Governor Mike Parson approved an additional $50 million to expand the School Safety Reimbursement Grant Program in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The grant program, which supports school safety improvements in local education agencies (LEAs), aims to support physical security upgrades and associated technology (e.g., door locks, monitoring systems), bleeding control kits, epinephrine auto-injectors, and automatic external defibrillators. This new round of funding is now also available to nonpublic schools.

“The $20 million from the first round of School Safety Grant Program funding, made available through the Fiscal Year 2023 early supplemental budget bill, helped 169 LEAs address safety and security needs,” said Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven. “We thank Governor Parson and the General Assembly for their ongoing support and commitment to ensuring our schools remain among the safest places for our students.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education opened the application window today for LEAs and nonpublic schools to apply for the competitive grant funds. Completed applications are due on September 8, 2023. Award notifications will be made toward the end of September.

The School Safety Grant program guidance document provides detailed information about the purpose of the grant program, potential award amounts, allowable uses of funds, application processes, reimbursement documentation, and post-award information. That document, along with additional information, is available on DESE’s website.