119th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the development of a national strategy to secure elementary and secondary schools against acts of terrorism and ensure domestic preparedness for and the response to terrorism, and for other purposes.
December 15, 2025
Mrs. Capito (for herself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the development of a national strategy to secure elementary and secondary schools against acts of terrorism and ensure domestic preparedness for and the response to terrorism, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “National Strategy for School Security Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. National strategy to secure schools from threats of terrorism.
(a) In general.—Subtitle A of title XXII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 2220F. National strategy to secure schools from threats of terrorism.
“(a) In general.—To assist in the domestic preparedness for and response to acts of terrorism and to coordinate Federal efforts to secure elementary schools and secondary schools (as such terms are defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the National Strategy for School Security Act of 2025, the Secretary, in consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of Education and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies and departments, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives a national school security strategy (in this section referred to as the ‘strategy’).
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of Education and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies and departments, shall, if appropriate, annually through 2033, update the strategy and brief the committees specified in subsection (a) concerning any such update.
“(2) CERTIFICATION.—If the Secretary determines no such updates to be appropriate, the Secretary shall submit to such committees a certification attesting thereto.
“(c) Contents.—The strategy, including any updates thereto, shall—
“(1) account for and describe all Federal programs, projects, activities, and authorities to secure elementary and secondary schools from acts of terrorism, including the associated spending levels of such Federal programs, projects, activities, and authorities;
“(2) identify specific school security vulnerabilities related to acts of terrorism within the United States, and delineate goals for closing such security vulnerabilities;
“(3) describe actions to be taken to achieve such goals and the means necessary to do so, including steps to reform, improve, and streamline existing efforts to align the current threat environment to elementary and secondary schools; and
“(4) build upon existing or ongoing evaluations and avoid unnecessary duplication by reviewing the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other appropriate working groups, committees, commissions, or entities established by the Department related to efforts to secure elementary and secondary schools against terrorism within the United States and ensure domestic preparedness for and the response to terrorism.”.
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2220E the following:
“Sec. 2220F. National strategy to secure schools from threats of terrorism.”.