According to an announcement posted last week in the Federal Register, the maximum fine that can now be levied upon a college for a violation of the Clery Act has been raised to $35,000.
The U.S. Department of Education said that penalty, which had been a maximum of $27,500 per violation of the law, was adjusted for inflation.
"The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Inflation Adjustment Act) (28 U.S.C. 2461 note) provides for the regular evaluation of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) to ensure that they continue to maintain their deterrent value," the announcement states.
Named after Jeanne Clery, a freshman student at Lehigh University who raped and murdered in her campus residence hall in 1986, the act requires colleges and university that receive federal funds to disclose information about crimes that have occurred on and near their campuses. An amendment to the act passed after the Virginia Tech shooting massacre also requires schools to immediately notify students and staff members about an emergency on campus.
Click here to read the full announcement (PDF 245.5 KB).
