Sponsors (28)
The bill directs new, modest federal funding to create regional centers that expand school safety and student mental-health capacity—especially for underserved communities—but the program’s limited budget, required local match, and added administrative/federal overhead may constrain reach and strain low-resourced districts.
State and local schools (especially districts and higher-ed institutions) receive sustained federal funding ($25M/year FY2026–2030) to create regional centers that build and maintain school-safety and student mental-health capacity.
Students gain greater access to evidence-based violence prevention, suicide prevention, and mental-health supports through center-led plans, trainings, and implemented programs.
Schools and districts receive tailored consulting and implementation support to develop individualized school-safety and student mental-health plans, improving local planning and response capability.
Low-resourced school districts must provide at least a 5% match, which could strain budgets and limit participation by the poorest schools.
The annual authorization of $25M may be insufficient to meet nationwide demand, leaving many schools without assistance and limiting program reach.
Program implementation and reporting requirements plus new DHS administrative duties create additional administrative burden for applicants and recipients and expand federal workforce and overhead funded by taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes DHS to award grants to create or support regional School Safety Development Centers that provide individualized school safety and student mental health planning, training, and implementation assistance.
Official title: To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish Regional School Safety Development Centers to provide consultation for schools to develop or improve a school safety plan based on evidence-based best practices, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 1, 2025 by John Henry Rutherford · Last progress April 1, 2025
Creates a DHS-administered grant program to fund Regional School Safety Development Centers that provide individualized consulting, planning, training, and technical assistance to K–12 schools. Grants (or cooperative agreements) will go to eligible entities to establish, improve, or maintain statewide or intrastate centers that help schools develop and implement customized safety and student mental health plans, with an emphasis on evidence-based violence prevention and support for rural, Tribal, and low-resourced communities. The program sets application requirements, allowable uses (communications, individualized consultations, implementation assistance, training), directs DHS to provide technical assistance to awardees, caps the federal share at 95 percent, and requires preference for applicants with school relationships or minority-serving institutions. Timing and some administrative details are left to the DHS Director's rules and guidance.