New Albany-Plain Local and Gahanna-Jefferson school districts can apply for a share of $9.01 million in state school safety grants announced by Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.
The grants, funded through House Bill 96, cover the 2027-28 academic year and can pay for active-shooter training, training to identify students with mental health issues, silent panic alarms, gunshot-detection technology and other safety upgrades, according to a press release from the attorney general's office.
The money goes out first-come, first-served.
Two grant tiers
Districts can apply for one or both of two grants.
The first is a formula-based grant worth $2,500 per district or $4.50 per student, whichever is greater, until funds run out. The second is a program-based grant of up to $40,000 per district, regardless of enrollment, until funds run out.
Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools lists 8,385 students on its demographics page. New Albany-Plain Local Schools lists more than 5,000 students on its website. Both districts would clear the $2,500 minimum under the formula tier based on those posted figures, and both could also seek the separate $40,000 program grant.
What the money covers
The attorney general's office listed eligible uses including:
- Certification training for school resource officers
- Active-shooter response training or equipment
- Training to identify and assist students with mental health issues
- Systems giving responding law enforcement immediate camera access
- Silent panic alarms
- Gunshot-detection technology
- License-plate reader alerts for vehicles belonging to registered sex offenders
- Alert systems warning of wanted dangerous individuals
According to the Ohio Grants Portal, districts must work with the county sheriff's office or a local police department to develop safety training programs funded by the grants.
Local safety measures already in place
New Albany-Plain Local Schools describes safety infrastructure on its school safety page, including security cameras, locked exterior doors with secure vestibules, identification badges for staff and students in grades six through twelve, and a dedicated school resource officer. The district says it partners with the New Albany Police Department and the Plain Township Fire Department on safety planning.
"The technology and training funded by these grants will strengthen security across Ohio's classrooms," Wilson said in the announcement.
How to apply
Applications are open through the Ohio School Safety Center and the Ohio Grants Portal. Districts must submit using their district-level Information Retrieval Number (IRN), not a building-level number, according to the grants portal.
The deadline is May 28, 2027. Districts that apply early stand a better chance before funds run out.
