Nashville, TN (WOKI) In a video appeal to education leaders across Tennessee Wednesday, Governor Bill Lee announced that nearly $200 million in grants aimed at increasing student safety is now available to both public and non-public schools.
The money will come from two programs established in the “School Safety Bill” passed by the General Assembly this year.
“The first will provide funding to place a full-time armed SRO in each public school, and the second will provide critical funding to make physical security upgrades at public and non-public Tennessee schools,” said Lee.
A breakdown of the dollars sees $140 million going towards funding the SRO positions. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has opened applications for law enforcement agencies. They’re eligible for up to $75,000 per year, per school with an SRO from those departments.
Additionally, $40 million is going towards public school budgets for increased security, training and violence prevention programs. A final $14 million is available to non-public schools.
Lee says schools across Tennessee can apply for the grants now. For more information, including important application deadlines, and to apply go online to https://www.tn.gov/.
