What is the Clery Act?

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) is a federal mandate requiring all institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in the federal student financial aid program to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities. The Clery Act affects virtually all public and private IHEs and is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Campuses that fail to comply with the act can be penalized with large fines and may be suspended from participating in the federal financial aid program.

The U.S. Department of Education created The Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting to present step-by-step procedures, examples, and references for higher education institutions to follow in meeting the campus safety and security requirements of the amended Higher Education Act of 1965.