Senator Messmer on Hoosier Schools Awarded Safety Grant Funding

Jasper - During the 2017-18 school year, 80% of the public schools in the United States recorded one or more events of violence, theft or other crime. This amounted to a total of 1.4 million incidents. These circumstances have caused many local leaders in education to research and implement additional safety precautions within our schools. One way the state is working to address these concerns is through its Indiana Secured School Safety Board.

For the third consecutive year, the Indiana Secured School Safety Board has approved more than $19 million in state-supported grants to fund 392 projects across the state.

Established in 2013 by the Indiana General Assembly, and expanded in 2019, the Indiana Secured School Safety Grant Program (SSSG) is a matching grant program that helps improve safety in Hoosier schools.

Grants can be used to fund the following safety initiatives:

·     Employ a school resource officer or law enforcement officer;

·        Conduct threat assessments;

·        Purchase equipment that restricts access to the school or helps expedite the notification of first responders;

·        Support firearms training in districts that choose to implement such programs (new this year);

·        Support the implementation of a student and parent support services program (new this year); or

·        Fund one-time startup costs of an active alert warning system (new this year).

Public school corporations, accredited non-public schools, charter schools or a coalition of school corporations and/or charter schools applying jointly are eligible to apply for the matching grants of up to $100,000.

To date, the program has awarded more than $110 million.

It's great to see the SSSG program continue to assist schools across the state in improving their safety measures. As your state senator, I remain committed to Hoosier students and teachers and will continue to advocate for policies that ensure their safety and well-being in the classroom.