Act, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that plan to use
grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education
programs that include educational material specifically prepared for
students with disabilities.
(d) Grant Period.--Grants under this Act shall be awarded for not
longer than a 2-year period, and may be renewed for an additional 2-
year period, at the Secretary's discretion.
(e) Grant Size.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary
shall ensure that grants awarded under this Act are of
sufficient size and scope to enable eligible entities to carry
out all required activities and otherwise meet the purpose of
this Act.
(2) Maximum amount.--An eligible entity may not be awarded
more than $250,000 per fiscal year under this Act.
(f) Matching Requirement.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this Act shall provide non-Federal matching funds in an amount
equal to not less than 25 percent of the costs of the activities for
which assistance is sought. Such non-Federal matching funds may be in
cash or in-kind.
(g) Supplement Not Supplant.--Funds made available under this Act
shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other Federal, State, or
private funds that would otherwise be expended to carry out fire safety
education programs.
SEC. 5. REQUIRED USES OF FUNDS.
(a) Required Uses of Funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant
under this Act shall use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a
fire safety education program that--
(1) in the case of an eligible entity that is an
institution of higher education, reaches, to the extent
practicable, all students enrolled in the institution of higher
education, including students living on-campus and off-campus;
(2) is carried out in a manner to ensure maximum exposure
to, increase awareness of, and effectuate change in behavior
with respect to fire safety by students through--
(A) conducting outreach to students at a minimum of
twice per academic year (at the beginning of the fall
and spring semesters, or the equivalent); and
(B) measures that provide fire safety information
to any student upon the request of the student;
(3) includes minimum instruction with respect to--
(A) awareness of fire behavior;
(B) mechanisms of fire injury and death;
(C) common ignition scenarios;
(D) fire safety systems such as automatic fire
sprinklers;
(E) fire alarms;
(F) fire extinguishers;
(G) importance of means of egress;
(H) fire prevention techniques that may prevent a
fire from occurring (such as candle safety, cooking
safety, and smoking safety); and
(I) fire safety actions to be taken if a fire
occurs to minimize the potential for death, injury, and
property damage (such as knowing how to use a fire
extinguisher, how to put out a cooking fire, calling
911, and evacuating); and
(4) includes a mechanism for carrying out the evaluations
described in subsection (b).
(b) Evaluations.--Not later than 6 months after the end of an
eligible entity's grant period, the eligible entity shall--
(1) conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness of the
program carried out by the eligible entity in increasing
awareness or improving fire safety behavior at such eligible
entity; and
(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on the
results of the evaluation conducted by the entity.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
(a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 12 months after the date of
receipt of the first report submitted pursuant to section 5(b)(2) and
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall provide to Congress a report
that includes the following:
(1) The number and types of eligible entities receiving
assistance under this Act.
(2) The fire safety education programs being implemented
with assistance under this Act and the costs of such programs.
(3) Any other information determined by the Secretary to be
useful in evaluating the overall effectiveness of the program
established under this Act in improving the fire safety
knowledge of college students.
(b) Best Practices Report.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Administrator, shall use the information provided under subsection (a)
to publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or
improving fire safety education programs that shall be made available
to all institutions of higher education and other interested parties.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act
$15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024.
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