School Security Disbursement Program

FY2024 School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program Awards Announced

Here is a new announcement regarding the Fiscal Year 2024 School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program Awards.

The State of Colorado’s legislature allocated $16,000,000 for the Fiscal Year 2024 School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program. The Colorado Office of School Safety received 125 grant applications for a total requested amount of $43,046,335. For this round of the School Security Disbursement grant 66 applicants were selected to receive funding as directed by SB23-241.  Thank you to all of those who applied for the FY2024 SSD. 

Recipient Selection

Decision Notification

This announcement constitutes notification of an agency decision.  Any request for reconsideration should be sent to  cdps_oss_ssd@state.co.us by March 8, 2024, 12:00 PM.

 Previously posted -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The School Safety Disbursement (SSD) Grant application due date has changed to Monday, January 29th by 5:00 PM.  Shortly we will post a date/time for an early January webinar for your questions about the grant.  Please direct all questions to: cdps_oss_ssd@state.co.us.

Program Overview

The School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program enacted by SB23-241 provides disbursements to local education providers and eligible nonprofit organizations to use for the purpose of improving security within public schools.

Eligibility

Local education providers, including school districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative services, or any combination of local education providers who wish to apply together as a single regional applicant are eligible to apply. Additionally, eligible nonprofit organizations who apply to work with specific local education providers or first responders are eligible to apply. Eligible nonprofits are defined by the legislation as  a organization that is exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the federal “Internal Revenue Code or 1986, as amended,” that applies to work with specific local education providers or first responders, and that:

• Has experience providing training for school safety incident response;
• Has experience working with law enforcement agencies and other first
  responders;
• Has experience working with school districts, school personnel, and students
  on issues related to school safety incident response; and
• Identifies in its application location education providers or first responders
  that will participate in school safety incident response training or programs.

Allowable Use

The program funds may only be used for the following purposes: 

1. Capital construction that improves the security of a public school facility or public school vehicle, including any structure or installed hardware, device, or equipment that protects a public school facility or public school vehicle and the students, educators, and other individuals who attend, work in, or visit a public school facility or are transported in a public school vehicle from threats of physical harm including but not limited to any structure or installed hardware, device, or equipment that: 

   a. Prevents the entry of unauthorized individuals into a public school facility or a protected space within a public school facility or onto a public school vehicle; or

   b. Can be used to expedite communication when a threat is present;

2. Training in student threat assessment for all school building staff who have contact with students, which must include best practices for conducting threat assessments, such as instruction on how to prevent bias when conducting a threat assessment; 
3. In collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, providing the training for peace officers on interactions with students at school;
4. School emergency response training for all school building staff.; 
5. Programs to help student become more resilient in meeting the daily challenges they face without resorting to violence against themselves or others, including addressing the fundamental causes of violence and aggression and helping students become responsible members of their schools, neighborhoods, communities, and families; 
6. Developing and providing training programs, curricula, and seminars related to school safety incident response; 
7. Developing best practices and protocols related to school safety incident response; 
8. Implementing a school resource officer program; and 
9. Implementing a co-responder program.

Program Timeline:

Announcement and Application Handbook Available on November 30, 2023.
Application Submission Deadline: Monday, January 29, 2024 by 5:00 PM MST

SSD Grant Webinar:

Title: School Security Disbursement Grant Webinar.
Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 11AM MT
Time: 11:00AM 

Webinar Recording

Webinar Presentation Slides

Application Documentation:

• Application
• Application Handbook
• W-9
• SSD Grant Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) - FAQ also available at the bottom of this page

NOTE: Please clear your browser cache / history before downloading the application materials to ensure access to the latest updates.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - Information for Prospective Applicants

1.    What is the purpose of the SSD
The School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program provides disbursements to local education providers and eligible nonprofit organizations to use for the purpose of improving security within public schools.

2.    What legislation authorized funding for SSD
The School Security Disbursement (SSD) Grant Program was enacted SB18-269  and the current legislation authorized funding by SB23-241

3.    How much funding is available under the SSD
The total amount available under the FY24 SSD is $16,000,000.00

4.    How do I apply
The application template and application handbook are located on our website. Completed applications for the School Security Disbursement Grant Program (SB 23-241) must be submitted via email to cdps_oss_ssd@state.co.us on or before Monday, January 29, 2024 by 5:00 PM MST.  

5.    Am I an eligible entity to apply?
Local education providers, including school districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative services, or any combination of local education providers who wish to apply together as a single regional applicant are eligible to apply. Additionally, eligible nonprofit organizations who apply to work with specific local education providers or first responders are eligible to apply.

6.    For what kinds of Security related activities can I apply
The program funds may only be used for the following purposes:

1. Capital construction that improves the security of a public school facility or public school vehicle, including any structure or installed hardware, device, or equipment that protects a public school facility or public school vehicle and the students, educators, and other individuals who attend, work in, or visit a public school facility or are transported in a public school vehicle from threats of physical harm including but not limited to any structure or installed hardware, device, or equipment that: 
   a. Prevents the entry of unauthorized individuals into a public school facility or a protected space within a public school facility or onto a public school vehicle; or

   b. Can be used to expedite communication when a threat is present;

2. Training in student threat assessment for all school building staff who have contact with students, which must include best practices for conducting threat assessments, such as instruction on how to prevent bias when conducting a threat assessment; 
3. In collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, providing the training for peace officers on interactions with students at school;
4. School emergency response training for all school building staff;
5. Programs to help student become more resilient in meeting the daily challenges they face without resorting to violence against themselves or others, including addressing the fundamental causes of violence and aggression and helping students become responsible members of their schools, neighborhoods, communities, and families; 
6. Developing and providing training programs, curricula, and seminars related to school safety incident response; 
7. Developing best practices and protocols related to school safety incident response; 
8. Implementing a school resource officer program; and 
9. Implementing a co-responder program.

7.    What is the application period and deadline?
The application period started when the FY24 SSD RFP was released on November 29, 2023. The application deadline is January 29, 2024, 5:00 PM MST.

8.    How will my application be reviewed or evaluated?
Applications will be reviewed by a committee utilizing a standardized scoring matrix.