(Des Moines) Today, Governor Kim Reynolds announced $100 million in school safety funding to support Iowa’s 327 public school districts and 183 non-public and independent schools during a press conference with the Department of Public Safety, Department of Education and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
This dedicated new funding will provide vulnerability risk assessments free of charge for all 1,500 K-12 school buildings in the state and create a School Safety Improvement Fund making up to $50,000 available per school building to implement recommended safety measures. School districts can combine these funds with their ESSER funding allocations to cover additional costs to implement safety improvements.
The funding also builds upon the foundation of the Governor’s School Safety Bureau to support all schools and law enforcement partners with prevention, training and response strategies. A portion of the funding will be utilized to implement technology and tools including proactive social media scanning software, an anonymous reporting tool, digital critical incident mapping and specialized training.
Prioritizing mental health services across Iowa has been a top priority for Governor Reynolds since taking office and has received strong bipartisan support. When Iowa’s FY23 budget goes into effect on July 1, 2022, total mental health-related funding will increase by nearly $3.5 million dollars.
The Governor’s School Safety Bureau will immediately begin its work with a goal of being fully operational by the start of school this fall.
Breakdown of funds:
$75M – School Safety Improvement Fund
$7.5M – Vulnerability assessments for all 1,500 K-12 school buildings
$6M – Digital critical incident mapping technology
$4.5M — Radios for schools
$1.5M — Digital applications and software for reporting and intelligence
$5.5M — School Safety Bureau operations funding through 2026
Initial funding for is being made available through the use of ARPA and ESSER funds.
