Washington — A little over a month after President Bush signed into law a bill requiring colleges to “immediately” notify their students in the event of an emergency, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed another measure that would require the institutions to have emergency-response plans for their campuses.

The bill, HR 2352, which passed unanimously last night, would require colleges receiving federal student aid to conduct annual “campus safety assessments” in consultation with local law enforcement officials, and to “develop and implement” response plans for natural disasters, “active shooter situations,” and terrorism.

In a report issued by the House Judiciary Committee, lawmakers wrote that the bill was necessary, in part, to ensure that colleges met “minimal requirements for the safety of students.”

“While many higher-education institutions have emergency-safety plans and conduct annual safety assessments,” the report says, “not all do.” —Kelly Field