This bill directs the Department of Education to develop federal fire safety standards for student dormitories and residential facilities at colleges and universities that receive federal funding. Within two years of passage, the Education Secretary—working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology—must create these standards and establish a timeline for colleges to comply; the standards would be updated every decade. Starting one year after the standards are finalized, colleges must assess their compliance with the new rules every five years and submit accurate assessments to the federal government, with a fire safety expert verifying each assessment's accuracy. The Education Secretary will then publicly designate each institution as either "Federally Recognized Fire-Safe" or "Not Federally Recognized Fire-Safe" based on compliance levels, and must publish all assessments and compliance determinations on the Department of Education's website. The bill makes compliance a requirement for colleges participating in federal education funding programs, though it clarifies that non-compliant institutions will not automatically lose federal aid eligibility.
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