A proposed requirement that colleges warn their campuses of emergencies within 30 minutesâ??a provision that is already in one bill pending in Congressâ??is the focus of another measure that was proposed on Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Democrat of New York, introduced the new bill at a time when staff members from the House and Senate are preparing to hash out their differences over legislation to renew the Higher Education Act, the main federal law that governs colleges and universities that receive federal aid. The House version of the higher-education bill includes the 30-minute requirement, but the Senate’s version sets no time limit, saying instead that emergency notification should be “reasonable and timely.”