Education Department probes Brown University after deadly campus shooting

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating Brown University for potentially violating federal law requiring schools to uphold campus safety after a shooter killed two students on Dec. 13.

The investigation, announced Dec. 22, in a department press release, notes that the Ivy League institution in Providence, Rhode Island, may have violated the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act, which is part of the Higher Education Act. If a university fails the Clery Act’s safety standards, it may be in danger of losing federal aid. 

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The department cites Fox News reporting revealing that the university’s camera system “may not have been up to appropriate standards, allowing the suspect to flee.” Students also reported delayed emergency notifications that would have alerted them to the shooter’s presence.

“If true, these shortcomings constitute serious breaches of Brown’s responsibilities under federal law,” the press release says.

The department’s Office of Federal Student Aid will conduct the investigation and has already requested documents from Brown by Jan. 30, 2026. The office has sought the school’s Annual Security Reports from the past two years, audit trails of crimes and arrests on campus since 2021, and procedures related to emergency notifications, campus safety, and “active shooter scenarios.”  

“After two students were horrifically murdered at Brown University when a shooter opened fire in a campus building, the Department is initiating a review of Brown to determine if it has upheld its obligation under the law to vigilantly maintain campus security,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in the press release.

“Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement,” she added. “The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law.”

Brown is not the only university to be facing a Clery Act investigation. The Department of Education announced an investigation into the University of California, Berkeley, on Nov. 25 over a “violent protest” against a Turning Point USA event on Nov. 10.

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“Just two months after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was brutally assassinated on a college campus, UC Berkeley allowed a protest of a Turning Point USA event on its grounds to turn unruly and violent, jeopardizing the safety of its students and staff,” McMahon said at the time.

“Accordingly, the Department is conducting a review of UC Berkeley to ensure that it has the procedures in place to uphold its legal obligation to maintain campus safety and security,” she continued.

During the protest, students swarmed attendees, with one setting off a flare. The President of Turning Point USA at Berkeley, John Paul Leon, told Campus Reform that some attendees had “glass and poop thrown at them.”

Campus Reform contacted Brown University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.