Achieving one of its major legislative priorities, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, Inc., is pleased to inform its members that Congress has approved nearly $10 million in grant funding for campus public safety initiatives as part of its omnibus funding package that will be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.
“We applaud Congress for its recognition of the importance of campus public safety,” said IACLEA President Marlon C. Lynch, who is Associate Vice President for Safety & Security and Chief of Police at the University of Chicago. “Increased federal support for emergency preparedness on U.S. campuses is a major priority for IACLEA in light of recent tragedies. We thank the membership for its support, as well as Government Relations Committee under the leadership of Mike Webster and our Director of Government and External Affairs Lisa Phillips for their diligence with regard to this legislation.”
Both the House and Senate have agreed to funding levels for campus public safety grants for the current fiscal year (October 2009-September 2010). Senate approval came on Sunday, December 13. Seven million dollars will be available under the emergency preparedness account at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. An additional $2.237 million will be available for programs with a mental health component.
The Senate specifically states that risk assessment, training and the purchase of hardware and software are allowed in this grant program. The Department of Education, therefore, will have discretion on how they develop their grant application priorities and guidelines. What is not discretionary is the dollar amount to be awarded to colleges and universities and that the grants will be 100%, that is no matching institutional funds will be required.
The recent meeting of IACLEA Board members with the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, the agency to administer these grants, brought IACLEA priorities to the attention of those who will make the final decisions.
IACLEA will keep its members informed about the criteria for applications and the deadlines for seeking support. This program will be one of the central issues to be reviewed at IACLEA’s planned Grant Writing Workshop on March 17, 2010. Details of the workshop will be announced soon.
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IACLEA December 2009 press release.
