SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Department of Justice has announced it has awarded more than $85.3 million to bolster school security — including funding to educate and train students and faculty — and support first responders who arrive on the scene of a school shooting or other violent incident.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety was awarded more than $2.7 million for school security.
The Department was awarded grants for the following: $500,000 for School Violence Technology and Threat Assessment Solutions for Safer Schools Program, $998,240 for a State School Safety Center, and a $500,000 for a School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program.
Additionally, the Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) awarded the South Dakota Attorney General’s office $714,268 as part of the COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force Program Awards.
“These federal resources will help to prevent school violence and give our students the support they need to learn, grow, and thrive,’ said Attorney General William P. Barr. “By training faculty, students and first responders, and by improving school security measures, we can make schools and their communities safer.”
