Texas Schools Awarded $2 Million to Stop School Violence

Texas Schools Awarded $2 Million to Stop School Violence

The grants come five months after the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead. The funding is part of the $70 million in grants announced last week by the Department of Justice.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • October 11, 2018

The Texas Education Agency announced Monday it has awarded $2 million in federal grants through the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act to support campus safety and security for Texas school districts. The grants, $1 million each, will go to support mental health training and create policies for threat-assessment.

The grants come five months after the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 people dead. The funding is part of the $70 million in grants announced last week by the Department of Justice. Texas received the maximum award amount for each category of grant.

The first STOP School Violence Act grant will go toward providing mental health training for school administration and staff. Initial funding will go to the Santa Fe, Alpine and Italy districts, and other districts in the next two years will be chosen through a competitive application process.

The second grant will go toward the creation of a statewide training program for school threat assessment teams. Texas currently does not have this type of training. The education agency, the Texas School Safety Center and SIGMA Threat Management will collaborate on training district employees on recognizing, preventing and responding to school violence.

“Texas remains committed to providing a safe learning environment for every student on every public school campus across our state,” Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. “By focusing on these two key areas of mental health and preventative measures, we strengthen our state’s ongoing commitment to school safety.”

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

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