Grants & Safe Schools Act

Safe Schools Act funds are provided to decrease the likelihood of violent or disruptive behavior and to protect students and staff from harm when such behavior may occur.

The funds are available to all Tennessee public school districts and may be used for one or more of the following purposes:

  • Facility security and planning
  • School safety personnel
  • Violence prevention
  • Training and drills
  • Behavioral health

FY 26 Public School Security Grant

During the 2025 Legislative Session, Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly included a one-time, non-recurring investment of $20 million in school safety grant funds in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget and Budget Amendment Overview. This funding is an additional allocation to the Public School Security Grant that was provided in the budget during the 2023-24 Fiscal Year. This investment is part of Governor Lee’s continued commitment to investing in school safety as a priority to ensure Tennessee students have a safe school environment to learn, grow, and thrive.

Additional information (grant application package) and allocation amounts will be provided to districts soon. Grant fund allocations will be based upon the local education agency’s (LEA) Average Daily Membership (ADM) and there will be NO local match requirement.

For questions regarding this grant, please contact Mark.Bloodworth@tn.gov or Bennett.Wilson@tn.gov.

Grants Finder Tool

SchoolSafety.gov’s Grants Finder Tool helps you find applicable funding opportunities to help keep your school community safe. The tool features a variety of Federally available school safety-specific grants that you can navigate based on school safety topic, award amount, application level of effort, and more. As Federal agencies release school safety funding opportunities and grants throughout the year, the tool will be updated on an ongoing basis to reflect these opportunities.

School Safety Grants | SchoolSafety.gov

School Security and SRO Grant

In accordance with Section 60, Items 25 and 26 of Chapter 418, Public Acts of 2023, the following provides the General Assembly with a quarterly status report for school year 2024-25 based on the school safety grants appropriated to the Tennessee Department of Education.

 

 

FY 24 Non-Public School Security Grant

Following the tragic events at Covenant School, Governor Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly included a one-time, non-recurring investment of $14 million in non-public school security grants for the the 2023-24 fiscal year state budget. This grant program will be used to support non-public school efforts in enhancing school safety for their students. 

All non-public schools who are interested in applying for this grant must submit an ‘Intent to Apply’ by August 4th using this virtual form. Only non-public schools who submit an ‘Intent to Apply’ by August 4th will be eligible for grant funding. 

The budget period deadline for the Non-Public School Security Grant has recently been extended to June 30, 2025. Due to numerous supply chain issues and lengthy timelines for vendor availability, the budget period was extended to ensure that districts and schools would be able to draw down all grant funds. This extension is only for the current and supplemental funds that were allocated in FY24. 

No additional security grant funds were allocated by the General Assembly for FY25.

For questions regarding this grant, please contact Bennett.Wilson@tn.gov.