HARRISBURG – Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that more than $8 million in competitive Safe Schools Targeted grants have been awarded to 166 schools in PA to improve school safety. Grants can be used to create safer school communities in a variety of ways, including purchasing safety equipment, implementing new programs, and hiring security personnel and school resource officers. Shapiro said  every student in PA deserves a safe learning environment, and these grants will help schools all across the Commonwealth invest in the resources and staff they need to keep students, teachers, and staff safe. Forty-three local education agencies received equipment or program grants totaling $1.94 million; 20 received funding to hire school police officers totaling $1.4 million; and 20 received grants to hire school resource officers totaling nearly $1.5 million. Approximately $3.4 million was awarded to 83 nonpublic schools for equipment and programming. The list of awardees can be found on the PA Department of Education’s Office for Safe School website.

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO