(a) Establishment

(1) In general

The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish a Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Evidence-based Practices (in this section referred to as the “Clearinghouse”) within the Department.

(2) Purpose

The Clearinghouse shall serve as a Federal resource to identify and publish online through SchoolSafety.gov, or any successor website, evidence-based practices and recommendations to improve school safety for use by State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, State and local law enforcement agencies, health professionals, and the general public.

(3) Personnel

(A) Assignments

The Clearinghouse shall be assigned such personnel and resources as the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section.

(B) Detailees

The Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services may detail personnel to the Clearinghouse.

(4) Exemptions

(A) Paperwork Reduction Act

Chapter 35 of title 44 (commonly known as the “Paperwork Reduction Act”), shall not apply to any rulemaking or information collection required under this section.

(B) Federal Advisory Committee Act

The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) ¹ shall not apply for the purposes of carrying out this section.

(b) Clearinghouse contents

(1) Consultation

In identifying the evidence-based practices and recommendations for the Clearinghouse, the Secretary shall—

(A) consult with appropriate Federal, State, local, Tribal, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations, including civil rights and disability rights organizations; and

(B) consult with the Secretary of Education to ensure that evidence-based practices published by the Clearinghouse are aligned with evidence-based practices to support a positive and safe learning environment for all students.

(2) Criteria for evidence-based practices and recommendations

The evidence-based practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse shall—

(A) include comprehensive evidence-based school safety measures;

(B) include the evidence or research rationale supporting the determination of the Clearinghouse that the evidence-based practice or recommendation under subparagraph (A) has been shown to have a significant effect on improving the health, safety, and welfare of persons in school settings, including—

(i) relevant research that is evidence-based, as defined in section 7801 of title 20, supporting the evidence-based practice or recommendation;

(ii) findings and data from previous Federal or State commissions recommending improvements to the safety posture of a school; or

(iii) other supportive evidence or findings relied upon by the Clearinghouse in determining evidence-based practices and recommendations, as determined in consultation with the officers described in subsection (a)(3)(B);

(C) include information on Federal programs for which implementation of each evidence-based practice or recommendation is an eligible use for the program;

(D) be consistent with Federal civil rights laws, including title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); and

(E) include options for developmentally appropriate recommendations for use in educational settings with respect to children’s ages and physical, social, sensory, and emotionally developmental statuses.

(3) Past commission recommendations

The Clearinghouse shall present, as determined in consultation with the officers described in subsection (a)(3)(B), Federal, State, local, Tribal, private sector, and nongovernmental organization issued best practices and recommendations and identify any best practice or recommendation of the Clearinghouse that was previously issued by any such organization or commission.

(c) Assistance and training

The Secretary may produce and publish materials on the Clearinghouse to assist and train educational agencies and law enforcement agencies on the implementation of the evidence-based practices and recommendations.

(d) Continuous improvement

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The Secretary shall—

(1) collect for the purpose of continuous improvement of the Clearinghouse—

(A) Clearinghouse data analytics;

(B) user feedback on the implementation of resources, evidence-based practices, and recommendations identified by the Clearinghouse; and

(C) any evaluations conducted on implementation of the evidence-based practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and

(2) in coordination with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General—

(A) regularly assess and identify Clearinghouse evidence-based practices and recommendations for which there are no resources available through Federal Government programs for implementation; and

(B) establish an external advisory board, which shall be comprised of appropriate State, local, Tribal, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations, including organizations representing parents of elementary and secondary school students, representative ² from civil rights organizations, representatives of disability rights organizations, representatives of educators, representatives of law enforcement, and nonprofit school safety and security organizations, to—

(i) provide feedback on the implementation of evidence-based practices and recommendations of the Clearinghouse; and

(ii) propose additional recommendations for evidence-based practices for inclusion in the Clearinghouse that meet the requirements described in subsection (b)(2)(B).

(e) Parental assistance

The Clearinghouse shall produce materials in accessible formats to assist parents and legal guardians of students with identifying relevant Clearinghouse resources related to supporting the implementation of Clearinghouse evidence-based practices and recommendations.