National Strategy for School Security Act of 2025
The National Strategy for School Security Act of 2025 would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of Education and other federal agencies, to develop and submit a national strategy to secure elementary and secondary schools against terrorism. The strategy must be completed within one year of enactment and updated annually through 2033 (with briefings to Congress or a certification if no updates occur). The plan should map all federal programs and spending related to school security, identify vulnerabilities in U.S. schools, outline specific actions and reforms needed to address those vulnerabilities, and avoid duplicating work by building on existing evaluations and recommendations from relevant departments or working groups. The law also updates the Homeland Security Act’s table of contents to reflect the new section. In short, the bill aims to create a centralized, government-wide, long-term plan for preventing terrorist threats to schools and for preparing for and responding to incidents, with regular updates and congressional oversight.
Key Points
- 1Creates a new Sec. 2220F in the Homeland Security Act establishing a National Strategy to Secure Schools from Threats of Terrorism, to be developed by DHS in partnership with the Secretary of Education and other federal leaders.
- 2Timeline: strategy due within one year of passage, with annual updates through 2033; if no updates are made, DHS must certify that fact to Congress.
- 3Required contents: (1) a complete account of all federal programs and spending related to securing K-12 schools; (2) identification of specific school security vulnerabilities and measurable goals to close them; (3) concrete actions and the resources needed to achieve those goals, including reform and streamlining of existing efforts; (4) a framework that builds on and coordinates with existing evaluations and avoids duplicating work from other affected departments or entities.
- 4Oversight and coordination: the strategy must be developed in consultation with the Secretary of Education and other appropriate federal agencies, and it must be shared with specified House and Senate committees.
- 5Definition reference: uses the definition of “elementary and secondary schools” as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to set scope.