FY 2024 School Safety and Security Grant
The final FY 2024 state budget includes $18.5 million in state and federal funding for the FY 2024 School Safety and Security Grants for public schools statewide. Detailed grant information is available in the Guidelines for FY 2024 School Safety and Security Grants. Funds awarded for this one-time grant program will be available for use by divisions beyond FY 2024. The awarded grant funds may be used for equipment purchases and installations, software purchases, planning, and on-site training to improve the safety and security of public school buildings, including for purposes not authorized under the existing VPSA-funded School Security Equipment Grants program.
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has awarded each school division base funding of $50,000. The remainder of grant funds are allocated using various criteria including local composite index, number of school buildings/facilities and school buses, PK-12 enrollment, and data from divisions’ responses on the May 2024 school safety survey relating to safety/security components present in schools. School divisions’ awarded grant amounts can be found below.
The state funding will be paid to divisions by June 30, 2024, and division expenditures will be reported during FY 2025. School divisions are permitted to carryover and spend their state general fund grant allocation during FY 2025 and should complete expenditures of their general fund grant allocation by June 30, 2025. To ensure appropriate use of the state fund allocation, school division superintendents will submit a periodic Expenditure Certification Form to the VDOE Office of Support Services during FY 2025. School divisions’ federal fund grant allocation must be obligated by December 31, 2024, and should be fully expended by December 31, 2025. The federal fund grant allocations will be made available on a reimbursement basis using the VDOE’s OMEGA grants management application located in the Single Sign-on Web Systems (SSWS) portal.
Resources
School Divisions Awarded Amounts
FY 2024 School Safety and Security Grant Allocations
Guidelines for FY 2024 School Safety and Security Grant Program
Guidelines for FY2024 School Safety and Security Grant Program