SWAT Act

The SWAT Act (Schools Want Accountability for Threats Act) adds federal penalties for threats and hoaxes that target schools. It creates a specific 20-year maximum prison term (and/or fines) for threatening or falsely reporting information about schools that educate children and young adults from early childhood through postsecondary and career/technical programs, including public, private, and religious schools. The bill tightens penalties across several existing federal statutes to cover threats targeting schools via direct threats involving fire or explosives, threats conveyed through mail or interstate communications, and false information or hoaxes about school activities. Key elements include: expanding 18 U.S.C. § 844(e) to punish threats against schools with up to 20 years in prison; adding similar penalties as new subsection (e) to 18 U.S.C. § 875 and § 876 for threats via the mail or interstate communications; and broadening 18 U.S.C. § 1038 to impose up to 20 years’ imprisonment for false information or hoaxes that indicate activity at a school. The act relies on state-law definitions to determine which institutions qualify as schools under its provisions and carries the short title “Schools Want Accountability for Threats Act” (SWAT Act).