This bill establishes a program providing grants for Regional School Safety Development Centers, offering expert consultation to schools for developing and improving evidence-based safety plans.
John Rutherford
Representative
FL-5
The "PLAN for School Safety Act of 2025" aims to improve school safety by establishing Regional School Safety Development Centers. These centers will offer customized consulting services to schools for developing and implementing evidence-based school safety plans, focusing on violence and suicide prevention, student mental health, and overall school security. The program will be overseen by a Director who will award grants to eligible entities, provide training and technical assistance, and establish a Youth Advisory Council. This act allocates $25 million annually from 2026-2030 to support these initiatives, ensuring schools receive the resources and guidance needed to create safer learning environments.
Bill Proposes $25M Annually for Regional Centers to Help Schools Develop Safety Plans
This legislation, titled the "PLAN for School Safety Act of 2025," proposes establishing a new grant program under the Department of Homeland Security. The core idea is to fund Regional School Safety Development Centers across the country. These centers would receive federal grants, totaling up to $25 million authorized per year from fiscal year 2026 through 2030, to help K-12 schools develop, improve, or implement customized school safety plans based on "evidence-based" practices, with a specific focus on violence prevention, suicide prevention, and student mental health.
How These Centers Would Operate
Eligible organizations, like universities or non-profits with expertise in school safety and mental health, could apply for grants to set up or run these regional centers. The bill gives preference to applicants already working with local schools, especially those in rural, Tribal, or low-resourced areas, and minority-serving institutions. Once funded, these centers would act as consultants. They'd analyze a school's existing safety and mental health policies, help craft tailored improvement plans, assist in finding federal or state funding to implement those plans, provide training, and develop informational materials for the school community. Think of it like bringing in specialized advisors to help a school map out everything from emergency drills to mental wellness programs, ensuring plans aren't just sitting on a shelf.
The Guardrails and Guidance
The bill includes specific rules. Federal funds can cover up to 95% of a center's costs. Importantly, the money cannot be used by the centers to consult on or train anyone in the use of firearms, nor can it be used to hire school personnel or contractors for the schools they advise. A Youth Advisory Council—made up of parents, students, mental health professionals, and others—will be established to advise the program director on implementation. The director, along with the Department of Education, will provide training and technical support to the centers and must report annually to Congress on the program's progress and effectiveness.
Reading Between the Lines
While the goal is clear – better, evidence-based safety planning – a few areas invite attention. The term "evidence-based" is defined, but its practical application could vary depending on who is interpreting it. The bill sets up the Youth Advisory Council, but doesn't specify how its recommendations will influence decisions. Furthermore, while annual reports are required, the bill doesn't mandate specific metrics to gauge how well the developed safety plans actually work in practice. This could make it tricky to assess the real-world effectiveness of the $25 million annual investment beyond simply counting the number of plans created or schools consulted.