Every school administrator I’ve ever met wants as much protection as they can afford for their students. The problem is budgeting for school security upgrades, especially considering all the other building maintenance and improvement priorities: Most K–12 buildings in the United States are more than 25 years old. Almost 40% were built before 1970.
Bringing those buildings into the 21st Century is a heavy lift, especially when everyone is tightening their budgets.
There are many state and federal school safety grants to help fund school security projects and programs, but navigating the grant process can be daunting.
Grants are competitive, and managing the application process requires staying on top of deadlines, completing a threat assessment and emergency operations plans, collecting bids, creating a budget, drafting “investment justifications,” and keeping the entire planning process on track.
Here are some of the major federal and state grant programs your school should have on the radar and how to best prepare for the next funding cycles.
There are four big federal grant opportunities that collectively offer almost $550 million in funding each year.
While the application process varies for each, they have similar timelines and require similar preparation, such as completing a Threat, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment (TVRA), pulling together a detailed budget, and preparing a timeline with clear milestones.
The $93 million School Safety Enhancement Program was established by the U.S. Department of Education and awards approximately 30 state-level grants. The goal is to build statewide capacity to improve school security through secure vestibules at entryways, new door locks and access control systems, perimeter protection, visitor screening, communication systems, and emergency response plans. State educational agencies (SEAs) typically start receiving their grant award notifications at the end of the year, and the application deadline is at the end of July.
SEAs need to spend down those funds within three years. Schools not written into a state’s initial application either compete for subgrants awarded by their SEA, or otherwise qualify for support according to set criteria.
The School Violence Prevention Program funds physical security improvements, equipment, and law enforcement coordination at K-12 schools. SVPP awarded approximately $73 million this past year, distributing up to $500,000 per recipient over three years.
It requires at least a 25% local cash match (waivable in some situations, like microgrants of $100,000 or less for rural, tribal, or low-income districts). This is a smaller program overall, but one that has been around for eight years, and likely to continue.
The deadline for applications is usually in August.
The STOP School Violence Grant Program was created as part of the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018, and is now overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The program has an annual funding pool of about $83 million, to be used to improve school safety and security by providing students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence. That includes programs to support coordination with law enforcement agencies, and specialized training for school officials responding to mental health crises.
While it’s a good option for funding a threat assessment and training, it can’t be used to directly pay for actual physical security investments and upgrades. The application window usually closes in late October or early November.
FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) distributes around $300 million each year, awarding up to $200,000 per site, but it’s restricted to nonprofit-operated and private schools. The application deadline is typically in July, although in the last several years there have often been deadline extensions. Schools do not directly apply for these grants with FEMA but coordinate with their local State Administrative Agency (SAA).
There are a number of funding opportunities at the state level. State programs change year to year, so knowing where to look is half the battle.
Always begin by exploring your State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP). These are federally funded programs that are administered entirely at the individual state level. Being locally administered helps level the playing field, especially for smaller schools or those with unique needs. It also tends to align SHSGP application requirements with other state programs, which makes it easier to avoid duplicating efforts when applying for multiple grants. Start by reaching out to your SAA to learn about grant criteria and deadlines.
Next, visit the SchoolSafety.gov State Search Tool to research other state-level funding opportunities. For any grants, make sure to note when they publish their notice of funding; that’s where you’ll find details on what’s covered and what’s required. Keep a sharp eye on deadlines since they all vary, and there may be different deadlines for different stages of each application.
Here are examples of a few states leading the way with security grant funding:
Texas extended the period of performance for their $1.1 billion SAFE Grant program, which was rolled out in 2023. Grantees now have much more breathing room to submit grant amendments and complete projects.
Florida’s 2026–2027 fiscal year includes $300 million allocated to school safety, which is a $10 million increase over the previous year’s funding. These funds are distributed based on a formula rather than a competitive grant process. Each school district receives a baseline $250,000, with the remaining funds proportionally distributed based on several factors, including their area’s ranking in the official Florida Crime Index and the district’s share of the state’s total student enrollment.
Pennsylvania offers School Safety and Mental Health Grants, an initiative managed by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). This consists of $100 million appropriation from the state budget, plus any unspent funds from previous cycles. This is also a noncompetitive, formula-based program.
Pennsylvania school districts each receive up to $100,000, based on the size of their student population. Charter schools, intermediate units, and career/technical centers each receive a base of up to $70,000.
Indiana’s Secured School Safety Grant (SSSG) program awards up to $100,000 per school, drawn from a $27 million pool of funds.
These are matching grants that can be used for a wide range of school security improvements, including specialized hardware like security barriers, cameras, and electronic locks and threat assessments. Schools can apply for up to the full $100,000 each year. Managed by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), this program distributed a record number of awards in 2025–2026.
In this past year’s budget, South Carolina set aside $20 million as part of recurring state budget allocation intended to help districts meet school safety priorities established by the South Carolina Department of Education in 2023.
These funds are intended to support physical facility upgrades, including:
Tennessee made a massive $140 million investment in school security in 2023, which they’ve further supported with an annual Public School Security Grant program that has distributed between $10 million and $20 million each year. These grants are designed to defray the cost of security personnel and additional physical security measures for districts that have not yet completed their facility hardening.
Ohio’s House Bill 33 allocated $11 million to cover the cost of security training and equipment. This is an ongoing program intended in part to help schools mitigate the impact of active shooter events and otherwise improve school safety and security.
Michigan’s primary tool for funding school safety is Section 31aa of the State School Aid Act. In the last budget cycle, Michigan set aside approximately $310 million for school safety and mental health funding. These are non-competitive, formula-based “opt-in” grants, distributed on a per-pupil basis to local school districts, public school academies (PSAs), and intermediate school districts (ISDs).
Specified upgrades include “hardened vestibules,” bullet-resistant and shatter-proof glass, door hardware, and other safety programs and equipment.
There are a few application elements that seem to be universal, including conducting a documented threat assessment, presenting a detailed list of material specifications, and preparing an itemized budget. Successful applications include projects that meet specific security needs and address broader threats, risks, and gaps in your region.
TSS can help with both the initial assessment and the project plan and budget. For more guidance on planning for upgrades and typical timelines for schools, download our free resource, How To Assess and Bulletproof Your School.
Our team can help you plan a project that has the best possible chance of receiving funding, drawing on our decades of experience across more than 30,000 ballistic and physical security projects. We’ve worked with a wide range of municipal, state, local, regional, and federal agencies, helping secure thousands of schools.
Our proven process supports you through every stage of your project, from consultation and planning to fabrication, delivery and installation. When you’re ready to get started on your grant application, you can schedule a free consultation with a TSS security expert.
Our team looks forward to speaking with you and answering your questions.