The Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act

April 2008

Following the horrific murders of 32 innocent students and faculty, and the wounding of about two-dozen others, at Virginia Tech a year ago, and after emergencies at other college campuses across the country it is clear that we need to do more to protect our nation’s campuses. One of the biggest lessons learned is that emergency warnings must truly be prompt; a period of several hours in the face of an immediate threat to the safety of students and employees is too long.

In response Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) has introduced the Virginia Tech Victims Campus Emergency Response Policy and Notification Act (VTV Act) with the support of many Virginia Tech victim families and the non-profit Security On Campus, Inc. This legislation, an amendment to the federal Jeanne Clery Act campus crime reporting law, will ensure that in the future warnings about immediate threats are sent out in a truly timely manner, in no more than 30 minutes so that community members can protect themselves. Currently the Clery Act doesn’t define timely letting individual schools decide how quickly to warn.

The VTV Act will require colleges and universities:

· To adopt an emergency response & evacuation policy so that when a disaster happens plans are in place to deal with it.

· To send warnings to students and staff within 30 minutes of an emergency on campus so that they’ll be able to take steps to avoid threats to their health and safety.

o Once schools confirm that an immediate threat exists they’ll implement their plan to initiate pre-planned warnings that provide timely, accurate and useful information.

o Schools can implement warning systems using existing technology, such as e-mail networks, but will also be encouraged to adopt the latest technological solutions including text-messaging systems.

· To publicize and test emergency response procedures at least annually to keep the plan current and the community involved as active partners.

The VTV Act will not micromanage how each college and university responds to emergencies. Each campus is unique and there is no one size fits all answer. But it will make sure that each has a plan in place that is right for them, and affords the level of protection their consumers expect.

Security On Campus, Inc. 133 Ivy Lane, Suite 200 King of Prussia, PA 19406