School Safety Enhancement

The Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is soliciting applications on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education to fund the School Safety Enhancement program, with applications due July 28, 2026. Eligible applicants are State educational agencies only, with one application permitted per state. The program does not require cost sharing or matching.

The Administration will award approximately 30 grants ranging from $500,000 to $5,000,000 per 36-month project period, for a total estimated funding pool of $93 million. Grant funds may not be used for construction, renovation, or repair of school facilities. Recipients must comply with a 10 percent administrative cost limitation and a supplement, not supplant requirement, and must use a restricted indirect cost rate.

The program funds development, implementation, and strengthening of statewide school safety systems and physical security consistent with the U.S. Department of Justice's January 18, 2024, "Critical Incident Review: Active Shooter at Robb Elementary School" report. Two absolute priorities apply: all projects must be carried out by State educational agencies, and all projects must address improvements to school safety systems and physical security through activities including interior door locks, deterrent measures, perimeter controls, visitor screening infrastructure, emergency communication systems, emergency response plans, and training for School Resource Officers and personnel in active threat response. A competitive preference priority provides up to 3 additional points for applicants serving rural communities with specific National Center for Education Statistics locale codes.

Selection criteria allocate points as follows: quality of project design (30 points), quality of management plan (30 points), adequacy of resources (20 points), and quality of project evaluation (20 points). Applicants must register with SAM.gov and Grants.gov prior to submission. Intergovernmental review is due September 25, 2026. The assistance listing is 84.184A (School Safety Enhancement).