The Virginia Center for School and Campus Safety supports institutions of higher education through training, with resources and technical assistance, and by guiding best practices. Virginia houses an array of higher education institutions, including public and private 4-year universities, 2-year colleges, community colleges, and others. Each institution faces unique challenges and hot button issues, including campus sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, threat assessment, and others. The VCSCS also works within directives from the Virginia General Assembly to conduct studies, such as the Final Report on Potential Minimum Core Operational Functions for Campus Police and Security Departments and the forthcoming Campus Threat Assessment Study to inform the General Assembly and guide best practices in higher education.
On the higher education portion of the website, visitors will find information about Campus Security Officers and other Campus Safety resources.
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Campus Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Campus safety and emergency preparedness training; first-year completion and biennial review.
In 2024, the Virginia General Assembly passed § 23.1-808.2. Campus safety and emergency preparedness training; first-year completion and biennial review. This legislation states:
- “The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall develop and implement policies requiring that a campus safety and emergency preparedness training program be provided to and completed by all first-year students by the last day of each student's first academic term and reviewed biennially by each returning student at such institution. Such training program shall focus on active shooter event preparedness and may be offered in any format, including a virtual format, and may include any supplementary materials that the governing board of each public institution of higher education deems appropriate.”
- “The Council shall encourage private institutions of higher education to develop and implement policies requiring a campus safety and emergency preparedness training program be provided to and completed by all first-year students by the last day of each student's first academic term and reviewed biennially by each returning student enrolled at such institutions.”
To assist Institutions of Higher Education with meeting this requirement, the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is offering the following free training that will address active attack event preparedness.
Civilian Response and Casualty Care (CRCC) eLearning Training (1.5 Hours)
A coordinated effort through a "whole community approach" to establish stakeholders within the campus community and empower citizens to become "Immediate Responders" who do what they can, where they are, with what they have until "First Responders" arrive. Using the basics of Avoid, Deny, and Defend against an active attack and aiding in the solution to stop the dying by rendering medical aid with principles from the “Stop the Bleed” program.
Includes Three Interactive Training Modules
Learn how to “R.A.C.E. to Survive the Five” or the first five minutes of an active attack until first responders arrive. This is a self-paced eLearning training.
1. The Whole Community Approach
2. R.A.C.E. (React – Avoid, Deny, Defend. Activate – call 911.)
3. R.A.C.E. (Care – for the injured. Evacuate – to rescue.)
Request Online CRCC Training
Access to this eLearning training will be provided free of charge to institutions, and is also available in Spanish, Mandarin, and Korean versions. The eLearning training can be found on our Civilian Response and Casualty Care (CRCC) eLearning Training for Higher Education website. This will ensure that all students will have access to the training.
Request In-person CRCC Training
If interested in scheduling in-person CRCC trainings at your institution or training your own personnel to deliver CRCC trainings, please visit our website.
Threat Assessment
The 2023 General Assembly directed the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security shall convene a task force (the task force) to determine best practices and develop model policies and procedures for all threat assessment teams at public institutions of higher education. The task force considered and made legislative recommendations on the appropriate qualifications of members of such threat assessment teams. The task force included representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, campus police departments and local law enforcement, attorneys for the Commonwealth, mental health and student affairs professionals, university counsel, human resources representatives, one student representative, and one faculty representative.
RD284 - Report on Best Practices, Model Policies and Procedures, and Legislative Recommendations for Campus Threat Assessment Teams – January 16, 2024
Executive Summary:
Report on the findings and recommendations of the task force convened to determine best practices and develop model policies and procedures for all threat assessment teams at public institutions of higher education, and to consider and make legislative recommendations on the appropriate qualifications of members of such threat assessment teams.
Title IX
On April 19, 2024 the U.S. Department of Education Released Final Title IX Regulations.
The unofficial version of the final regulations is available here. In addition, the Department has released a fact sheet, a summary of the major provisions of the final regulations, and a resource for drafting Title IX nondiscrimination policies, notices of nondiscrimination, and grievance procedures.
The final regulations are effective on August 1, 2024, and apply to complaints of sex discrimination regarding alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date. The Department is committed to supporting schools in implementing the final regulations and will provide technical assistance and additional resources to schools to support implementation and compliance.
Higher Education Staff Contact
Marc Dawkins, Law Enforcement and Public Safety Training Manager
804.380.9709
Email Marc