ROYERSFORD − January 12, 2024 − State Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks) today encouraged schools across Senate District 44 to apply for funding for school safety and security through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).
The framework for the grant funding was approved this week at a meeting of the School Safety and Security Committee. As part of this year’s budget, $50 million was made available for School Safety and Security and $100 million was made available for K-12 Mental Health. With the passage of the School Codes in December, the committee now has the authorization to begin distributing the grant funding to schools. Applications for all grants listed below are due no later than February 29, 2024.
“It is imperative that all of our school districts take advantage of this opportunity and apply for this important funding to enhance school safety and security and to continue to address the mental health of our students,” Muth said. “School violence and student mental health are a steadily growing problem in our country and we need to continue to prioritize these issues in Harrisburg so that our schools and our teachers have the resources they need to keep our schools and our communities safe.”
Under the K-12 mental health funding, $5 million is being sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for training of school-based mental health professionals and establish pathways to certification for those professionals and another $5 million is being sent to PHEAA for the Mental Health Internship Grant Program. The remaining $90 million will be distributed to school districts, area career and technical centers, intermediate units, charter schools, regional charger schools and cyber charter schools. Distribution of these funds is done by formula but schools must apply for funds.
In addition to mental health funding, there are two parts under the School Safety and Security Grant Program, a meritorious award and a competitive award. School Districts receive a meritorious grant amount based on their average daily membership (ADM) and must be used for one of the enumerated uses under the school code. After the meritorious distributions to school districts, $32.179 million will be made available for school entities in a competitive school safety and security grant program. Awards in this category may not exceed $450,000 for an up to two-year project, except for the School District of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh School District. Funding can be used for any of the physical or behavioral programs enumerated under the School Code.
Lastly, $14.551 million is available to intermediate units on behalf of nonpublic schools for programs that address school violence and school mental health. There is a limit of a maximum award of $75,000 for a two-year project for these funds. The School Safety and Security Committee will administer an initial request form for nonpublic schools to fill out directly. Intermediate Units will then be provided information on the nonpublic schools in their catchment area that have applied and will submit the formal application on behalf of the nonpublic school through PCCD’s egrant system.
Click here for more information on how to apply for any of the grant programs mentioned above.