U.S. Dept. of Education investigating Penn State’s response to Sandusky allegations

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. —

A team of representatives from the U.S. Department of Education is at Penn State University to determine if the university failed to comply with the Clery Act in response to sex abuse allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Under the Clery Act, colleges and universities must disclose the number of criminal offenses on campus reported each year. In certain cases, the schools must issue a timely warning if a reported crime represents a threat to the campus community.

6 News obtained a copy of the letter from the Department of Education sent to then-PSU President Graham Spainer, dated four days after Sandusky was arrested and charged with molesting young boys, both on and off the Penn State campus. The letter formally notified Penn State of the investigation, which will be conducted by the Office of Federal Student Aid.

The review of the university’s campus security programs will include a list of crime incidents reported to Penn State Police or campus security from 1998 through 2011. All personnel with responsibilities relevant to the university’s compliance with the Clery Act must be available for interviews.

At the conclusion of the investigation, reviewers may meet with university leaders to discuss violations and recommendations.

After the grand jury report regarding the sex abuse allegations was made public, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the accusations were “heartbreaking” sand said, if proven true, it is “mind boggling that it was allowed to go on for so long.”

If any violations are found, there is much at stake for the university. The Department of Education can impose civil penalties for violations and can ban the university from certain federal student aid programs. In addition, federal funding for research programs could be at risk. Currently, Penn State is one of the top 20 schools in the nation in how much federal research dollars it receives.

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