The Indiana Secured School Safety Board (the Board) unanimously approved the distribution of more than $26.9 million to support school safety initiatives, funding 499 projects across the state and delivering on Governor Mike Braun’s promise to secure continued investment toward Hoosier students’ safety.
To date, nearly $242 million in state funding has been dedicated to the matching grant program, awarding more than 5,000 Indiana schools since it was created in 2013.
“I want Indiana to set the standard for keeping kids safe at school, and this funding, which includes nearly $20 million for school resource officers, will go directly toward achieving that goal,” said Gov. Braun. “Combined with the work of the Office of School Safety I established last year, we’re giving schools the people, training and tools they need to create safe, welcoming environments where parents have peace of mind and kids can focus on learning, growing and being kids.”
Last year, 502 schools split an allocation of $27 million, of which $19 million was allocated to funding school resource officers.
This year, the total amount of eligible funding requests exceeded the amount of funding for the program. Awarded schools were funded at 86% for their top priority items. Applicants were asked to rank the priority of items to help the Board better understand the greatest need for school districts.
| Category | Number of Projects | Dollars Allocated |
|---|---|---|
| SRO/LEO | 332 | $19,951,039.07 |
| Equipment/Tech/Hardware | 118 | $5,206,312,81 |
| Student/Parent Support Services | 32 | $1,211,608.10 |
| Firearms Training for Staff | 5 | $21,597.57 |
| Design and Construction | 11 | $541,513.31 |
| Site Vulnerability Assessment | 0 | $0 |
| AEWS (no match) | 0 | $0 |
| Bullying Prevention | 1 | $2,150.00 |
| Training Expenditures | 0 | $0 |
| Post-Incident Counseling Services | 0 | $0 |
| Total | 499 | $26,934,220.86 |
“I’m excited to see continued resources supporting school resource officers and law enforcement. They’re the first line of defense in keeping students safe,” said Julie Q. Smith, Director of the Office of School Safety. “I’m also glad to see design and construction updates prioritized that will improve the learning environment for students across the state.”
The Secured School Safety Grant Program is administered by the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. A complete breakdown of recipient schools and the total award amounts can be found here. For security reasons, the use of those funds by individual schools is not publicly available.
The SSSG issues matching grants for eligible items and then schools match those funds at a certain level, either 25 percent, 50 percent or 100 percent. The match requirement is based on average daily membership of the school district, the total amount of the project or what the request covers.
Eligible items in the grant include funding for school resource officers (SROs) and law enforcement officers in schools; equipment and technology; active event warning systems (no matching requirement); firearms training for teachers and staff that choose to allow guns on school property; threat assessments and to implement a student and parent support services program.
The Office of School Safety was established by Gov. Braun in 2025 as outlined in Indiana Code 10-19-3.5. The Office of School Safety is responsible for school safety specialist training and certifications, and establishing and maintaining guidelines on school facility security, emergency response protocols and school safety plans.
The Office of School Safety’s Resource Hub also provides schools with a wealth of resources, training opportunities and other information designed to give schools the tools they need to keep students and staff safe.