The Department of Education has announced it will conduct a federal program review of Brown University in the wake of the Dec. 13 attack on campus that left two students dead.
The review will be conducted by the department's Office of Federal Student Aid and will examine whether the university has complied with federal campus safety requirements tied to eligibility for student aid funding.
The department cited concerns raised in public reporting and by members of the Brown community in the hours following the shooting, including questions about the effectiveness of campus surveillance systems and the timing of emergency notifications sent to students and staff.
Reports indicated the suspect fled while the university struggled to provide clear information, and some students and employees said alerts about the active shooter were delayed.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the review is intended to determine whether the university met its obligations under federal law to maintain campus security and provide timely safety information.
McMahon said universities that receive federal funding are required to maintain effective safety systems and be equipped to assist law enforcement in emergencies.
As part of the review, the Department of Education has requested records related to campus crime statistics, security reports, emergency notifications, police activity logs, and internal safety and response policies.
The request also includes documentation detailing how the university tracks crime, issues alerts, responds to emergencies, and coordinates with state and local law enforcement agencies.
Brown has been given until Jan. 30, 2026, to submit the requested material.
The department has authority to impose penalties or require corrective action if violations are found, including fines or mandated policy changes tied to campus safety requirements.
Brown University has not issued a public response to the review.
New reporting about the case includes information that the apparent shooter had been spotted multiple times around the campus acting suspiciously long before the attack. A campus custodian has said that he reported the activity to Brown security guards.
The suspected gunman in the Brown attack, Claudio Neves Valente, was a graduate student at Brown in the early 2000s. He is alleged to have opened fire in a campus lecture hall, killing two students.
Two days later, he allegedly shot and killed MIT professor Nuno Loureiro at the professor's home roughly 50 miles away.
Valente was found dead from a gunshot wound Thursday night. His death has been ruled a suicide.
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