Clery Act Compliance for California Colleges and Universities

Quick Takeaway

Primary Insight: Clery Act compliance is a year-round system of recordkeeping, notification and disclosure for every institution that participates in federal student aid. Although the security report itself is only required once a year, the process itself is a set of ongoing responsibilities that must be performed throughout the year on a regular basis.

Key Fact: The U.S. Department of Education may impose civil penalties of up to $71,545 per violation on a school that fails to meet its consumer information duties.

Best Suited For: Administrators, general counsel's offices, compliance officers, campus security leaders and Title IX coordinators at California colleges, universities and postsecondary institutions.

Written for California colleges, universities and postsecondary institutions. Shankar Legal Inc. represents institutions, not students or employees.

Clery Act compliance is not a report that an institution publishes each fall. It is a system of daily logging, warning decisions, training and disclosure that the annual report merely summarizes. This guide is written for California college and university administrators and compliance officers, along with campus security leaders and Title IX coordinators, who need a clear outline of federal compliance rules and their applicable timelines.

The law is Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1092(f), and the Department's regulations implement it at 34 CFR 668.46 and 34 CFR 668.41. The statute is now called the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, and it has recently grown: in October 2026 the Department issued a Dear Colleague Letter reminding institutions of new hazing requirements.

Whether an institution is considering this matter before or after its October 1 distribution date, the practical question is the same: which duties run all year, and how are these responsibilities allocated? The sections below explain these duties in the same order that an institution must perform them.

Which Institutions Must Meet Clery Act Compliance Requirements

Every post-secondary institution that participates in the federal Title IV student aid programs must meet Clery Act compliance requirements, whether it is public, private nonprofit, or a career school. The Department's own Clery Act Appendix states that the Clery Act applies to "all postsecondary institutions participating in Title IV student financial assistance programs."

Size and campus count do not change the obligation. Under 34 CFR 668.46(d), an institution must maintain compliance records for each separate campus, so a multi-site college must track crime statistics and incident logs for each individual location.

Some duties are specific to the particular features or services associated with an individual campus. For instance, a daily crime log is required only where the institution maintains a campus police or security department, and a fire safety report and fire log are required only where it maintains on-campus student housing.

What the Annual Security Report Must Contain

The annual security report (ASR) must reflect the institution's current policies and include three years of crime statistics. An institution must distribute the report to all enrolled students and current employees by October 1 of each year, under 34 CFR 668.41(e).

The minimum contents in 34 CFR 668.46(b) span far more than statistics:

• Reporting and response policies, including who receives reports, how timely warnings are issued and how voluntary, confidential reporting works.

• Facility security and campus law enforcement policies, including the working relationship with local police.

• Alcohol and drug policies and a description of prevention programs.

• Policies on dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, including prevention programs and disciplinary procedures.

• Emergency response and evacuation procedures, and a missing student notification policy (where the institution has on-campus housing).

• Hazing policies and prevention programs, added by the Stop Campus Hazing Act.

Distribution can be by mail, campus mail, email, or posting on a website, but posting carries extra notice duties. Current employees must receive, by October 1, a notice with the exact web address, a brief description of the contents and a statement that a paper copy is available on request. Prospective students and employees must receive a notice that the report exists and how to request it. Each year the institution must also submit its statistics to the Department in the specified form, and by the specified due date.

Clery Geography and the Crimes an Institution Must Count

The Clery Act counts reported crimes that occur within an institution's "Clery geography," which the regulation divides into campus, noncampus property and adjacent public property. Getting this map right is the foundation of accurate statistics, and the institution should be able to explain the basis for its geographic designations.

Statistics cover the three most recent calendar years and must be recorded by the calendar year in which the crime was reported. The reportable categories under 34 CFR 668.46(c) are:

• Criminal homicide: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, and negligent manslaughter.

• Sex offenses: rape, fondling, incest and statutory rape.

• Robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson.

• Arrests and disciplinary referrals for liquor law, drug law and illegal weapons violations.

• Hate crimes, by category of bias, including larceny-theft, simple assault, intimidation and vandalism when bias-motivated.

• Dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, which were added by the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act and implemented in regulations effective July 1, 2015.

• Hazing incidents, discussed below.

A reported crime stays in the statistics unless sworn or commissioned law enforcement personnel fully investigate and formally determine the report to be false or baseless. A court, prosecutor or coroner decision is not a basis to remove it. The institution reports the number of unfounded reports it withheld.

Campus Security Authorities and Who Counts

Under the Clery Act, the duty to report a crime is based on knowledge of that crime. More specifically, it’s based on knowledge possessed by a certain set of people who are considered to be Campus Security Authorities (CSAs). The Clery Act defines that set of people as campus police or security department personnel, people with responsibility for campus security, any individual or office named in the institution's policy as a place to report crimes, and officials with significant responsibility for student and campus activities, such as student housing and student discipline.

The Department's Appendix says it will defer to an institution's reasonable designation of CSAs. Therefore, an academic institution has a duty to make that determination rationally and deliberately, documenting its reasoning process and keeping the list current as roles change. Pastoral and professional counselors acting in that capacity are not treated as CSAs.

The Clery Act requires that officials who conduct covered disciplinary proceedings receive annual training, but the statute does not mandate any particular type of training for the CSAs themselves. Many institutions nonetheless train their designated CSAs as a matter of practice so that reports reach the Clery coordinator quickly.

Timely Warnings and Emergency Notifications

A timely warning and an emergency notification are different duties with different triggers. Institutions need a written process for deciding which applies, because the decision must be made quickly, and will be subject to later review.

Under 34 CFR 668.46(e), an institution that follows its emergency notification procedures does not need to issue a timely warning for the same circumstances, but it must provide adequate follow-up information. The institution must also test its emergency response and evacuation procedures on an annual basis at minimum, publicize them in conjunction with at least one test per calendar year, and document each test's description, date, time and whether it was announced.

The Daily Crime Log and the Fire Log

An institution with a campus police or security department must keep a clear, written daily crime log, which must be updated within two business days of any crime reported. The log records the nature, date, time and general location of each crime and the disposition, if known.

The most recent 60 days of the log must be open to public inspection during normal business hours, and older entries must be available within two business days of a request. Information may be withheld in specific circumstances: to avoid jeopardizing a criminal investigation, where the safety of an individual requires it, or where releasing that evidence would cause a suspect to flee or evade detection or result in the destruction of evidence. In that case, there must be clear and convincing evidence that one of those scenarios would occur if the information was published, as stated in 34 CFR 668.46(f), and it can only be withheld for as long as the adverse effect remains likely.

Institutions with on-campus student housing carry a parallel set of duties under 34 CFR 668.49: a fire log updated with new entries within two business days, an annual fire safety report and fire statistics for each housing facility. The fire report may be published directly with the security report, if the title of the combined document clearly identifies that it contains both. Otherwise, they may be published separately as two documents, each with cross-referencing that tells readers how to find the other.

Missing Student Notification

Institutions with on-campus student housing must adopt a missing student notification policy and describe it in the ASR. The policy must designate the titles of the people to whom a missing student report is made, require immediate referral to campus police or security (or local law enforcement if there is no campus security department), and allow each student to designate a contact person.

When a student in on-campus housing is determined to have been missing for 24 hours, the institution must notify the designated contact within 24 hours. For a student under 18, who is not emancipated, the institution must also notify a custodial parent or guardian. In every case, it must inform the local law enforcement agency within 24 hours, unless that agency is already involved in making the initial determination.

Disciplinary Procedures and How Clery Meets Title IX

The ASR must describe the institution's disciplinary procedures for alleged dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, and 34 CFR 668.46(k) sets the minimum standards those procedures must meet. The institution's written policy must describe each type of proceeding, its steps and anticipated timelines, the standard of evidence, the possible sanctions and the protective measures available.

The regulation also requires a prompt, fair and impartial process conducted by officials who receive annual training and who have no conflict of interest or bias. Both parties involved must have the opportunity to have others present during that process, including an advisor of their choice, and must receive simultaneous written notice of the result, appeal procedures, any change and the date the result becomes final. The ASR must also state that the institution will give written notification of existing counseling, health, advocacy and other services, and written information about options for changes to academic, living, transportation and working situations.

Although there is considerable overlap between the Clery Act and Title IX, the two statutes create different sets of obligations. Clery governs how an institution tracks, discloses, and issues warnings about the four offenses listed above, and regulates the disciplinary procedures an institution must follow if they occur, while Title IX governs the institution's response to sex discrimination more broadly. An institution should align its Title IX compliance documents with its ASR language so that the two never describe the same procedure differently. Retaliation against anyone exercising rights or responsibilities under the section is separately prohibited by 34 CFR 668.46(m).

Hazing: The Newest Layer of Clery Act Compliance

The Stop Campus Hazing Act, enacted December 23, 2024, added hazing to the Clery framework in three ways, identified by The Department's October 2026 Dear Colleague Letter: 1) institutions must compile statistics on hazing incidents reported to CSAs or local police that occurred within Clery geography and meet the new statutory definition; 2) they must adopt hazing policies and prevention programs; 3) they must publish a Campus Hazing Transparency Report if they identify one or more hazing violations.

The Department states that institutions were expected to include 2025 hazing statistics in their 2026 annual security reports and to use the same geographic categories as for other crimes. It will begin collecting hazing statistics in the 2027 Campus Safety and Security Survey. The Transparency Report must be updated at least twice a year when findings exist and must name the student organization, describe the violation and state sanctions, and give the incident date.

One practical point for counsel: the Department has said it plans to propose regulations conforming 34 CFR 668.46 to these changes, so the regulation text currently in the Code of Federal Regulations does not yet mention hazing. Institutions should work from the statute and the Department's letter in the meantime.

California Overlay and Enforcement Exposure

California adds its own layer for many institutions. California Education Code Section 67380 addresses campus crime records, public access to certain crime information within two business days of a request, and campus safety planning for covered public institutions and for private institutions that receive public funds for student financial assistance, subject to enrollment-based exceptions. Counsel should confirm which provisions apply to a particular institution.

On the federal side, the Department's Federal Student Aid Handbook states that it may limit, suspend or terminate the participation of a school that fails to comply with the consumer information requirements, and may impose civil fines of up to $71,545 per violation. The penalty table in 34 CFR 36.2 reflects the same inflation-adjusted amount.

A Clery Act Compliance Calendar for Institutions

Most Clery Act violations are calendar failures: a log entry that waited too long, a warning decision that was never documented, or a CSA list that never changed after a reorganization. A standing calendar turns the regulation into assignments.

Frequently Asked Questions About Clery Act Compliance

Which institutions must comply with the Clery Act?

The Clery Act applies to every postsecondary institution that participates in the federal Title IV student aid programs, including private institutions and career schools. An institution must comply for each separate campus.

When must a California college distribute its annual security report?

A California college must distribute its annual security report to all enrolled students and current employees by October 1 of each year. If the institution posts the report online, it must send current employees a notice with the exact web address by that date.

How quickly must a daily crime log be updated?

A daily crime log must be updated within two business days of a report to the campus police or campus security department. The institution must keep the most recent 60 days open to public inspection and make older entries available within two business days of a request.

What is the difference between a timely warning and an emergency notification at a college?

A timely warning addresses a reported Clery crime that the institution considers a threat to students and employees, while an emergency notification addresses a confirmed, significant emergency involving an immediate threat on campus. An institution that follows its emergency notification procedures need not issue a separate timely warning for the same circumstances but must provide adequate follow-up information.

How often must an institution test its emergency response procedures?

An institution must test its emergency response and evacuation procedures at least annually. It must publicize the procedures in conjunction with at least one test per calendar year and document the description, date, time and whether each test was announced.

Turning the Clery Act Into a Standing Compliance Program

The common thread that links every duty listed above is documentation: clear records showing who made decisions, what was decided, when it occurred, and which written procedure was applied. An institution that can show its CSA designations, warning decisions, log entries, training records and distribution notices is in a far stronger position than one that must reconstruct them after a Department review. The addition of hazing as a new reporting requirement indicates that the obligation will likely keep expanding, making it increasingly important for institutions to take a deliberate, systematic approach to compliance. By clearly designating CSAs, assigning consistent, well-identified responsibilities and protocols, and keeping thorough, timely records and log entries, an institution can avoid a last-minute scramble each year and be well-assured of meeting all its duties under the Clery Act.

Shankar Legal Inc. advises California colleges, universities and postsecondary institutions on regulatory compliance, and institutions often work with a higher education lawyer to review policies, calendars and compliance documentation before a deadline rather than after one. Administrators and general counsel's offices who would like a Clery compliance review with counsel can contact Shankar Legal Inc.

Shankar Legal Inc. represents institutions, not students. Students or others with concerns about campus safety should contact their campus police or security office or other campus resources and may also consult the U.S. Department of Education's campus security information page.

This article is general information for institutions, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.