Federal Support for School Safety and Security
Federal Support for School Safety and Security
Updated September 24, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R46872
Congressional Research Service
SUMMARY
Federal Support for School Safety and Security
In the United States, more than 68 million students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary (K-12) schools or degree-granting postsecondary institutions. School and campus safety and security for these students encompasses many issues, including violence prevention and response, school climate, and the physical and mental health of the school community. Students’ safety and security while in school is an area of concern for the federal government and state and local governments, as well as school districts, institutions of higher education, students’ families, and Members of Congress.
Congress has responded to school safety and security concerns with hearings and legislation creating new programs and mandating data collection efforts and reports. The focus of congressional efforts to support school safety has expanded over the years, from tracking and responding to individual incidents to promoting safe, positive school learning environments and providing students and school personnel the tools and resources to respond to crises when they arise.
State and local governments oversee K-12 education in public schools. Colleges and universities are a mix of public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit entities with varying governance structures. The federal government’s main avenue for supporting schools in general and school and campus safety specifically is through grant programs. This report provides an overview of grant programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provide direct or indirect funding for school and campus safety and security initiatives. The report also provides an overview of programs and initiatives administered by these departments that support school safety and security efforts in other ways, such as through data collection and reporting and technical assistance.
Several federal grant programs provide funding to directly support school safety and security programs, including the following examples. DOJ’s Matching Grant Program for School Security provides grants to support evidence-based programs to improve security at schools and on school grounds. ED’s National Activities for School Safety authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out activities to improve students’ safety and well- being, during and after the school day. HHS’s Project AWARE Educational Agency grants provide funding to support training teachers and school personnel on mental health awareness, and to connect youth with behavioral health issues to needed services.
Most federal funding that is available for school safety and security programs is not explicitly required to be used for school safety activities. For example, DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program provides grants to state, local, and tribal governments for hiring police officers to engage in community policing activities. Among other purposes, funds can be used to hire School Resource Officers. DHS’s Preparedness Grants provide funds to enhance the capacity of “state and local emergency responders to prevent, respond to, and recover from a terrorism incident.” Funding may be used for public school safety and security, if grant recipients determine it to be a priority. Because there are other uses of the grant funds for these programs, it is difficult to track exactly how much funding under these programs has been awarded specifically for school safety and security.
In addition, the federal government operates initiatives that support the efforts of state and local governments to secure schools. For example, SchoolSafety.gov is the website of the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse, an interagency effort among ED, HHS, DHS, and DOJ. The website provides information, resources, and guidance focused on school safety. As another example, the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council provides advice and recommendations to the DHS Secretary and departmental senior leadership on matters related to homeland security and the academic community.
R46872
September 24, 2024
Kyrie E. Dragoo, Coordinator Analyst in Education Policy
Nathan James Analyst in Crime Policy
Johnathan H. Duff Analyst in Health Policy
Shawn Reese Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
Adam K. Edgerton Analyst in Education Policy
Rebecca R. Skinner Specialist in Education Policy
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Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Report Organization .................................................................................................................. 2
Programs with an Explicit School Safety or Security Purpose........................................................ 3
Grant Programs ......................................................................................................................... 4
Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants .............................................. 4 National Activities for School Safety.................................................................................. 6 Matching Grant Program for School Security .................................................................... 8 Project Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education (Project AWARE) .................... 9 Healthy Transitions Program ............................................................................................ 12 Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) .................................................................... 12 Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) ................................... 13
Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management Grants .......................................... 15
Non-grant Programs and Initiatives ........................................................................................ 15
DHS Outreach and Capacity Building .............................................................................. 15 Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 ........................ 17 Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC) ............................................ 18 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics
Act.................................................................................................................................. 19
Model Emergency Response Policies, Procedures, and Practices .................................... 19 Youth Preparedness Council ............................................................................................. 19
Programs That May Support School Safety Initiatives ................................................................. 20
Grant Programs ....................................................................................................................... 20
Education for the Disadvantaged: Grants to LEAs (Title I-A) ......................................... 20 Supporting Effective Instruction ....................................................................................... 21
Preparedness Grants .......................................................................................................... 22
Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) ............................................. 23
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program .......................... 24
Community Support for School Success .......................................................................... 24 Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program .................................... 25
Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI) .................................................................... 26 Education of Homeless Children and Youth ..................................................................... 27 National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) ......................................................... 27
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Part B, State Formula Grants ............ 28 Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are
Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk ................................................................................. 29
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Youth Violence Prevention ............ 29 Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Youth Suicide Prevention Campus Grants ............................... 30 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Title V, Incentive Grants for
Local Delinquency Prevention ....................................................................................... 31
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Grants ..................................................................... 31
Non-grant Programs and Initiatives ........................................................................................ 32
CDC Surveillance and Support ......................................................................................... 32
CISA’s School Safety Task Force ..................................................................................... 32 DHS Infrastructure Security ............................................................................................. 32 Guidance on Mental Health Disclosures for Students ...................................................... 33 SAMHSA Resources and Technical Assistance ................................................................ 33
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Tables
Table A-1. Federal Grant Programs that Support Safety and Security for Students in K-12
Public Schools and IHEs ............................................................................................................ 35
Appendixes
Appendix A. Federal School Safety and Security Programs ......................................................... 35 Appendix B. Other Resources on Federal School Safety and Security ......................................... 45
Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 48
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Introduction
In the United States, almost 50 million students are enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools that educate children from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade; nearly 19 million more students attend degree-granting postsecondary institutions.1 Students’ safety and security is a paramount concern of federal, state, and local governments, as well as for school districts, institutions of higher education (IHEs), students’ families, and Members of Congress.
Through the mid-20th century, most of the school safety bills and resolutions that Congress considered concerned children’s safety traveling to and from school, in the form of legislation on school bus safety and in support of school safety patrols.2 In the 1970s, Americans grew increasingly concerned with incidents of crime, violence, and vandalism on school grounds, and Congress began considering bills proposing federal support to track, study, and address violence, vandalism, and other school safety issues.3 In the decades since, research on the effects of trauma, crises, and school climate on the learning environment, student health, and the ability of students to engage in education increased. In response, the variety of initiatives considered at the federal level to provide students with safe and secure learning environments increased as well.
When thinking about school safety and security, the public often focuses on violence prevention and incident response. Examples of other issues that relate to school safety and security include bullying, harassment, childhood trauma, student mental health, substance abuse, school climate, and student discipline. Many types of crises and incidents that disrupt the school learning environment may be considered school safety issues. For example, when COVID-19 disrupted the 2019-2020 school year, Congress, through Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), a program originally designed to bring resources to schools quickly in the event of a school shooting or other violent crisis, provided $100 million in funding for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools to clean and disinfect affected facilities and provide counseling and distance learning programs.4 Similarly, Project Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education (Project AWARE) was originally part of a cross-agency effort to reduce gun violence. Now, Project AWARE’s school safety focus has expanded to support several grant programs designed to increase mental health awareness among school-aged youth and school personnel and connect school-aged youth with mental health issues and their families to needed services.5
State and local governments oversee elementary and secondary education in public schools. Colleges and universities are a mix of public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit entities with
1 U.S. Department of Education (ED), National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), Digest of Education Statistics; Table 105.20. Enrollment in elementary, secondary, and degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by level and control of institution, enrollment level, and attendance status and sex of student: Selected years, fall 1990 through fall 2031, Washington, DC, 2023, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/ dt22_105.20.asp.
2 For example, see S.J.Res. 130 in the 89th Congress, Joint Resolution To provide for the designation of the week of May 8 to May 14, 1966, as “National School Safety Patrol Week.”
3 U.S. Congress, House Education and the Workforce Committee, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, Hearings Before the General Subcommittee on Education, Hearings on the Safe Schools Act: H.R. 3101 and H.R. 10641, 92nd Cong., 1st sess., 1971, https://ia601303.us.archive.org/8/items/ERIC_ED063427/ERIC_ED063427.pdf.
4 The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) provided $100 million for Project SERV to supplement existing funds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 domestically or internationally and specifically stated that CARES Act Project SERV funds can be used by schools and IHEs for counseling, for distance learning, or to clean and disinfect school buildings. See the “Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV)” section of this report for more information.
5 See the “Project Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education (Project AWARE)” section for more information.
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varying governance structures. The federal government supports schools in general and school and campus safety specifically through grant programs, research, data collection, reporting requirements, guidance, and technical assistance. This report identifies select federal programs that support school safety and security in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions.6 Specifically, the report describes programs, resources, and initiatives administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
School safety and security programs and activities can be divided into three broad, and often overlapping, categories:
• Prevention: any efforts—such as anti-bullying campaigns or infrastructure improvements—that aim to make school and IHE settings safer and more secure for students, teachers, faculty, and staff.
• Mitigation and Response: initiatives that attempt to reduce school and IHE violence and prepare institutions to respond to incidents that jeopardize safety and security.7
• Recovery: programs that aim to help students and communities recover from traumatic events, such as an act of violence that has occurred within the school community.
The ED, HHS, DOJ, and DHS programs discussed in this report encompass prevention, mitigation and response, or recovery efforts that provide direct or indirect funding for school and campus safety and security initiatives. The program summaries in this report are not comprehensive. In many cases, other Congressional Research Service (CRS) products are referenced as sources for more detailed information about individual programs. This report also provides an overview of federal programs and initiatives that support school safety and security efforts in other ways, such as through data collection and technical assistance.
Report Organization
This report organizes select federal programs related to school safety and security based on whether the program directly addresses an aspect of school safety and security, or whether the program’s primary purpose is something other than school safety but, in certain circumstances, it can support school safety initiatives or activities that contribute to students’ health and safety. Specifically, the report is organized into two sections, each of which presents a broad category of relevant programs.8
• “Programs with an Explicit School Safety or Security Purpose” describes programs that have school safety or security included as an explicit purpose in one or more of the following: (1) the program’s authorizing legislation, (2) congressional appropriations report language, or (3) agency documents (e.g., program web page or an agency’s Congressional Budget Justification). These
6 Although authorizations for the federal programs described in this report exist, it does not mean that these programs are currently funded in the most recent appropriations.
7 For example, many schools employ School Resource Officers (SROs) in hopes that their presence may deter crime and violence within the school and also to have someone ready to respond quickly to incidents of crime or violence when needed. For more information on SROs, see CRS Report R45251, School Resource Officers: Issues for Congress and CRS In Focus IF12131, School Safety and Target Hardening.
8 Categories were determined by CRS for the sake of organizing this report. Executive agencies do not necessarily conceptualize their programming in the same manner.
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programs may have an exclusive focus on school safety or may address school safety along with other issue areas. This section of the report first discusses grant programs, followed by other programs, acts, and initiatives such as federal commissions and councils on school safety and laws related to the possession of firearms on school grounds.
• “Programs That May Support School Safety Initiatives” describes programs for which school safety or security is not specified as a program purpose, but these programs permit using funds to support school safety and security initiatives. This section of the report first discusses grant programs, followed by other programs and initiatives such as preparedness training and outreach programs. Programs listed in this section were selected for inclusion if the activities they supported were the same, or similar to, activities supported by programs with an explicit school safety or security purpose, or if allowable uses of funds were broad enough to encompass these types of activities.
In addition, Table A-1 provides a concise list of all of the grant programs in this report by administering agency and provides information on each program, including the authorizing legislation, the U.S. Code citation, federal eligibility, and a brief description of relevant uses of funds. Appendix B provides examples of other federal school safety and security resources, including research reports, technical assistance centers, and websites.
The funding and appropriations figures included in this report do not include supplemental appropriations provided by Congress in response to COVID-19 or by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA, P.L. 117-159),9 unless otherwise specified.
Programs with an Explicit School Safety or Security Purpose
This section of the report provides an overview of programs that have an explicit school safety or security purpose and include specific school safety or security activities in the allowable or required uses of funds. Programs listed in this section provide funding to eligible entities (e.g., state educational agencies [SEAs] or local governments or local educational agencies [LEAs]) specifically for the purpose of implementing initiatives that promote school safety or security. The programs fall into two categories: (1) “Grant Programs,” including formula grants and competitive grants; and (2) “Non-grant Programs and Initiatives,” which include councils, commissions, or task forces specifically targeting school safety and security and laws related to school safety and security. Within the “Grant Programs” section, grant programs are ordered from largest to smallest by their most recent available appropriations levels. Within the “Non-grant Programs and Initiatives” section, items are listed alphabetically, subsections are also listed alphabetically, and laws are listed chronologically by year of initial enactment.
Some of the grant programs described in this section are solely intended to support school safety and security purposes; others explicitly list school safety or security activities as a purpose of the program or among other possible uses of funds.
9 For more information about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, see CRS Report R47310, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (P.L. 117-159): Section-by-Section Summary.
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Grant Programs
Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants
Federal Agency ED, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Office of Safe and Healthy Students (OSHS) Authorizing Legislation Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title IV-A, §§4101 et seq.
Appropriation (FY2024) $1.38 billion Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives LEAs receiving an SSAE grant ≥$30,000 must provide assurances that they will use ≥20% of their grant funds for activities to support “safe and healthy students.” The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
The SSAE grants program is a block grant program authorized under Title IV-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95). The purpose of SSAE grants is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of states, LEAs, schools, and local communities to (1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, (2) improve school conditions for student learning, and (3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital learning of all students.10
SSAE grant funds are allocated by formula to each state in proportion to the state’s prior-year allocation under Title I-A of the ESEA.11 The state must then reserve at least 95% of the allotment it receives to make allocations to LEAs via a similar formula. LEAs that receive a grant of $30,000 or more must provide assurances that they will use funds toward each of three broad categories of activities: (1) activities to support well-rounded educational opportunities, (2) activities to support safe and healthy students (they must use at least 20% of their funds for this purpose), and (3) activities to support the effective use of technology.12 Regardless of the size of an LEA’s SSAE grant, it may choose to spend the funds it reserves for supporting safe and healthy students on programs or initiatives focused on school safety only (e.g., programs focused on preventing violence, bullying, or harassment), on promoting student health only (e.g., programs focused on nutrition, exercise, or first aid training), or on both student health and school safety.13 For example, many programs that support student mental health relate to school safety because they aim to improve school climate, help prevent dangerous behaviors or activities (e.g., bullying, harassment, substance abuse), or help students respond to and recover from school violence (e.g., counseling, support groups). SSAE grants are flexible enough to allow LEAs to use the majority (and in some cases the entirety)14 of their SSAE grant funds toward school safety and security programs or to use them for activities completely unrelated to school safety (e.g., a program on healthy eating and nutrition or Advanced Placement courses).
10 20 U.S.C. §7111; P.L. 114-95, §§4101 et al.
11 Ibid.
12 20 U.S.C. §7116; P.L. 114-95, §4106(e)(2).
13 Implementing both school safety and student health initiatives could mean (1) implementing two separate programs or (2) implementing a program that could be considered as falling under both categories, such as suicide prevention or schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) programs.
14 For example, in the case of an LEA receiving a SSAE grant of less than $30,000, that LEA would only need to provide assurance that it would use its funds in at least one of three broad categories of activities (i.e., well-rounded education, safe and healthy students, and technology), meaning the LEA could choose to use anywhere between 0% and 100% of its funds towards school safety activities.
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The programs and activities an LEA selects to support in the category of Safe and Healthy Students (Section 4108) must, among other requirements, be used to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive programs and activities that foster safe, healthy, supportive, and drug- free environments that support student academic achievement. Examples of allowable activities in this category related to school safety and security include programs and activities for elementary and secondary students, and professional development and training for teachers and other school personnel, in the following areas:
• drug and violence prevention;
• suicide prevention;
• bullying and harassment prevention;
• re-entry/transition programs for justice-involved youth;
• mentoring and school counseling;
• recognition and prevention of coercion, violence, or abuse, including dating violence, stalking, and sexual violence and harassment;
• school-based mental health services, including early identification of mental health symptoms, drug use, and violence;
• schoolwide multitiered behavioral frameworks, such as positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) programs; and
• trauma-informed practices in classroom management, crisis management, and conflict resolution techniques.
For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10910, Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants.
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National Activities for School Safety
Federal Agency ED, OESE, OSHS
Authorizing Legislation National Activities for School Safety, ESEA, Title IV-F, §§4631 et seq.
Appropriation (FY2024) $216 million (See footnote 15 for more information on how grants may be allocated) Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives All funds support grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements selected by the Secretary of Education to carry out activities to improve students’ safety and well-being.
Title IV-F of the ESEA provides two authorizations for National Activities for School Safety programs.15 The first, Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV),16 is discussed separately later in this report. The second authorizes the Secretary of Education to use a portion of funds reserved for National Activities for School Safety to carry out activities to improve students’ safety and well-being, during and after the school day, with public or private entities, individuals, or other federal agencies.17
This section of the report discusses four currently funded National Activities for School Safety programs created by the Secretary of Education: School-Based Mental Health Services Grants; Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants; Supporting America’s School Infrastructure; and Project Prevent. Descriptions of each of the four programs follow and are ordered by FY2024 appropriation amount from largest to smallest.
School-Based Mental Health Services Grants18
In FY2020, Congress increased ED’s funding for the overall School Safety National Activities program and included instructions in the Explanatory Statement that a grant program should be created with the purpose of increasing the number of counselors, social workers, psychologists, or other service providers who deliver school-based mental health services to K-12 students. In summer 2020, as the country was confronting the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and youth, ED solicited applications for the first School-Based Mental
15 Annual appropriations acts specify funding for National Activities for School Safety, but generally do not specify appropriations amounts for programs implemented as part of these activities. In the annual Department of Education budget request, ED provides information on how much funding was provided for specific programs implemented under National Activities for Schools Safety in prior fiscal years and how much ED anticipates using for each program that would be carried out under these national activities in the upcoming fiscal year, if Congress provides the level of funding that ED has requested. While the FY2025 budget request was prepared before F2024 appropriations were enacted, the FY2025 budget request included information on how ED planned to use FY2024 appropriations of $216 million for National School Safety Activities. If ED allocates the National Activities for School Safety FY2024 appropriation as outlined in the FY2025 budget request, it would provide School-Based Mental Health Services Grants ($74.7 million), Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants ($63.1 million), Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) ($16.1 million), and Project Prevent ($13.5 million). In addition to regular appropriations, through FY2026 the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA; P.L. 117-159) provides $100 million annually for grants under the School-Based Mental Health Services and $100 million annually for grants under the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants programs. (U.S. Department of Education, Department of Education Safe Schools and Citizenship Education, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request, Washington, DC, 2024, pp. 9-30, https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget25/justifications/h-ssce.pdf.)
16 20 U.S.C. §7281(a)(1)(A), ESEA, §4631(a)(1)(A). See the “Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV)” section of this report.
17 20 U.S.C. §7281(a)(1)(B), ESEA, §4631(a)(1)(B).
18 For each fiscal year between FY2022 and FY2026, the BSCA (P.L. 117-159) provides $100 million for grants under the School-Based Mental Health Services Grants.
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Health Services Grants competition. School-Based Mental Health Services Grants were awarded to SEAs, LEAs, and school districts to increase the number of mental health professionals (e.g., counselors, social workers, psychologists) who provide school-based mental health services to students in high-need schools and LEAs in FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022. The latest application period for School-Based Mental Health Services Grants closed on May 31, 2024.19 SEAs awarded School-Based Mental Health Services Grants are required to provide matching funds of at least 25% of their grant amounts.
Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants20
The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants program’s purpose is to “expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained professionals to address shortages of mental health services in high-need schools[21] and to provide supports that encompass social and emotional learning, mental wellness, resilience, and positive connections between students and adults.”22 In FY2019, ED awarded the first cohort of Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants. ED granted up to $500,000 to three SEAs and 24 LEAs in 17 states to support partnerships to train school-based mental health service providers to serve in schools located in high-need LEAs.23 There were new Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants awards made in FY2022 and FY2023. FY2024 applications have been submitted but grantees had not been announced as of September 16, 2024.
Supporting America’s School Infrastructure Grant Program (SASI)
The SASI grant program was created to increase the capacity of states to support high-need LEAs working to leverage available federal, state, and local resources to increase school environmental health and safety by improving public school infrastructure. The Secretary of Education competitively awarded the first cohort of approximately $37 million SASI grants to eight state entities in November 2023. Appropriations for SASI also support the National Center on School Infrastructure, which serves as a clearinghouse of resources for SEAs and LEAs “related to improving and developing safe, healthy, sustainable, and equitable public school infrastructure through public school infrastructure improvements, and provide technical assistance (TA) to Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) grantees and high-need LEAs seeking to leverage available resources to improve public school facilities for all students.”24
19 As of September 16, 2024, grantees had not been announced.
20 For each fiscal year between FY2022 and 2026, the BSCA (P.L. 117-159) provides $100 million for grants under the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants programs.
21 High-need school is defined in the Federal Register based on each LEA’s ranking of each school by percentage of students from low-income families enrolled in the LEA’s schools, as determined by the LEA based on one of several measures of poverty. For more information, see ED, OESE, “Applications for New Awards; Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program,” 84 Federal Register 29180-29186, June 21, 2019, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-13289/p-75.
22 ED, “U.S. Department of Education Announces New Grant Awards to Address School Safety and Improve Access to Mental Health Services,” press release, October 8, 2019.
23 High-need local educational agency is defined in the Federal Register based on factors such as the number and percentage of low-income families living in the LEA, rural status, and teachers with emergency, provisional, or temporary certification or licensure. For the full definition, see ED, OESE, “Applications for New Awards; Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant Program,” 84 Federal Register 29180-29186, June 21, 2019, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2019-13289/p-68.
24 ED, Department of Education Safe Schools and Citizenship Education, Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request, Washington, DC, 2024, pp. 10-15, https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget25/justifications/h-ssce.pdf.
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Project Prevent
Project Prevent grants are intended to increase the capacity of LEAs to assist schools in providing students who have been directly or indirectly exposed to violence with a variety of support services and school-based violence prevention strategies in order to help break the cycle of violence in their communities. Project Prevent grantees must provide counseling, school-based social emotional and behavioral supports, and other assistance to schools to help them identify, assess, and serve students exposed to violence. In addition, in the most recent Project Prevent grant competition in FY2019, grantees were encouraged to demonstrate how they would collaborate with a local mental health agency in their applications.25 In 2019, ED awarded Project Prevent grants to 15 LEAs in 14 states, totaling approximately $11.4 million, to support initiatives offering students social and emotional supports to cope with trauma or anxiety due to violence in their communities and for implementing conflict resolution and other school-based strategies to prevent future violence.26 In FY2023, ED awarded $17.7 million in Project Prevent grant continuation awards, and an additional $6.4 million in new grant awards.27
Matching Grant Program for School Security
Federal Agency DOJ, Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); and DOJ, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office Authorizing Legislation The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386), §1108(b)
Appropriation (FY2024) For BJA: $122.0 million For COPS: $73.0 million Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives All grants are awarded to state, local, and tribal governments for programs to address school violence and enhance school security.
Under the Matching Grant Program for School Security, BJA is authorized to award competitive grants to state, tribal, and local governments28 for
• training school personnel and students to prevent student violence against others and themselves;
• developing and operating anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and websites;
• developing and operating school threat assessment and intervention teams, which may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel and specialized training for school officials in responding to mental health crises; and
• implementing any other measure that the BJA Director determines may provide a significant improvement in training, school threat assessments and reporting, and school violence prevention.
25 The FY2019 Project Prevent grant competition included a Competitive Preference Priority (which could result in up to eight additional points on the application score) for projects that showed they had an agreement with a local mental health agency to provide resources and/or administer services to support their program. See ED, OESE, “Applications for New Awards; Project Prevent Grant Program,” 84 Federal Register 26082, June 5, 2019.
26 ED, Project Prevent Grant Program, November 6, 2019, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/safe- supportive-schools/project-prevent-grant-program/.
27 ED, Department of Education Safe Schools and Citizenship Education Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request, Washington, DC, p. 13, https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget25/justifications/h-ssce.pdf.
28 Per 34 U.S.C. §10554(1), for the purposes of this program, a local government is “a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level.”
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BJA awards the funding it receives pursuant to the authorization for the Matching Grant Program for School Security under its STOP School Violence program. In addition, for FY2024, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) opened a grant solicitation under an Enhancing School Capacity to Address Youth Violence program, which OJJDP indicates is authorized under the Matching Grant Program for School Security.
The COPS Office is authorized to make grants to state, tribal, and local governments29 for
• coordination between schools and local law enforcement to improve security on school grounds;
• training local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and themselves;
• placing and using metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures in schools;
• acquiring and installing technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and
• implementing any other measure that the COPS Office Director determines may provide a significant improvement in security.
The COPS Office awards the funding it receives pursuant to the authorization for the Matching Grant Program for School Security under its School Violence Prevention program.
State, local, and tribal governments can use grant awards for contracts or subgrants to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and other units of local government or tribal organizations. Grantees under this program are required to provide a 25% match.
Project Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education (Project AWARE)
Federal Agency HHS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Authorizing Legislation Public Health Service Act (PHSA), §520A Priority Mental Health Needs of Regional and National Significance (Mental Health PRNS)
SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115- 271), §7134
Appropriation (FY2024) Project AWARE Grants ($110.5 million) ReCAST ($17.5 million) Trauma-Informed Services in Schools ($12 million)
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives Project AWARE grants support school-based mental health programs, including trauma-informed services.
Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) is a program whose purpose is to develop a sustainable infrastructure for school-based mental health programs and services.30 Project AWARE consists of competitive grants supporting activities that identify children and youth in need of mental health services, increase access to mental health treatment, and promote mental health literacy among teachers and school personnel.31 Project AWARE consists of three components: (1) Project AWARE grants, (2) Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) grants, and (3) Trauma-Informed Services in Schools (TISS) grants.
29 Per 34 U.S.C. §10554(1), for the purposes of this program, a local government is “a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level.”
30 HHS, SAMHSA, Project AWARE, https://www.samhsa.gov/school-campus-health/project-aware.
31 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
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Project AWARE is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS. Project AWARE is carried out through SAMHSA’s general authorities in Title V of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA); the program is not explicitly authorized in statute.32 Project AWARE originated as part of the Obama Administration’s 2013 Now Is the Time initiative.33 Launched in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, in 2012, this plan introduced a number of activities aimed at protecting children and communities by reducing gun violence.34 Project AWARE builds upon strategies used in the Clinton Administration’s 1999 Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative for creating safe and secure schools and promoting students’ mental health in communities across the country.35
Project AWARE Grants
Project AWARE grants support collaborative partnerships between LEAs, SEAs, State Mental Health Agencies, community-based behavioral health providers, and others in building capacity to provide school-based mental health services. Previously known as the Project AWARE State or SEA grants, these funds have historically supported SEAs in (1) increasing awareness of mental health issues among school-aged youth, (2) providing training for school personnel and other adults to detect mental health issues, and (3) connecting school-aged youth with mental health issues and their families to needed services.36 Recent grant cycles have expanded eligibility beyond SEAs to include LEAs, health facilities, and nonprofit entities, among others.37 Project AWARE grantees use funds to train teachers and other school personnel on mental health awareness and how to connect school-aged youth to needed services. Other activities include school-based mental health and wellness programs, increased mental health services for school- aged youth, and implementation of evidence-based mental health interventions, among others. Project AWARE grants are authorized through SAMHSA’s Mental Health Programs of Regional and National Significance (PRNS) authorities.38
In FY2022, SAMHSA awarded 9 new Project AWARE grants and supported the continuation of 46 grants.39 In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 26 new grants and supported the continuation of 62
32 One component of Project AWARE, the Trauma-Informed Services in Schools grant program, is authorized by the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271).
33 The White House (Obama Administration), Now Is the Time: The President’s Plan to Protect Our Children and Our Communities by Reducing Gun Violence, January 16, 2013, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/ docs/wh_now_is_the_time_full.pdf.
34 The White House (Obama Administration), Now Is the Time to Do Something About Gun Violence, 2013, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/preventing-gun-violence.
35 HHS, SAMHSA, The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative: A Legacy of Success, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-4798, 2013, https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/sma13-4798.pdf. The Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative was instituted partially in response to a series of school shootings, including the incident at Columbine High School in April 1999.
36 HHS, SAMHSA, Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Education Agency Grants, Funding Opportunity Announcement, October 24, 2018, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/ sm-19-003.
37 HHS, SAMHSA, Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education), Notice of Funding Opportunity (SM-23-001), February 27, 2023, https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/grants/pdf/fy-2023-project- aware-nofo.pdf.
38 42 U.S.C. §290bb-32. HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
39 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2024, p. 40, http://www.hhs.gov/ budget.
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grants.40 The program has also supported technical assistance to develop school-based mental health models.41
Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST) Grants
The ReCAST program consists of competitive grants for communities that have recently faced civil unrest, community violence, or trauma. The purpose of the ReCAST program is to assist high-risk youth and families by promoting resilience through implementation of evidence-based violence prevention and youth engagement programs, as well as through linkages to trauma- informed behavioral health services.42 Until FY2022, when eligibility was expanded to include public or private nonprofit community organizations, eligibility for ReCAST grants was limited to local municipalities.43 SAMHSA awarded the first eight ReCAST grants in FY2016.44 In FY2022, SAMHSA awarded 1 new grant and 11 continuation grants. In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 7 new grants and supported 20 grant continuations.45
Trauma-Informed Services in Schools (TISS) Grants
Established in FY2022, School-Based Trauma-Informed Support Services and Mental Health Care for Children and Youth (Trauma-Informed Services in Schools, or TISS) grants are awarded to LEAs, SEAs, and tribal entities to increase student access to evidence-based, culturally relevant, and trauma-informed mental health care with the purpose of improving identification, referral, early intervention, treatment, and support services for students who need specialized support.
The Trauma-Informed Services in Schools grant is authorized under Section 7134 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (P.L. 115-271).46 The provision authorizes grants to SEAs and LEAs to increase student access to evidence-based trauma support services and mental health care. Funds are to be used for evidence-based activities, including collaborative efforts between school-based and trauma-informed mental health service systems; partnerships with Head Start agencies; school-wide behavioral interventions; professional development for teachers, school leaders, and other professionals; and technical assistance to school systems and mental health agencies, among others.
SAMHSA awarded the first seven TISS grants in FY2022. In FY2023, SAMHSA supported seven continuation grants (and an additional eight grants with funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act [P.L. 117-159]47) and awarded six new grants.
40 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, p. 38, http://www.hhs.gov/ budget.
41 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2021, p. 31, http://www.hhs.gov/ budget.
42 HHS, SAMHSA, Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma, Notice of Funding Opportunity (SM-22-019), September 1, 2022, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-22-019.
43 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
44 HHS, SAMHSA, ReCAST (Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma) Grants, Grants Archive, FY2016, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/awards/2016/SM-16-012.
45 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
46 For more information on Section 7134 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, see CRS Report R45423, Public Health and Other Related Provisions in P.L 115-271, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. SAMHSA’s general authorities for mental health activities are provided under Section 520 of the PHSA.
47 For more information, see CRS Report R47310, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (P.L. 117-159): Section-by- Section Summary.
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Healthy Transitions Program
Federal Agency HHS, SAMHSA Authorizing Legislation PHSA, §520A Mental Health PRNS
Appropriation (FY2024) $28.5 million Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives The Healthy Transitions program supports services addressing serious mental disorders among youth and young adults aged 16 to 25.
The Healthy Transitions program supports services for youth and young adults aged 16 to 25 who either have, or are at risk of developing, a serious mental health condition. According to SAMHSA, youth and young adults with mental illness and substance use disorders are more likely than their peers to face a more difficult transition to adulthood.48 Healthy Transitions grants support screening and detection, outreach and engagement, referrals to treatment, coordination of care, and evidence-based treatment interventions for this population. Grant-supported activities emphasize outreach and engagement to facilitate access to effective behavioral health interventions. Grantees include the state, tribal, or territorial agencies responsible for delivery of mental health services to youth and young adults.
The Healthy Transitions program was reorganized by the Obama Administration’s 2013 Now Is the Time initiative.49 In its FY2020 Congressional Budget Justification, SAMHSA stated that this program—in addition to Project AWARE—is “in support of the Federal Commission on School Safety which is aimed at reducing the incidences of school violence across the country and increasing school-based mental health services.”50 In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 23 new grants and supported the continuation of 16 grants.
Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT)
Federal Agency HHS, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Authorizing Legislation Public Health Service Act (PHSA), §520J
Appropriation (FY2024) $28.0 million Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives MHAT grants support training school personnel in how to recognize a mental illness and respond during a mental health crisis.
The Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) program provides training to school personnel and individuals working with youth on how to recognize a mental illness, provide initial help in a mental health crisis, and connect students to appropriate care. MHAT grants support the use of Mental Health First Aid, a training program (structured similarly to standard first aid training) consisting of an eight-hour course that instructs participants in how to identify, understand, and respond to the signs of a behavioral health crisis.51 Previously part of Project AWARE, the MHAT
48 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2021, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
49 HHS, SAMHSA, “Now is the Time” Healthy Transitions (HT): Improving Life Trajectories for Youth and Young Adults with, or at Risk for, Serious Mental Health Conditions, Funding Opportunity Announcement, April 11, 2014, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/sm-14-017.
50 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2020, p. 4, http://www.hhs.gov/ budget.
51 HHS, SAMHSA, Mental Health First Aid Offers Behavioral Health Training, March 15, 2017.
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program received a standalone authorization in the Public Health Service Act in 2016 via the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).52
SAMHSA partners with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing53 to administer the MHAT grants. SAMHSA and its partners have been providing grants for Mental Health First Aid since 2013. In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 22 new MHAT grants and supported the continuation of 409 MHAT grants.54
Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV)
Federal Agency ED, OESE, OSHS
Authorizing Legislation National Activities for School Safety, ESEA, Title IV-F, §§4601, 4631
Appropriation (FY2024) $5.0 million FY2024 Awards (as of September 13, 2024) $2,596,621
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives 100% of Project SERV grants support schools and IHEs recovering from crises or traumatic events. The number of grants provided to K-12 schools recovering from school violence varies each year. IHEs and schools recovering from natural disasters also may receive Project SERV grants.
Section 4601 requires the Secretary of Education to reserve $5 million of the appropriation for National Activities for School Safety for Project SERV.55 ED awarded Project SERV grants to LEAs and IHEs totaling over $5.57 million in FY2022, $6.77 million in FY2023, and $2.60 million by September of FY2024.56 Appropriations for Project SERV not used in the fiscal year in which they are appropriated remain available for awards in subsequent years. For example, ED reported it had more than $13 million available for Project SERV grants, in May 2022, prior to awarding $1.5 million to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in Texas.57
52 The 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) created a new MHAT authority in the Public Health Service Act (§520J; 42 U.S.C. §290bb-41) which codified the Mental Health First Aid training grant component of Project AWARE. The new authority applies to a more general population. As such, the MHAT program now provides training grants to a variety of entities beyond schools, such as law enforcement agencies, fire departments, emergency first responders, and others.
53 The National Council for Mental Wellbeing (formerly the National Council for Behavioral Health) is a membership and advocacy organization focusing on behavioral health and behavioral health providers. Members include health care organizations and management entities that offer treatment for behavioral health issues. The National Council for Behavioral Health frequently partners with HHS/SAMHSA to carry out certain activities. More information can be found at https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/.
54 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget. Of the continuation grants, 173 were supported with base budget authority and 236 were supported with funds appropriated by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. For more information, see CRS Report R47310, Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (P.L. 117-159): Section-by-Section Summary.
55 Congress has specified the amount of funds to be reserved for Project SERV in the Department of Education annual appropriations act for many years. In most years, the amount that Congress specifies is $5 million. Funds are not necessarily used in the fiscal year in which they are appropriated. Unused funds from a given fiscal year remain available for subsequent fiscal years.
56 Project SERV funds are not necessarily used in the fiscal year in which they are appropriated. Unused funds from a given fiscal year remain available for subsequent fiscal years.
57 Juan Perez Jr., “Education Department fast-tracks $1.5 million to Uvalde schools,” Politico, June 13, 2022.
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Project SERV was first proposed in October 1998 as a program that would allow ED to help schools quickly in the wake of a school shooting.58 It was conceived of as a way for ED to respond to school based crises similar to the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports communities struck by natural disasters.59 Congress first funded Project SERV in FY2000 after the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Columbine, CO. In its first year, Project SERV provided support to two school communities after school shootings. When the September 11th terrorist attacks occurred in 2001, Congress recognized that Project SERV was a program that could support school communities through a wide variety of crises and expanded the list of crises affecting LEAs and IHEs that could qualify for Project SERV grants.60
Currently, LEAs and IHEs are eligible to apply for a Project SERV grant if they experience a violent or traumatic crisis, which disrupts the learning environment, and can
1) Demonstrate the traumatic effect on the learning environment including how the event has disrupted teaching and learning; and
2) Demonstrate that the needed services cannot be adequately provided with existing resources in a comprehensive and timely manner, and that the provision of services and assistance will result in an undue financial hardship on the LEA or IHE.61
LEAs and IHEs may apply for a Project SERV grant for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to
• school shootings;
• suicide clusters;
• terrorism (e.g., September 11th attacks, DC sniper shootings);
• major natural disasters or pandemics (e.g., Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, COVID-19);
• bus accidents;
• homicides of students, teachers, or school personnel (committed off school grounds); and
• hate crimes committed against students, faculty members, and/or staff.62
Project SERV funds may be used for a wide variety of activities, including mental health assessments, referrals, and services for students, faculty, other school personnel, and members of their immediate families; temporary security measures; technical assistance in developing an appropriate recovery plan for addressing student needs; and training for teachers and staff in implementing the LEA’s recovery plan.
Project SERV funds are managed by different offices within ED, depending on the type of event that has disrupted the learning environment in the school(s) receiving Project SERV funds. For example, Project SERV funds for schools that have experienced violent or traumatic events are managed by the department’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, while Project SERV funds
58 Jessica Portner, “President Seeks To Boost Federal Role in School Safety,” Education Week, Vol. 18, Issue 8, October 18, 1998, pp. 6-7.
59 Joetta L. Sack, “Project SERV Funds Directed To Attacked Areas,” Education Week, October 3, 2001.
60 Ibid.
61 ED, “Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV): Eligibility,” website, accessed September 2024, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/safe-supportive-schools/project-serv-school-emergency-response- to-violence/eligibility-project-serv-school-emergency-response-to-violence/.
62 Ibid.
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provided in response to a major natural disaster are managed by the ED’s Disaster Recovery Unit.63
Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management Grants
Federal Agency ED
Authorizing Legislation Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) Title VIII-L, §821
Appropriation (FY2024) This program has never received an appropriation.
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives All program funds are used to make grants to IHEs or consortia of IHEs to carry out a range of activities to improve safety and emergency communications at IHEs. Grantees must provide nonfederal matching funds equal to 100% of the amount of the federal grant.
HEA Section 821 authorizes the Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management grant program. Under the program, ED is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to IHEs or consortia of IHEs to pay for the federal share of costs to carry out a range of activities to improve safety and emergency communications at IHEs. Grant recipients must provide nonfederal matching funds equal to 100% of the amount of the federal grant.
Recipients may use funds for a variety of activities, including (1) developing and implementing an emergency communications system to notify students of a significant emergency or dangerous situation; (2) supporting measures to improve safety at the grantee IHE campuses, such as security assessments, personnel security training, and acquisition of security technologies and systems (e.g., video surveillance); and (3) coordinating with local entities for the provision of mental health services for students and staff affected by a campus or community emergency.
The program was first authorized under the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (P.L. 110- 315). Appropriations were authorized for FY2009 through FY2014 at “such sums as may be necessary.”64 The program has never received an appropriation and, thus, has never been implemented.
Non-grant Programs and Initiatives65
DHS Outreach and Capacity Building
Following the February 2018 mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, DHS began focusing departmental resources on school security. Some of the resources include a school safety after-action report and downloadable school safety and security guides.66 Other DHS outreach and capacity-building programs specifically focus on school security and include guidance, training, and support to assist LEAs with identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, and evaluating and building capabilities, as described below.
63 See ED, “School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV),” website, accessed September 2024, https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-formula-grants/safe-supportive-schools/project-serv-school-emergency-response- to-violence/.
64 Section 422 of the General Education Provisions Act automatically extended the authorization of appropriation for the program for an additional year (through FY2015).
65 Programs and initiatives are listed alphabetically.
66 U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), “School Safety and Security,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/school-safety-and-security.
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Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model
The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) developed and published an operational guide that outlines steps schools can take to enhance their security.67
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service, in collaboration with ED, have recommended that schools adopt a threat assessment68 approach to prevent targeted acts of violence.69 The model tasks schools with creating a threat assessment team that evaluates the likelihood an explicit threat of violence by a student may be carried out. Explicit threats of violence made by students or other warning signs of imminent violent behavior trigger an immediate investigation. When a potential threat of violence is investigated, the team follows a series of steps in a decision tree to determine whether the threat is transient or substantive.70 Interventions to prevent the violent behavior seek to resolve the issue that led the student to make a threat. Interventions could include immediate security measures, such as notifying law enforcement. Responses can also include developing a treatment plan, which may involve intensive mental health services. In the most serious cases, a multidisciplinary team conducts a comprehensive safety evaluation that includes a law enforcement investigation and a mental health assessment of the student.71
Active Shooter Preparedness: School Security and Resilience Training
DHS developed and published an active shooter preparedness training for educators, SROs, and school administrators.72 The training is provided remotely through videos.
School Transportation Security Outreach
DHS provides guidelines and other materials to LEAs and their transportation providers on school bus security. Publications include the “Employee Guide to School Bus Security”73 issued by DHS’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
SchoolSafety.gov
In the wake of the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, the Federal Commission on School Safety was formed to make policy recommendations on a range of school safety and security issues. The Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety Presented to the President of the United States provided the recommendation that “the federal government should develop a clearinghouse to assess, identify,
67 DHS, “School Safety and Security,” website, accessed June 2021, https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/ publications/18_0711_USSS_NTAC-Enhancing-School-Safety-Guide.pdf.
68 Threat assessment is an empirically supported process of evaluating the likelihood a threat of violence will occur and intervening with a comprehensive, team-led response. Dewey Cornell, Peter Sheras, and Anne Gregory et al., “A Retrospective Study of School Safety Conditions in High Schools Using the Virginia Threat Assessment Guidelines Versus Alternative Approaches,” School Psychology Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 2 (2009) (hereinafter, “A Retrospective Study of School Safety Conditions in High Schools”).
69 Mary Ellen O'Toole, The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective, DOJ, FBI, Quantico, VA, 2000, https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/stats-services-publications-school-shooter-school-shooter.
70 A Retrospective Study of School Safety Conditions in High Schools.
71 Ibid.
72 DHS, “School Safety and Security,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical- security/school-safety.
73 DHS, “Employee Guide to School Bus Security (Brochure),” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=770767.
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and share best practices related to school security measures, technologies, and innovations.”74 The Federal School Safety Clearinghouse (Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Evidence-Based Practices) was formed as an interagency effort among the ED, HHS, DHS, and DOJ. Their public website is SchoolSafety.gov.
DHS administers SchoolSafety.gov, which provides a central location for school safety and security materials provided by ED, DHS, HHS, and DOJ and serves as the clearinghouse recommended by the commission. SchoolSafety.gov provides schools and school districts with actionable recommendations and school safety resources to help create safe and supportive learning environments. SchoolSafety.gov’s resources are presented along a preparedness continuum, beginning with prevention and progressing through protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Topics covered include bullying, mental health, school climate, physical security, security personnel, emergency planning, threat assessment and reporting, and recovery.
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
The Gun-Free School Zones Act75 was originally enacted as part of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-647) prohibiting “any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.”76 Among other things, the law prohibits individuals (with certain exceptions77) from bringing a firearm into, on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of a school, meaning a public, parochial, or private school that provides elementary or secondary education.78 Individuals who violate the Gun-Free School Zones Act may be fined, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.79
After the Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress’ Commerce Clause authority,80 the 104th Congress amended the associated U.S. Code provisions81 in the 1997 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 104-208) to include an explicit connection between guns and interstate commerce, declaring among its findings, “firearms and ammunition move easily in interstate commerce and have been found in increasing numbers in and around schools.”82 In addition, Congress added a clause about interstate commerce to the provisions, specifying the act applies to individuals who knowingly possess “a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce.”83
74 Ibid., p. 126.
75 Section 1702 of P.L. 101-647.
76 18 U.S.C. §922(q)(1)(A).
77 Exceptions under current law include if the individual is a law-enforcement officer, traversing school premises to gain access to hunting lands, in possession of a license issued by the state or a political subdivision of the state, participating in a school-approved program or pursuant to contract with the school, or on private property not part of school grounds; or if the firearm is not loaded and is in a locked container or motor-vehicle-mounted gun rack. See 18 U.S.C. §922(q).
78 18 C.F.R. §§921(a)(25-26).
79 18 C.F.R. §924(a)(4).
80 United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
81 18 U.S.C. §922(q).
82 18 U.S.C. §922(q)(1)(C).
83 18 U.S.C. §922(q)(2)(A); “It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.”
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Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994
In March 1994, Congress enacted the similarly named Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA), which requires states to adopt certain policies as a condition of receiving federal funding under the ESEA. The GFSA was originally enacted as an amendment to the ESEA under the Goals 2000: Educate America Act (P.L. 103-227), requiring LEAs that received ESEA funds to have in effect a policy requiring any student who was determined to have brought a weapon to a school within that LEA be expelled from school for at least one year.84 Congress reauthorized the GFSA85 as part of the comprehensive reauthorization of the ESEA under the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-382). The last significant update to the GFSA was during the comprehensive reauthorization of the ESEA under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-110).
With certain exceptions,86 the GFSA requires states receiving federal education funds under the ESEA to
(1) have in effect a State law requiring LEAs to expel from school for a period of not less than one year a student who is determined to have brought a firearm to school, or to have possessed a firearm at school; (2) have in effect a State law allowing an LEA’s chief administering officer to modify the expulsion requirement on a case-by-case basis, if such modification is in writing; and (3) report to the Secretary on an annual basis concerning information submitted by LEAs to the SEA.87
Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC)
DHS, in partnership with ED, chairs the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC), which works with and advises state and local schools, including colleges and universities, on security issues. The HSAAC is currently comprised of 19 members in addition to the DHS Chair: 16 members are administrators of IHEs or leaders of higher education consortiums or associations, and 3 are ex-officio members from DOJ, ED, and the U.S. Department of State. The HSAAC also provides advice and recommendations to the DHS Secretary and departmental senior leadership on matters related to homeland security and the academic community, including student and recent student graduate recruitment, international students, academic research, campus resilience, homeland security academic programs, and cybersecurity.88
84 The provisions allowed for LEA’s policies to contain an exception allowing the “chief administering officer of the agency to modify such expulsion requirement for a student on a case-by-case basis.” P.L. 103-227, §8001(a)(1).
85 Section 14601 of P.L. 103-382.
86 Exceptions under current law include, “a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, or if it is for activities approved and authorized by the local educational agency and the local educational agency adopts appropriate safeguards to ensure student safety.” 20 U.S.C. §7961(g).
87 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Guidance Concerning State and Local Responsibilities, Washington, DC, November 2018.
88 DHS, Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC), https://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-academic- advisory-council-hsaac#.
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Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act
HEA Section 485(f), referred to as the Clery Act, requires domestic IHEs that participate in the HEA Title IV federal student financial aid programs to (1) report campus crime statistics to ED89 and (2) establish and disseminate campus safety and security policies. Both the campus crime statistics and campus safety and security policies must be compiled and disseminated to current and prospective students and employees in an IHE’s annual security report (ASR).90
Campus crime statistics that IHEs are required to report to ED and include in their ASRs include data on the on campus91 occurrence of a range of offenses specified in statute, including murder, burglary, robbery, domestic violence, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.
ASRs must also include statements of campus safety and security policies regarding, for example
• procedures and facilities for students and others to report criminal actions or other emergencies occurring on campus and an IHE’s response to such reports;
• facilities’ security and access;
• campus law enforcement, including the law enforcement authority of campus security personnel;
• programs designed to inform students and employees about the prevention of crimes; and
• current campus policies regarding immediate emergency response and evacuation procedures.
Model Emergency Response Policies, Procedures, and Practices
HEA Section 822 requires the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security, to continue to (1) advise IHEs on model emergency response and preparedness policies and procedures and (2) disseminate information about those policies and procedures. Following Section 822’s enactment, ED and several other agencies (including DHS and DOJ) published the Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Institutions of Higher Education92 to aid IHEs in creating emergency operations plans, which may meet Section 822’s mandate.
Youth Preparedness Council
DHS, through FEMA, created the Youth Preparedness Council in 2012 to engage young leaders interested in supporting emergency preparedness in their communities and schools. According to DHS, the members meet with FEMA staff throughout the school year to provide input on
89 For additional information, see ED, “Campus Safety,” https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/campus.html, accessed May 14, 2021.
90 For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF12597, The Clery Act and Postsecondary Institutions: Requirements and Enforcement.
91 For purposes of the Clery Act, campus includes campus areas, noncampus areas, and public property, if certain criteria are met. HEA §485(f)(6)(A)(ii).
92 ED et al., Guide for Developing High-Quality Emergency Operations Plans for Institutions of Higher Education, June 2013, https://rems.ed.gov/docs/rems_ihe_guide_508.pdf.
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strategies, initiatives, and projects, which may include school safety initiatives. Additionally, according to DHS, members attend FEMA’s annual council summit in Washington, DC.93
Programs That May Support School Safety Initiatives
This section of the report presents federal programs that do not specifically cite school safety and security as a primary purpose but may support related activities. These programs permit using funds to support school safety and security initiatives but do not require funds to be used in this way. School safety efforts may or may not be explicitly cited as a permitted use of funds in authorizing legislation, appropriations report language, or other agency documents (such as the program web page or agency Congressional Budget Justifications). For example, programs that are primarily focused on students’ academic achievement but allow a portion of funds to be used toward a variety of school-based programs—including school safety activities—are included in this section, as are children’s mental health programs implemented in schools.94 Activities for some programs included in this section may not appear to be related to school safety, but may affect school safety-related outcomes.
Programs listed in this section are predominantly grant programs, including block grants, formula grants, or competitive grants. The “Non-grant Programs and Initiatives” subsection describes several DHS security infrastructure programs and one Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveillance and support initiative.
Grant Programs
Education for the Disadvantaged: Grants to LEAs (Title I-A)
Federal Agency ED, OESE, Office of State Support (OSS)
Authorizing Legislation ESEA, Title I-A, §§1114, 1115
Appropriation (FY2024) $18.4 billion
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives Title I-A schoolwide programs and targeted assistance programs primarily provide academic support to disadvantaged children, but may be used, in certain circumstances, to provide school-based mental health services or other social services. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Title I-A of the ESEA authorizes federal aid to LEAs for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of
93 DHS, “School Safety and Security,” website, accessed June 2021, https://www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness- council.
94 While research suggests that individuals with mental health issues are not necessarily more likely to commit violent acts than other individuals, mental health services (including a variety of social-emotional and behavioral health interventions) are often included as part of prevention, intermediation, and recovery activities pertaining to school safety. Therefore, programs that include school-based mental health services but may not explicitly mention “school safety and security” are included in this section. Most federally supported mental health programs that are administered in community-based settings—and do not explicitly address school safety and security—are not included in this report.
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students from low-income families. LEAs allocate Title I-A funds to the school level. Public schools operate either schoolwide programs95 or targeted assistance programs (TAP).96 Schoolwide programs are authorized if the percentage of low-income students served by a school is 40% or higher.97 In schoolwide programs, Title I-A funds may be used to improve the performance of all students in a school. Under TAP, Title I-A services are generally limited to the lowest-achieving students in the school.
While Title I-A does not include a specific list of required or allowable uses of funds, statutory language does specifically mention the use of Title I-A funds for activities related to school safety. Under schoolwide programs, statutory provisions require a school’s schoolwide plan to include a description of the strategies the school will implement to address school needs, including addressing the needs of all students through activities that may include counseling, school-based mental health programs, mentoring services, and a schoolwide tiered model to prevent and address problem behavior. Under TAP, each school must use methods and instructional strategies to strengthen the school’s academic program through activities that may include mental health services, other social services, or a schoolwide system of interventions and supports to prevent and address problem behavior. It may be possible for schools to use Title I-A funds for other school safety-related purposes if they are related to improving student academic achievement. Both schoolwide programs and TAP may be coordinated and integrated with other federal, state, and local services, resources, and programs, including violence prevention programs.
For more information, see CRS Report R45977, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as Amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): A Primer.
Supporting Effective Instruction
Federal Agency ED, OESE, OSS
Authorizing Legislation ESEA, Title II-A, §2103
Appropriation (FY2024) $2.2 billion
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives At the discretion of the state or LEA, funds may be used to train educators and other personnel in children’s mental health and school safety. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Supporting Effective Instruction grants provide funds to states and LEAs to support programs aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other school leaders, with the goal of increasing student achievement. Among numerous possible uses of funds, these grants may be used to develop programs or provide in-service training for educators and other school personnel on
• recognizing and preventing child sexual abuse;
• using multitier systems of support such as PBIS;
95 Schoolwide programs are authorized under ESEA, Section 1114.
96 Targeted assistance programs are authorized under ESEA, Section 1115.
97 A Title I-A school in which less than 40% of the children are from low-income families may request a waiver from the SEA to operate a schoolwide program.
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• understanding when and how to refer students affected by trauma and children with, or at risk of, mental illness to appropriate treatment and intervention services in the school and in the community;
• forming partnerships between school-based mental health programs and public or private mental health organizations; and
• addressing issues related to school conditions for student learning, such as safety, peer interaction, drug and alcohol abuse, and chronic absenteeism.98
Recently, LEAs have used the majority of their ESEA Title II-A funds99 for professional development. The next most common use of funds has been recruiting, hiring, and retaining effective educators.100
Preparedness Grants
Federal Agency DHS
Authorizing Legislation Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296), §§2003-2004
Appropriations (FY2024) Urban Area Security Initiative ($578 million) State Homeland Security Grant Program ($488.8 million) Emergency Management Performance Grant Program ($333.7 million)
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives As determined by state, territorial, and tribal governments. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
FEMA administers a number of grants that “provide state and local governments with preparedness program funding in the form of non-disaster grants to enhance the capacity of state and local emergency responders to prevent, respond to, and recover from a weapons of mass destruction terrorism incident involving chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive devices, and cyber-attacks.”101 Three of these programs may be used for public school safety and security if the state, territory, or tribal government awarded the grant determines that public school safety and security is a homeland security priority. These programs include the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), and the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program (EMPG).
Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI)
The UASI helps high-threat, high-density urban areas to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, which may include public school security activities. UASI recipients are determined annually by DHS and are based on the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) as determined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Annually, a limited number of high-risk and high-threat MSAs receive
98 20 U.S.C. §6613, P.L. 114-95 §2103.
99 Reauthorization of the ESEA by the Every Student Succeeds Act (P.L. 114-95), in December 2015, revised Title II-A and changed the name of the program to Supporting Effective Instruction, but its general purpose remained the same.
100 ED, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, State and District Use of Title II, Part A Funds in 2022–23, Washington, DC, 2024.
101 See DHS, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness.
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funding. Federal UASI investments are based on UASI recipients’ Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (THIRA).
State Homeland Security Grant Program
The SHSGP assists state, territorial, tribal, and local governments with addressing high-priority preparedness gaps related to potential acts of terrorism.102 Communities develop capabilities to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from threats and hazards that pose the greatest terrorism risk, and this may include threats to schools.103 All SHSGP grants are based on preparedness capability gaps identified during DHS’s THIRA process and assessed in the Stakeholder Preparedness Review (SPR).104 THIRA is a three-step risk assessment process that assists individuals, businesses, faith-based organizations, nonprofit groups, schools and academia, and all levels of government in understanding their threats and hazards, and the capabilities required to manage their risk.105 SPR is a self-assessment of a jurisdiction’s current capability levels evaluated against the capability targets established in its THIRA.106
Emergency Management Performance Grant Program (EMPG)
The EMPG program provides federal funds to states to assist state, local, territorial, and tribal governments in preparing for all hazards, including human-caused disasters. These funds support the development of an emergency preparedness system for the protection of life and property in the United States from hazards and to vest responsibility for emergency preparedness jointly in the federal government, states, and their political subdivisions.107 School security is part of protection of life and property.
Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG)
Federal Agency HHS, SAMHSA
Authorizing Legislation PHSA, Title XIX-B, Subpart I
Appropriation (FY2024) $1.01 billion
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives The MHBG supports community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance. States have flexibility in the use of MHBG funds within the framework of the state plan and federal requirements. Most services are community-based, though schools may be a service location.
The MHBG supports community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness (SMI) and children with serious emotional disturbance (SED). SAMHSA distributes MHBG
102 For more information on national preparedness and response, see CRS Report R46696, National Preparedness: A Summary and Select Issues.
103 DHS, “National Preparedness Goal,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.fema.gov/national- preparedness-goal.
104 Ibid. See also https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/risk-capability-assessment.
105 DHS, FEMA, “Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment,” website, accessed September 2024, http://www.fema.gov/threat-and-hazard-identification-and-risk-assessment.
106 DHS, FEMA, “Risk Capability Assessment,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.fema.gov/emergency- managers/risk-management/risk-capability-assessment.
107 DHS, FEMA, “Emergency Management Performance Grants Program,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/emergency-management-performance.
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funds to states (including the District of Columbia and specified territories108) according to a formula specified in statute. Each state may distribute MHBG funds to local government entities and nongovernmental organizations to provide community mental health services for adults with SMI and children with SED in accordance with the state’s plan. States have flexibility in the use of MHBG funds within the framework of the state plan and federal requirements. While use of funds is generally determined by the states, each state must expend at least 10% of its block grant funds each fiscal year (or at least 20% by the end of the succeeding fiscal year) to support evidence-based programs to address early SMI. Most services are community-based, though schools may be a service location.109
The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
Federal Agency DOJ, OJP, BJA
Authorizing Legislation The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162), §1111
Appropriation (FY2024) $345.5 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives JAG grant recipients may use their funding for school safety initiatives, but they are not required to do so. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
JAG is a formula grant program that provides funding to state, local, and tribal governments for a variety of criminal justice initiatives. Grant recipients can use their JAG funds for technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and criminal justice information systems related to JAG’s program purpose areas.110
JAG’s broad program purpose areas are intended to give grantees flexibility in using grant funds to address local needs. As such, grant recipients may use their funding for school safety initiatives, but they are not required to do so.
For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10691, The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program.
Community Support for School Success
Federal Agency ED, OESE
Authorizing Legislation ESEA, Title IV-F-2, §§4624, 4625
Appropriation (FY2024) Promise Neighborhoods: $91.0 million Full-Service Community Schools: $150.0 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives As determined by grantees (states, LEAs, IHEs, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations) who must provide pipeline services, which may include mental health services and supports. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
108 Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia. See 42 C.F.R. §300x-64(b)(3).
109 For more information on the MHBG, see CRS Report R46426, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Overview of the Agency and Major Programs.
110 JAG’s program areas are enumerated at 34 U.S.C. §10152(a)(1).
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The Community Support for School Success subpart (Title IV-F-2 of the ESEA) authorizes both the Promise Neighborhoods and the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) programs. Both programs are designed to provide pipeline services, defined as “a continuum of coordinated supports, services, and opportunities for children from birth through entry into and success in postsecondary education, and career attainment.”111 Pipeline services are designed to address the needs of children and youth in the communities served, and may include services such as family and community engagement and support, workforce readiness activities, mental health services and supports, and juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs.
Promise Neighborhoods
The Promise Neighborhoods program is designed to provide pipeline services in neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income individuals and multiple signs of distress (e.g., high rates of poverty, academic failure, and juvenile delinquency), and in schools implementing comprehensive or targeted support and improvement activities under ESEA Title I-A. Among other requirements, pipeline services must include strategies to address, through services or programs, mental health services and supports. They must also include juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs.
Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS)
The FSCS program provides grants to public elementary and secondary schools to participate in a community-based effort to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health, juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships. Access to such services is provided in schools to students, families, and the community. Similar to Promise Neighborhoods, FSCS must also provide pipeline services, which must include strategies to address mental health services and supports and juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs. Each LEA must have a plan that describes a needs assessment that identifies academic, physical, nonacademic, health, mental health, and other needs of students, families, and community members. Each FSCS must also have a full-time coordinator to coordinate the delivery of pipeline services.
For more information, see CRS In Focus IF11196, ESEA: The Promise Neighborhoods and Full- Service Community Schools Programs.
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program
Federal Agency DOJ, COPS
Authorizing Legislation Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), as amended, Title I, §10003
Appropriation (FY2024) $156.7 million Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives COPS hiring grants may be used to hire law enforcement officers to serve as SROs. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
The COPS hiring program provides grants to state, local, and tribal governments with primary law enforcement responsibilities to hire new or former law enforcement officers for entry-level positions (e.g., patrol officers, sheriff’s deputies).112 COPS hiring grants can be used to hire law
111 20 U.S.C. §7272(3), P.L. 114-95 §4622(3).
112 For more information on the COPS program, see CRS In Focus IF10922, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program.
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enforcement officers to serve as SROs (though there is no data on how frequently COPS grants are used for this purpose). Applicants who want to hire SROs are required to submit a memorandum of understanding between the law enforcement agency and the partner school that outlines the “roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the individuals and partners involved including SROs, school officials, law enforcement, education departments, students, and parents.”113 The COPS Office also requires SROs hired with grant funds to complete a 40-hour SRO basic training course from a list of providers approved by the COPS Office.114
For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10922, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program.
Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI)
Federal Agency HHS, SAMHSA
Authorizing Legislation PHSA, §§561-565.
Appropriation (FY2024) $130.0 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives CMHI grants support a wide variety of activities, including caregiver and family support, legal advocacy, tutoring and mentoring, vocational skills training, case management, medical care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, individual and family therapy, diversion and prevention services, and special education classes, among others. Most services are community-based, though schools are a common service location. The Systems of Care portion of CMHI focuses exclusively on children’s mental health.
Created in 1992, SAMHSA’s Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances Program—known as the Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI)—serves children with SED.115 The program does this by supporting Systems of Care for children with emotional disturbances and their families. Systems of Care is a strategic approach to the delivery of services that incorporates family-driven, strengths-based, and culturally competent care to meet the physical, intellectual, emotional, cultural, and social needs of children and youth. Systems of Care is designed to promote partnerships across child-serving agencies that care for children with SED. The Systems of Care Expansion and Sustainability grants assist states, local governments, tribes, and territories in their efforts to deliver or facilitate access to community-based or school-based mental health services. Most services are community-based, though schools are a common location for services.116 Since 2018, there has been a 10% set-aside for efforts to address youth at high clinical risk for psychosis (known as the prodrome phase). In
113 DOJ, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, School Resource Officer Memorandum of Understanding, p. 1, https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2024ProgramDocs/SRO_MOU_FACT_SHEET.pdf.
114 DOJ, COPS Office, FY24 COPS Hiring Program (CHP) Pre-Award Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), p. 10, https://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2024ProgramDocs/chp/faqs.pdf.
115 Children with serious emotional disturbance are defined as “persons [f]rom birth up to age 18, [w]ho currently or at any time during the past year, [h]ave had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria ... [t]hat resulted in functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits the child’s role or functioning in family, school, or community activities” according to 58 Federal Register 29422, May 20, 1993.
116 HHS, SAMHSA, Center for Mental Health Services, The Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances Program, Report to Congress 2016, PEP18-CMHI2016, 2016, https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/pep18-cmhi2016.pdf.
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FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 33 new grants and supported 44 continuation grants, and a technical assistance center.117
Education of Homeless Children and Youth
Federal Agency ED, OESE, OSHS
Authorizing Legislation McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, Title VII-B
Appropriation (FY2024) $129.0 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives Title VII-B requires SEAs to provide competitive subgrants to LEAs to facilitate school enrollment, attendance, and success for homeless children and youth. In certain circumstances, these funds may be used to provide school-based mental health services, violence prevention counseling, or other social services. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act authorizes the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, which is administered by ED and provides funds to SEAs to ensure all homeless children and youth have equal access to public education. Grants made by SEAs to LEAs under this program must be used to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, transportation to school, and success in school of homeless youth. Funds may be used for services such as tutoring; supplemental instruction; specialized instructional support services (including violence prevention counseling); health services and referrals for medical, dental, mental, and other health services; and activities to address the particular needs of homeless children and youth that may arise from domestic violence and parental mental health or substance abuse problems. During school year 2021-2022, more than one million homeless children and youth were eligible for services.
For more information, see CRS Report R47830, Education for Homeless Children and Youths: Data and Issues and CRS In Focus IF11152, Federal Support for Runaway and Homeless Youth.
National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI)
Federal Agency HHS, SAMHSA
Authorizing Legislation PHSA, §582
Appropriation (FY2024) $98.9 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives The NCTSI supports a network of members in developing and promoting effective community practices for children and adolescents exposed to a wide array of traumatic events. Most of the service providers are community-based, though many grantees partner with local schools and LEAs to train educators and staff. Some community treatment grantees also provide services in school settings. The exact amount used for school-related activities is unknown.
Established in 2000, the NCTSI aims to improve behavioral health services and interventions for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events. Through the NCTSI, SAMHSA provides grants, education and training, technical support, data collection, evaluation services, and
117 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2023, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
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information on evidence-based interventions for trauma care for use in mental health clinics, schools, or child welfare or juvenile justice settings.
SAMHSA provides funding for a national network of grantees knowns as the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Funding supports the NCTSN members in developing and promoting effective community practices for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events. A component of this work has been the development of resources and delivery of training and consultation to support the development of trauma-informed child-serving systems.
While most of the service providers are community-based, many service center grantees partner with local schools and school systems to provide training to educators and school staff. Additionally, some community treatment grantees provide services in school settings such as school-based mental health programs.118 In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded a new cohort of 30 grants and supported 163 continuation grants.119
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Part B, State Formula Grants
Federal Agency DOJ, OJP, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Authorizing Legislation The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-385)
Appropriation (FY2024) $65.0 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives States are authorized to use funding for a variety of juvenile justice related purposes, some of which might promote school safety and security. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Under this program, the OJJDP makes grants to states that can be used to fund the planning, establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of juvenile delinquency programs and to improve juvenile justice systems. State formula grant funds are allocated annually based on each eligible state’s proportion of people under age 18.120
Under the program, 75% of the funding a state receives must be used for juvenile justice-related programs, which could include school safety and security, such as
• comprehensive juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs that meet the needs of youth through the collaboration of the many local systems before which a youth may appear, including schools, courts, law enforcement agencies, child protection agencies, mental health agencies, welfare services, health care agencies, and private nonprofit agencies offering youth services;
• education programs or supportive services in traditional public schools and detention/corrections education settings to encourage youth to remain in school, or alternative learning programs;
• mental health services for youth in custody who are in need of such services;
118 For a list of grantees and a brief description of grant-funded programs and activities, see HHS, SAMHSA, “Individual Grant Awards,” 2016, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/awards/2016/SM-16-005.
119 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget.
120 There are four core mandates with which, except for specified exceptions, states must generally comply: states must keep status offenders (such as truants) out of secure detention or correctional facilities, states cannot detain or confine juveniles in facilities in which they would have contact with adult inmates, juveniles cannot be detained or confined in any jail or lockup for adults, and states must show that they are working to address racial and ethnic disparities within their juvenile justice systems.
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• programs that assist delinquent and at-risk youth in obtaining a sense of safety and structure, belonging and membership, self-worth and social contribution, independence and control over one’s life, and closeness in interpersonal relationships;
• programs, research, or other initiatives primarily to address issues related to youth gang activity; and
• mentoring programs for at-risk youth, youth who have offended, or youth with a parent or legal guardian who is or was incarcerated.
For more information, see CRS Report R44879, Juvenile Justice Funding Trends.
Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk
Federal Agency ED, OESE
Authorizing Legislation ESEA, Title I-D, §1424
Appropriation (FY2024) $49.2 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives LEAs may use funds for the coordination of health and social services for eligible youth, if there is a likelihood that the provision of such services will increase the probability that they will complete their education. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Title I-D of the ESEA authorizes a pair of programs intended to improve education for students who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk of dropping out of school. Subpart 1 authorizes grants for the education of children and youth in state institutions for the neglected or delinquent, including community day programs and adult correctional institutions. Under Subpart 2, grants are provided to LEAs with high numbers or percentages of children and youth in locally operated correctional facilities for children and youth, including public and private institutions and community day programs or schools that serve delinquent children and youth. These children and youth are then served in accordance with Title I-D provisions, which may include using Title I-D funds for the coordination of health and social services, including mental health services, if there is a likelihood that the provision of such services will increase the probability that children and youth served will complete their education.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Youth Violence Prevention
Federal Agency HHS, CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention
Authorizing Legislation Several authorities in PHSA Title III, including §301, §391, §392, §393.
Appropriation (FY2024) $18.1 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives CDC Youth Violence Prevention initiatives include grants and cooperative agreements to schools, community organizations, and local health departments to implement youth violence prevention strategies. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, provides research, information, and strategies for
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preventing bullying and school violence on its Youth Violence website.121 It also supports youth violence prevention related initiatives through cooperative agreements with universities, community organizations, and local health departments implementing youth violence prevention strategies in local communities. Current initiatives include the following:
• Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL);122
• STRYVE: Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere;123 and
• National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs).124
Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Youth Suicide Prevention Campus Grants
Federal Agency HHS, SAMHSA
Authorizing Legislation PHSA, §520E-2
Appropriation (FY2024) $8.5 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives The GLS Youth Suicide Prevention Campus Grants program provides funding to IHEs to prevent suicide. Grantees can use funds for a variety of activities related to suicide prevention, including enhancing behavioral health services on campus.
The GLS Youth Suicide Prevention Campus Grants program—authorized by the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-355)—provides grants to IHEs, including tribal colleges and universities, to prevent suicide and suicide attempts. The purpose of the program is to support comprehensive, collaborative, and evidence-based approaches to (1) enhancing mental health services for all college students, including those at risk for suicide, SMI/SED, and/or substance use disorders; (2) prevent mental and substance use disorders; (3) promote help-seeking behavior; and (4) improve the identification and treatment of at-risk college students.125 As of 2020, the GLS Youth Suicide Prevention Campus Grants program had awarded 293 grants to 265 IHEs.126 In FY2023, SAMHSA awarded 34 new GLS Campus Grants and supported the continuation of 55 GLS Campus Grants.127 That year, roughly 80,000 youth were screened for suicide risk via the GLS Campus grant program, with nearly 30,000 referred for suicide prevention or related services.128
121 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, “Youth Violence,” page reviewed on September 5, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/ about/index.html.
122 CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, “Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL),” page reviewed on September 5, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/ programs/index.html.
123 CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, “STRYVE: Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere,” page reviewed on September 5, 2024, https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/stryve/.
124 CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, “National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs),” page reviewed on September 5, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/ youth-violence/php/yvpcs/index.html.
125 HHS, SAMHSA, GLS Campus Suicide Prevention Grant, Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), December 7, 2020, https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/SM-21-003.
126 HHS, SAMHSA, FY2021 Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees, https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/ default/files/about_us/budget/fy-2021-samhsa-cj.pdf.
127 HHS, SAMHSA, Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for FY2025, http://www.hhs.gov/budget, p. 70.
I Ibid.
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Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Title V, Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention
Federal Agency DOJ, OJP, OJJDP
Authorizing Legislation The Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-385)
Appropriation (FY2024) $11.0 million
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives Grants awarded by states to eligible entities can be used for juvenile justice-related programs that might promote school safety and security. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Under this program, OJJDP is authorized to make grants to states, which are then transmitted to units of local government or nonprofits in partnership with units of local government, to support delinquency prevention programs for juveniles who have come into contact with, or are at risk for contact with, the juvenile justice system. Grants under this program can be used to support, among other things, child and adolescent health and mental health services, youth mentoring programs, and after-school programs.
For more information, see CRS Report R44879, Juvenile Justice Funding Trends.
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Grants
Federal Agency ED
Authorizing Legislation HEA, Title I-B, §120(e)
Appropriation (FY2024) This program has never received an appropriation.
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives All program funds would be used to make grants to IHEs or consortia of IHEs, and enter into contracts with IHEs, consortia of IHEs, and other organizations to carry out a range of activities to reduce and eliminate the illegal use of drugs and alcohol and the violence associated with such use.
HEA Section 120(e) authorizes the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Grants program. Under the program, ED is authorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to IHEs or consortia of IHEs, and to enter into contracts with IHEs, consortia of IHEs, or other organizations to “develop, implement, operate, improve, and disseminate programs of prevention and education (including treatment-referral) to reduce and eliminate the illegal use of drugs and alcohol and the violence associated with such use.”129 Grants or contracts may also be used to support a higher education center for drug and alcohol abuse prevention to provide training, technical assistance, and other services to the higher education community.
Appropriations for the program were authorized for FY2009 through FY2014 at “such sums as may be necessary.”130 The program has never received an appropriation and, thus, has never been implemented.
129 HEA §120(e)(1).
130 Section 422 of the General Education Provisions Act automatically extended the authorization of appropriation for the program for an additional year (through FY2015).
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Non-grant Programs and Initiatives
CDC Surveillance and Support
CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) conducts public health surveillance of school-aged children through their school-based surveillance branch. DASH works with education agencies and youth-serving organizations to promote environments where youth can gain fundamental health knowledge and skills and establish healthy behaviors. While DASH focuses on physical health, such as sexually transmitted infection and HIV prevention, it also identifies goals such as “establish[ing] safe environments where students feel connected to school and supportive adults.”131
CISA’s School Safety Task Force
Federal Agency DHS, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Authorizing Legislation Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-278)
Appropriation (FY2024) No specific budget line item for the School Safety Task Force. CISA received $2.4 billon.
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
Critical infrastructure describes the vital physical and cyber systems and assets for which incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on U.S. physical security, economic security, public health, or public safety. DHS qualifies public schools as critical infrastructure by this definition. On November 16, 2018, Congress enacted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, which established CISA. CISA’s School Safety Task Force is the agency’s program that supports school personnel by developing products, training, and tools to strengthen protection and mitigation measures and capabilities at K-12 schools.132
DHS Infrastructure Security
Federal Agency DHS, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Authorizing Legislation Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-278)
Appropriation (FY2024) Activities funded through multiple DHS entities with no specific budget line item.
Funds for School Safety/Security Initiatives Activities are funded through multiple DHS entities with no specific budget line item. The exact amount used for school safety and security activities is unknown.
CISA coordinates security and resilience efforts using partnerships across the private and public sectors, and delivers technical assistance and assessments to federal stakeholders, as well as to critical infrastructure owners and operators nationwide. Three CISA programs and activities that
131 CDC, About the Division of Adolescent and School Health, CDC/DASH Home, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/ about/index.htm.
132 DHS, CISA, “School Safety,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security/ school-safety.
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may assist with public school safety and security are (1) the Hometown Security Program, (2) Active Shooter Preparedness, and (3) DHS Protective Security Advisors.133
Hometown Security Program
Through the Hometown Security Program, DHS utilizes outreach activities to develop partnerships between the private and public sectors to mitigate risks and enhance the security and resilience of public sites and events. DHS provides counsel and recommendations about protective measures that the private and public sectors can implement to protect venues and facilities, such as public schools.134
Active Shooter Preparedness
Through the Active Shooter Preparedness program, DHS provides products, tools, training, and resources to assist communities to prepare for and respond to an active shooter incident. Resources are tailored to first responders, human resource or security professionals, private citizens, and training participants.135
DHS Protective Security Advisors
DHS’s Office of Infrastructure Protection operates the Protective Security Advisor (PSA) program. PSAs are critical infrastructure and vulnerability subject matter experts who coordinate and facilitate local activities to advise state, local, and private sector officials. The PSA program’s primary mission is to plan, coordinate, and conduct security risk assessments of nationally significant critical infrastructure. PSAs also provide planning and outreach activities to communities and community services, such as public schools.136
Guidance on Mental Health Disclosures for Students
HEA Section 825 requires the Secretary of Education to provide guidance that clarifies the role of IHEs regarding disclosure of education records. This includes the disclosure of education records to a parent or legal guardian of a dependent student “in the event that such student poses a significant risk of harm to himself or herself or to others, including a significant risk of suicide, homicide, or assault.”
SAMHSA Resources and Technical Assistance
SAMHSA provides resources and technical assistance on youth mental health for the public, including information specifically tailored for parents and caregivers, schools, and policymakers. The agency publishes and disseminates awareness campaigns, public messages, recommendations, best practices, and other resources related to youth behavioral health through the SAMHSA online store.137 SAMHSA also provides technical assistance to help states, territories, tribes, grantees, and other behavioral health providers develop and strengthen
133 DHS, “Critical Infrastructure Security,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/topic/critical- infrastructure-security.
134 DHS, “Physical Security,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security.
135 DHS, “Active Shooter Preparedness,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical- security/active-shooter-preparedness.
136 DHS, “Security Advisors,” website, accessed September 2024, https://www.cisa.gov/about/regions/security- advisors.
137 HHS, SAMHSA, Publications and Digital Products, https://store.samhsa.gov/.
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behavioral health care services. SAMHSA operates several National Technical Assistance and Resource Centers to enhance grantee performance and improve quality of service delivery.138
138 HHS, SAMHSA, SAMHSA’s National Technical Assistance & Resource Centers, Rockville, MD, https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/ta-center-brochure.pdf.
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Appendix A. Federal School Safety and Security Programs
Table A-1. Federal Grant Programs that Support Safety and Security for Students in K-12 Public Schools and IHEs
(Listed in alphabetical order by agency)
Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Grants
Higher Education Act (HEA), Title I-B, §120(e)
20 U.S.C. §1011i(e) Grants and contracts may be used to develop and implement programs to reduce and eliminate illegal drug and alcohol use and the violence associated with such use.
Competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) and consortia of IHEs and competitive contracts to IHEs, consortia of IHEs, and other organizations.
Community Support for School Success
• Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program
• Promise Neighborhoods program
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Title IV- F-2, §§4624, 4625
20 U.S.C. §§7273-7275 Grantees must use funds to provide pipeline services, meaning a continuum of coordinated supports, services, and opportunities for children to prepare them for postsecondary education or employment. Pipeline services may include mental health services and supports, and must facilitate the coordination of the provision of social, health, and mental health services and supports for children, their families, and community members.
FSCS program: consortiums of (1) one or more local educational agencies (LEAs) or the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and (2) one or more community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, or other public or private entities. Promise Neighborhoods: IHEs, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, or a nonprofit organization partnered with an Indian tribe, school district, or another nonprofit.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
Education for the Disadvantaged: Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Title I-A)
ESEA, Title I-A, §§1114, 1115 20 U.S.C. §§6314-6315 Title I-A funds can be used by schools operating schoolwide programsa for counseling, school-based mental health services, and other strategies among numerous possible uses of funds. Schools operating targeted assistance programsb may also be able to use funds for health and other social services if they are not otherwise available.
LEAs with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families.
National Activities for School Safety
• Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grants
• School-Based Mental Health Services Grants
• Supporting America’s School Infrastructure
• Project Prevent
ESEA, Title IV-F-3, §§4601, 4631
20 U.S.C. §7281(a) The Secretary of Education can use funds for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to carry out activities to improve students’ safety and well-being.
Eligibility varies by individual grant program, but often includes state educational agencies (SEAs), LEAs, IHEs, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community- based organizations.
Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk
ESEA, Title I-D, §1424 20 U.S.C. §§6454, 6302(d) Funds provided to LEAs may be used for the coordination of health and social services, including mental health services, if there is a likelihood that the provision of such services will increase the probability that individuals served will complete their education.
LEAs with high numbers or percentages of children and youth residing in locally operated correctional facilities for children and youth.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV)
ESEA, Title IV-F-3, §§4601, 4631
20 U.S.C. §7281(b) Project SERV grants are awarded to LEAs and IHEs that have experienced a violent or traumatic crisis to initiate or strengthen violence prevention programs and other activities designed to restore learning environments disrupted by the crisis or traumatic event. Examples of allowable services and activities related to mental health that schools and LEAs may use Project SERV funds toward include mental health assessments, referrals, and services related to the traumatic event for students, faculty, other school personnel, and members of their immediate families; and overtime for teachers, counselors, and other staff.
LEAs and IHEs that have experienced a violent or traumatic crisis.
Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (SSAE)
ESEA, Title IV-A, §§4104, 4108 20 U.S.C. §§7111-7122 States may use funds reserved for state activities to support LEAs in implementing mental health awareness training programs and expanding access to or coordinating resources for school-based counseling and mental health programs, among other possible uses. LEAs may use funds for school- based mental health services, school-based mental health services partnership programs, and school counseling, among other possible uses.
Formula grants to SEAs are based on their share of prior year ESEA Title I-A grants provided to SEAs. SEAs make subgrants to LEAs based on their share of prior year ESEA Title I-A grants to LEAs in the state.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
Student Safety and Campus Emergency Management Grants
HEA, Title VIII-L, §821 20 U.S.C. §1161l Grants may be used to pay for the federal share of costs for activities to improve safety and emergency communications at IHEs.
Competitive grants to IHEs and consortia of IHEs.
Supporting Effective Instruction ESEA, Title II-A, §2103 20 U.S.C. §§6611-6614; and §6603(a)
Funds can be used by LEAs to provide in-service training for school personnel in forming partnerships between school- based mental health programs and public or private mental health organizations, among other possible uses of funds.
LEAs
Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Emergency Management Performance Grant Program
The Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296), as amended; the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 93-288), as amended; the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-124), as amended; and the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-448), as amended.
6 U.S.C. §762; 42 U.S.C. §5121; 42 U.S.C. §§7701 et seq.; and 42 U.S.C. §§4001 et seq.
Grants can be used to assist in preparing for all hazards by supporting the development of emergency preparedness systems.
Grants are awarded to state, local, territorial, and tribal governments.
State Homeland Security Grant Program
The Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296), as amended, §2004.
6 U.S.C. §605 Grants can be used to assist state, local, and tribal governments in preparing for, protecting against, and responding to acts of terrorism.
Grants are awarded to states.
Urban Area Security Initiative The Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296), as amended, §2003.
6 U.S.C. §604 Grants can be used to assist high-risk urban areas in preventing, preparing for, protecting against, and
Grants are awarded to high- risk urban areas.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
responding to acts of terrorism.
Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), as amended, §10003.
34 U.S.C. §§10381-10389 and §10261(a)(11)
Grants can be used to hire entry-level career law enforcement officers to increase community policing capacities and support crime prevention efforts.
Grants can be awarded to state, local, and tribal governments with primary law enforcement authority.
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162), §1111.
34 U.S.C. §§10151-10158 Grants can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and criminal justice information systems in one or more of eight program purpose areas: (1) law enforcement programs; (2) prosecution and court programs; (3) prevention and education programs; (4) corrections and community corrections programs; (5) drug treatment and enforcement programs; (6) planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs; (7) crime victim and witness programs (other than victim compensation); and (8) mental health programs and related law enforcement and corrections programs, including behavioral programs and crisis intervention teams.
Grants are awarded to state, local, and tribal governments.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Part B, State Formula Grants
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (P.L. 93-415), as amended, §§220-223.
34 U.S.C. §§11131-11133 and §11181(a)
Grants can be used to fund the planning, establishment, operation, coordination, and evaluation of projects that improve juvenile delinquency programs and states’ juvenile justice systems.
Grants are awarded to states.
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Title V, Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (P.L. 93-415), as amended, §§501-506.
34 U.S.C. §§11311-11313 Grants can be used to support delinquency prevention programs for juveniles who have come into contact with, or are at risk for contact with, the juvenile justice system.
Grants are awarded to states, and are then allocated to units of local government or nonprofits in partnership with units of local government.
Matching Grant Program for School Security
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-368), §1108(b).
34 U.S.C. §§10551-10556 Under this program, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is authorized to award grants for (1) training school personnel and students to prevent student violence against others and themselves, (2) developing and operating anonymous reporting systems for threats of school violence, (3) developing and operating school threat assessment and intervention teams and specialized training for school officials in responding to mental health crises; and (4) any other measure that BJA determines may provide a significant improvement in training, threat assessments and reporting, and violence prevention in schools. The COPS Office is authorized to award grants to state, local,
Grants can be awarded to state, local, and tribal governments. Grants can be subwarded to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, or units of local government or tribal organizations.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
and tribal governments for: (1) coordination with local law enforcement; (2) training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and themselves; (3) metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures; (4) acquiring and installing technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and (5) any other measure that the COPS Office determines may provide a significant improvement in school security.
Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI)
Public Health Service Act (PHSA), §§561-565
42 U.S.C. §290ff Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children with Serious Emotional Disturbance (Systems of Care Expansion and Sustainability Grants) grants support systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances. Funds are used to create infrastructure and facilitate access to community-based or school-based mental health services. Educational professionals also coordinate with CMHI-funded systems of care for referrals, service
Grants are awarded to states, local governments, tribes, and territories to assist in their efforts to deliver or facilitate access to community-based or school-based mental health services to support systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
planning meetings, and evaluation of outcomes.
Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG)
PHSA, Title XIX-B, Subpart I 42 U.S.C. §300x The MHBG supports community mental health services for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbance. States have flexibility in the use of MHBG funds within the framework of the state plan and federal requirements. Most services are community-based, though schools may be a service location.
MHBG funds are distributed to states (including the District of Columbia and specified territories) according to a formula specified in statute.
Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Campus Suicide Prevention Grants
PHSA, §520E-2 42 U.S.C. §§290bb-36b The GLS Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Program provides funding to IHEs to prevent suicide. Grantees can use funds for a variety of activities related to suicide prevention, including enhancing behavioral health services on campus.
IHEs, including state universities, private four-year colleges and universities (including those with religious affiliations), community colleges, and minority-serving institutions.
Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT)
PHSA, §520J 42 U.S.C. §290bb-41 Grants support training teachers and school personnel (among others) on how to recognize a mental illness, provide initial help in a mental health crisis, and connect individuals to appropriate care through Mental Health First Aid training. Originally part of Project AWARE, the MHAT program received its own authorization in the PHSA via
Eligible applicants include states, political subdivisions of states, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, and nonprofit private entities.
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).
National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI)
PHSA, §582 42 U.S.C. §290hh-1 Through the NCTSI, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides grants, education and training, technical support, data collection, evaluation services, and information on evidence- based interventions for trauma care for use in child mental health clinics, schools, child welfare, or juvenile justice settings.
Grants can be awarded to public and nonprofit private entities, as well as to Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Priority is given to universities, hospitals, mental health agencies, and other programs that have established clinical expertise and research experience in the field of trauma-related mental disorders.
Project Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education (AWARE)
• Project AWARE Grants
• Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST)
• Trauma-Informed Services in Schools (TISS)
PHSA, §520A SUPPORT Act, §7134
42 U.S.C. §290bb-32 42 U.S.C. §280h-7
Project AWARE is part of SAMHSA’s Priority Mental Health Needs of Regional and National Significance (Mental Health PRNS). Project AWARE grants fund activities to identify children and youth in need of mental health services, increase access to mental health treatment, and promote mental health literacy among teachers and school personnel.
Initially limited to states and SEAs, Project AWARE grants are now awarded to states, SEAs, political subdivisions of states (including LEAs), Indian tribes, health facilities, or other public or private non-profit entities. ReCAST grants are awarded local municipalities or public or private nonprofit community organizations. TISS grant eligibility is limited to SEAs, LEAs, Indian tribes, Tribal Educational Agencies, or other specified tribal organizations.
Youth Prevention and Recovery
PHSA, §514 (as amended by P.L. 115-271 enacted October 24, 2018)
42 U.S.C. §290bb-7a(c) This grant program supports evidence-based substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery programs for children, adolescents, and
Grants can be awarded competitively to LEAs, SEAs, IHEs or consortia of IHEs, local boards or one-stop operators, nonprofit organizations, states,
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Program Authorizing Legislation U.S. Code
Brief Description of
Relevant Uses of Funds Eligibility
young adults. For this program, the HHS Secretary, in consultation with ED, is to award competitive three-year grants to specified eligible educational or community- based entities.
a political subdivision of a state, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, or a high school or dormitory serving high school students that receives funding from the BIE.
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) using relevant legislation and materials prepared by ED, DHS, DOJ, and HHS. a. Schoolwide programs are generally authorized under Title I-A if the percentage of low-income students served by a school is 40% or higher. In schools operating schoolwide programs, Title I-A funds may be used to improve the academic achievement of all students in the school.
b. Schools operating targeted assistance programs use Title I-A funds to provide supplemental educational services to students with the greatest academic needs.
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Appendix B. Other Resources on Federal School Safety and Security
Research and Statistics
Indicators of School Crime and Safety is an annual report produced jointly by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). This report presents federal data on school crime and student safety based on information drawn from a variety of data sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, and principals conducted by ED, DOJ, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Topics covered in the report include student and teacher victimization, bullying and cyberbullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, student use of drugs and alcohol, student perceptions of personal safety at school, and safety and security measures implemented by public schools.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety (BJS/DOJ and NCES/ED) (https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/iscs23.pdf https://ies.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2024145) Data sources for the report: • School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance System (SAVD-SS)
• National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
• School Crime Supplement (SCS)
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
• Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS)
• National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS)
• School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS)
• Fast Response Survey System (FRSS)
• Campus Safety and Security Survey
• EDFacts
• Monitoring the Future Survey
• Studies of Active Shooter Incidents
• School-Associated Violent Deaths Surveillance System (SAVD-SS; CDC/HHS) (https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/data-research/school- associatedviolentdeathstudy/)
• Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC; includes data on school related arrests, referrals to law enforcement, and bullying and harassment) (https://ocrdata.ed.gov)
• National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) (https://www.secretservice.gov/ protection/ntac)
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• Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools Findings From the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2021–22 (https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2024/ 2024043.pdf)
The CDC provides research, information, and strategies for preventing bullying and school violence on their Youth Violence website:
• Youth Violence https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/about/index.html
CDC youth violence related research and materials include the following:
• School-Associated Violent Death Study https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/data-research/school- associatedviolentdeathstudy/
• Bullying Surveillance Among Youths: Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements https://www.cdc.gov/youth-violence/media/pdf/bullying-definitions-final-a.pdf
Technical Assistance
Technical assistance (TA) centers help state and local agencies, schools, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to implement school safety and security programs and practices. TA centers are typically competitively awarded grants that operate at a regional or national level. TA centers may also provide information and resources to the general public through their websites.
National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)
NCSSLE offers information and technical assistance to states, LEAs, and schools that receive Title IV-A Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants. NCSSLE also provides listings of grants received by each state, as well as by LEAs within each state, from ED and other federal agencies to support safe and supportive school-based initiatives.
• National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/)
• NCSSLE School Climate Survey Tool (https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/edscls)
Technical Assistance (TA) Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
The PBIS TA Center provides technical assistance and evaluation tools to SEAs, LEAs, and schools to support their implementation of PBIS.
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Technical Assistance Center (https://www.pbis.org/)
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance (REMS TA) Center
The REMS TA Center builds the “preparedness capacity” of schools, LEAs, institutions of higher education (IHEs), and their community partners and provides information, resources, and services in the field of K-12 and higher education emergency operations planning.
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• REMS TA Center (https://rems.ed.gov)
Websites
In addition to grant programs to support school safety and security initiatives, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ED, DOJ, and HHS have compiled resources that could be helpful to policymakers who want to understand more about these issues, or families, teachers, school administrators, and law enforcement professionals who want to explore ways to enhance the safety and security of their local schools.
• SchoolSafety.gov is a central location for school safety and security materials from DHS, ED, DOJ, and HHS to provide schools and school districts with actionable recommendations and school safety resources to help them create safe and supportive learning environments. SchoolSafety.gov’s resources are presented in a preparedness continuum, beginning with prevention and progressing through protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Topics covered include bullying/cyberbullying, mental health, school climate, physical security, school security personnel, emergency planning, threat assessment and reporting, recovery, and training exercises and drills. (https://schoolsafety.gov)
• The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office web page provides background information on School Resource Officers (SROs), and important considerations when assigning SROs. (https://cops.usdoj.gov/ supportingsafeschools)
• DOJ’s crimesolutions.gov website provides information on evaluations of school safety programs and practices. Evaluations can be sorted by those DOJ has rated as effective, those that are “promising,” and those that are ineffective. (https://crimesolutions.gov)
• K-12 Bystander Reporting Toolkit (https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/k-12-bystander-reporting- toolkit)
• The National Criminal Justice Reference Service provides a directory of resources related to school safety, including Q&As on school safety topics, links to DOJ publications on school safety, and links to other school safety resources. (https://www.ncjrs.gov/schoolsafety/additional.html)
• National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ’s) Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI; NIJ/DOJ) (https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/nijs-comprehensive-school-safety-initiative)
• What Do Data Reveal About Violence in Schools? (NIJ/DOJ) (https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-do-data-reveal-about-violence-schools)
• School Safety and Security (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency/DHS) (https://www.cisa.gov/topics/physical-security/school-safety)
• StopBullying.gov (https://www.stopbullying.gov/)
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center: Youth (https://sprc.org/populations/youth/)
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• Violence Education Tools Online (VetoViolence) (https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/main/home)
• Violence Prevention at Youth.gov (https://youth.gov/youth-topics/violence-prevention)
Author Information
Kyrie E. Dragoo, Coordinator Analyst in Education Policy
Shawn Reese
Analyst in Emergency Management and Homeland Security Policy
Nathan James Analyst in Crime Policy
Adam K. Edgerton
Analyst in Education Policy
Johnathan H. Duff Analyst in Health Policy
Rebecca R. Skinner
Specialist in Education Policy
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