101st Congress (1989-1990)

Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1989 (H.R. 3344 by Rep. Goodling)

Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1989 (S. 1925 by Sen. Specter)

Campus Safety and Security Act of 1989 (S. 1930 by Sen. Gore)

Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act (H.R. 1454 by Rep. Towns)

Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act (S. 580 by Sen. Bradley)

1990 Congressional Testimony

102nd Congress (1991-1992)

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 (H.R. 2363 by Rep. Ramstad)

Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 (S. 1222 by Sen. Biden)

Higher Education Technical Amendments of 1991 (H.R. 1285 by Rep. Ford)

Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (S. 1150 by Sen. Pell)

104th Congress (1995-1996)

Open Campus Police Logs Act of 1995 (H.R. 2416 by Rep. Duncan)

Open Campus Police Logs Act of 1996 (S. 2065 by Sen. Feinstein)

H. RES. 470 (by Rep. Goodling)

105th Congress (1997-1998)

Accuracy in Campus Crime Reporting Act of 1997 (H.R. 715 by Rep. Duncan)

Campus Crime Disclosure Act of 1998 (S. 2100 by Sen. Specter)

Campus Hate Crimes Right to Know Act of 1997 (H.R. 3043 by Rep. Franks)

Campus Hate Crimes Right to Know Act of 1997 (S.1493 by Sen. Torricelli)

Higher Education Amendments of 1998 (H.R. 6 by Rep. McKeon)

1997 Congressional Hearing

1998 U.S. Senate Hearing (PDF)

106th Congress (1999-2000)

Campus Protection Act (H.R.4407 by Rep. Salmon)

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 3244 by Rep. Smith)

The "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act" (originally known as the "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990") requires colleges and universities to disclose campus crime information that before it was enacted many schools had been able to keep secret. It is a federal law that applies to all institutions of higher education, both public and private, in the United States which participate in federal student aid programs.

The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19 year old Lehigh University freshman Jeanne Ann Clery (pictured left) who was assaulted and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986. She was killed by another student she didn't know who had entered her residence hall through a "propped open" door to burglarize his fellow students' rooms.

Jeanne's parents, Connie and Howard, led the crusade to enact the original "Campus Security Act" after they discovered that students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years preceding her murder. They began by getting a campus crime reporting law enacted in their home state of Pennsylvania before joining with other campus crime victims to set their sights on a national law.

The "Clery Bill" (H.R.3344, S.1925, S.1930) was introduced in Congress on September 6, 1989, and was signed into law on November 8, 1990 by President George Bush as Title 2 of the "Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act." It took effect September 1, 1991 and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) was charged with enforcing the law. For the first time institutions of higher education across the country had to release campus crime statistics and security policies to their current and prospective students or employees.

The law was amended in 1992 to include specific basic rights that schools were required to afford to survivors of sexual assaults, especially student-on-student assaults or date-rapes. The provisions of this amendment the "Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights" were incorporated into the required policy disclosures.

Amendments in 1998 added new categories to the crime statistics, an obligation to report statistics for public property in and immediately adjacent to the campus, a geographic breakdown of statistics, and a daily public crime log for schools with a police or security department. The law was also amended to require the DOE to centrally collect the crime statistics and make them publicly available.

These amendments also formally named the law in memory of Jeanne Clery. They were signed into law on October 7, 1998 by President Bill Clinton as a part of the "Higher Education Amendments Of 1998." The law was most recently amended in 2000 to require schools beginning in 2003 to notify the campus community about where public "Megan's Law" information about registered sex offenders on campus could be obtained.

The current regulations permit schools to comply with their disclosure obligations by posting information to a web site as long as paper copies are made available upon request. The DOE can fine schools up to $25,000 per violation or suspend them from student aid programs.

If you have any additional questions about the "Jeanne Clery Act" please call us at toll-free at 1-888-251-7959 or send e-mail to cleryact@securityoncampus.org.