School Safety Grants
Gov. Mike DeWine released details related to allocating $100 million from the K-12 School Safety Grant Program, recently authorized in House Bill 687. Nearly $47 million will be distributed to schools that applied for the program last year but did not receive grants due to insufficient funds. Click here for a list of districts/buildings receiving this funding.
The Ohio School Safety Center (OSSC), in partnership with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), will begin accepting applications in the coming weeks for the remaining $53 million in the K-12 School Safety Grant Program. Each school district may apply for grants up to $100,000 per building for security measures. Schools that have not yet applied for funding or whose applications were ineligible in previous rounds will be given first priority.
Click here for a copy of the OFCC-approved guidelines for this program.
Federal update
The House Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 8450, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Virginia) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon). The bill would enact the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act to expand access to school meals; preserve the future of school meal programs; modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); address food insecurity during the summer; improve school meal capacity and sustainability; and strengthen the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The bill now moves the U.S. House floor for a vote.
U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the 12 appropriation bills for Fiscal Year 2023. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending proposal would allocate nearly $49 billion, an increase of approximately $5.5 billion for federal K-12 education programs.
Click here to read the weekly Federal Advocacy Education Report.
COSSBA to host free federal advocacy webinar on August 18
The Consortium of State School Boards Associations (COSSBA), of which OSBA is a founding member, is hosting an hour-long Federal Advocacy Webinar for school leaders on Aug. 18 at noon. Experts with Bose Public Affairs will present on the proposed Title IX regulations and their impact on education. Registration is complimentary for members, but space is limited. Click here to register.
Posted by Nicole Piscitani on 8/5/2022