ACUHO-I News Blog

The ACUHO-I Central Office regularly gets calls about legislation, particularly whether we represent the interests of housing professionals in Washington, D.C. We do! A lobbyist in Washington works on behalf of ACUHO-I and a consortium of other student affairs organizations. Our lobbyist keeps us updated on potential legislation and the rule-making process that follows passage of a bill. ACUHO-I’s Public Policy Advisory committee, chaired by Bill Fox, gathers opinions and thoughts on legislation and rules and forwards these to our lobbyist. I am the committee’s liaison, and assist them with anything they need from the Central Office or ACUHO-I at large.

If there is legislation in which you are particularly interested or in which you have expertise, the committee would love to hear from you. Especially when legislation is being debated in Congress or during the rule-making period (when the parameters of a law are set and its enforcement determined) it is important for professionals in the field to contribute their thoughts on proposed laws or rules.

As you likely know, there’s been a lot of action on Capitol Hill concerning higher education and particularly the student affairs and safety sides of things, and our committee has been working hard on ACUHO-I’s response to these issues. In the rule-making process right now is legislation on fire safety reporting; crime statistics and institutional security policy reporting (including missing persons reporting); emergency procedures; readmission requirements for service members; and file-sharing education. Obviously, housing is very closely connected to  many of these issues and we’re particularly interested in some of these, particularly the fire safety reporting. Check out this letter: Letter to Dept of Ed for HEOA Draft. It was written by ACUHO-I and our partner associations, regarding our thoughts on the rule-making process. If you can contribute your professional thoughts, we would greatly appreciate it.

Last year, Congress passed a number of laws dealing with campus safety; among these were the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know regulations, which were included in the Higher Education Act. These regulations require institutions to report the number of fires, deaths in fires, and injuries from fires; how many beds are in halls with sprinklers and fire alarms; and the fire safety training provided to students and staff.

However, like all laws, there’s the rules, and then there are the rules that make up the rules. And this is the part of the process the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know legislation has reached. The US Department of Education is in the rule-making stage of the process, and they are seeking input.

Campus Firewatch has set up a handy site for those who would like to contribute their thoughts on how best this legislation can be worded and executed. If you would like to participate as a member of ACUHO-I through our Public Policy Advisory Committee, let us know!