​This presentation provides an overview of the Act and contains some information from the first Committee meeting.  

The School Safety and Security Grant Program funding announcement for $52.5 million can be found on PCCD's Open Funding Announcements webpage.  Since this is an open, competitive solicitation, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for this specific funding announcement is available to provide additional information for potential applicants. Please check the FAQ frequently as answers are updated on a regular basis.

​Act 83 states that only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations based in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are eligible applicants for Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding.  The 501(c)(3) designation is assigned by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Other types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations are not eligible to make application.  It is incumbent upon the applicant to determine if they are an eligible applicant.  PCCD will not make that determination for you. 

According to Act 44, the chief school administrator of a school entity shall appoint a school administrator as the school safety and security coordinator for the school entity. The appointment shall be made not later than August 31, 2018.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) have interpreted the term "school administrator" to mean any individual who currently serves or who will serve in an administrative capacity in a school entity that meets the coordinator requirements of Act 44.  The coordinator will represent the entire school entity.

Act 44 includes both general duties for the coordinator, including overseeing all school police officers, school resource officers, school security guards, and policies and procedures in the school entity, and reporting directly to the chief school administrator, and several specific duties, such as reviewing school policies and procedures and other tasks.  Please see Act 44 for the full list of duties and responsibilities of coordinators.

​The eligible projects and expenses are listed in the section above.  Please note that if your organization has a security need not specifically listed, the last category is "any other safety or security-related project that enhances safety or security of the non-profit organization."  The organization should define how their request meets the needs of the organization.  Due to the competitive nature of these grants, PCCD cannot assist you in determining what projects or expenses are appropriate to address your needs.

​Yes.

​While we understand that organizations serve a diverse group of people, we would like applicants to select the target population of your organization. 

For example, if you are a synagogue, the principal population you serve would be people of the Jewish faith even though your membership includes people of various race/ethnicities and some of your members may have a physical and/or mental disability.  Therefore, you would only select "Jewish" under the Religion category.  However, if your organization's target population/membership focuses on Black members of the LGBTQ+ community, you would select both "Black and African American" under Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry and all applicable groups under Sexual Orientation.

​That is ultimately up to each school district to determine.  The Act only requires the chief school administrator to make the appointment.

​Project activity cannot take place prior to the start of the award. The project activity, paid for with either grant funds or cash match, must be within the project period. The cash match has the same requirements as grant funds. Project activity should not begin until you receive and accept an official award notice from PCCD. As stated on the website, the initial set of awards will be considered at the March 11, 2020 Commission meeting. Applicants receiving awards will be contacted by PCCD staff following that meeting to finalize the award process.

Please send your School Safety and Security Coordinator contact updates to RA-EDSAFESCHOOLSREP@pa.gov.

​No.  However, if you are interested in learning more about physical security assessments, please see PCCD's school safety criteria, which was developed for school safety assessments and contain information that may be helpful for you.  In addition, PCCD also houses a registry of individuals who provide physical assessments for schools who may also provide assessments for other organizations as well.  The registry can be found on our website here. 

​By September 30, 2018, the School Safety and Security Committee at PCCD must adopt criteria for the physical assessment of buildings, assessment of policies and trainings, and behavioral health and school climate assessments.  Following the adoption of that criteria, the Committee will work with PDE to determine what trainings meet Act 44 requirements.  A list of those trainings will be posted on PDE's website and cross-referenced here.

Yes.  A recipient of this grant award for a construction project exceeding $25,000 must comply with Pennsylvania's Prevailing Wage Act (43 P.S. Sect.165-1 et. seq.).  Grantees with construction projects over $25,000 are required to pay the general prevailing minimum wage rates for each craft or classification of all workmen needed to perform work on the construction project.  Please note that the Prevailing Wage Act ONLY applies to construction.

​The overview of Act 44 contains some information on the Community Violence grants. More information will be posted as the Committee continues to meet.

​If your organization does not have a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS because your organization meets the definition of a church as described in IRS Publication 1828 and claims an automatic exemption from applying for and obtaining recognition of 501(c)(3) status, please upload the first page of your most recently filed IRS 990 form (Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax), or alternatively, you may upload a letter signed by the head of the organization stating that your organization does not have a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS because the organization claims the automatic exemption for churches and is not required to apply for and obtain recognition of 501(c)(3) status as described in IRS Publication 1828.

​No. In the assessment criteria the term "policy" is used as a general term denoting written documentation and could include a board-approved policy, internal procedure or administrative regulation, or plan, based on requirements of law and regulations and the advice of legal counsel.

​No. School safety and security findings as a result of the Act 44-required survey are strictly educational in nature.  Findings should be reviewed as recommendations only, and discussed with the school entity's administration and/or school solicitor or legal counsel for consideration and action to improve school safety and security.