Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022)
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) was passed on May 24th, 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. This Stronger Connections Grant portion of this act provides funding to both state and local educational agencies, as well as schools, in order to create safer and healthier learning environments that are supportive of all students. Through Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, $1 billion was allocated in the form of subgrants to educational agencies and schools with the goal of improved response to and prevention of bullying, hate, and violence in schools across the country.
These funds have been used to hire school counselors and mental health professionals as well as social workers, to provide training for mental health professionals, and to enhance the education of aspiring mental health professionals aiming to work in schools. More than 260 school districts across 49 states received funds from the BSCA. Now, millions of dollars are being pulled back from these areas, threatening the progress that has been made in these school districts. Without these funds, school districts may not be able to afford the mental health professionals they need to support their students, and training programs for future professionals will be impacted.
https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/2023/04/23-0083.BSCA-FAQs.pdf
by the Numbers
In Lincoln, Nebraska, the five year grant totaling $7 million was supposed to fund 18 counselor positions in elementary schools across the district. Now, those funds will not be renewed past December, 2025.
Funds by State
BSCA authorized a total of $1.4 billion in funding for new and existing violence-prevention and intervention programs between 2022 and 2026. This table provides summary of dollars awarded by state in 2022.
https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/2022/09/FY2022-BSCA-SCG-Allocation-Table.pdf
| State | FY 2022 Award |
|---|---|
| AL | $15,404,231 |
| AK | $4,833,025 |
| AZ | $20,826,927 |
| AR | $9,378,149 |
| CA | $119,828,943 |
| CO | $9,356,572 |
| CT | $9,119,532 |
| DE | $4,833,025 |
| DC | $4,833,025 |
| FL | $53,737,824 |
| GA | $33,444,267 |
| HI | $4,833,025 |
| ID | $4,833,025 |
| IL | $40,627,885 |
| IN | $14,216,829 |
| IA | $5,988,079 |
| KS | $6,450,520 |
| KY | $15,008,023 |
| LA | $21,279,385 |
| ME | $4,833,025 |
| MD | $16,990,815 |
| MA | $15,074,006 |
| MI | $27,899,224 |
| MN | $10,481,264 |
| MS | $13,144,640 |
| MO | $15,082,238 |
| MT | $4,833,025 |
| NE | $4,833,025 |
| NV | $8,866,003 |
| NH | $4,833,025 |
| NJ | $20,905,551 |
| NM | $7,684,976 |
| NY | $72,522,705 |
| NC | $29,367,638 |
| ND | $4,833,025 |
| OH | $35,078,494 |
| OK | $11,776,526 |
| OR | $8,265,004 |
| PA | $41,754,741 |
| Puerto Rico | $4,833,025 |
| RI | $4,833,025 |
| SC | $15,353,308 |
| SD | $4,833,025 |
| TN | $18,804,143 |
| TX | $93,985,252 |
| UT | $5,100,063 |
| VT | $4,833,025 |
| VA | $17,246,895 |
| WA | $15,795,771 |
| WV | $5,753,732 |
| WI | $12,509,470 |
| WY | $4,833,025 |
| American Samoa | $1,552,350 |
| Guam | $1,681,978 |
| Northern Marianas | $938,320 |
| US Virgin Islands | $809,852 |
The La Mesa-Spring Valley School District in San Diego, California had been awarded $11 million. The district will lose approximately $6 million of that grant, which has been used to fund 30 positions across 21 schools.
The Teachers College at Columbia University had started training five graduate students to be able to provide mental health services in schools in New York. Offer letters had been prepared for eight more students, but the college lost its five year, $4.9 million grant.