Governor Brian P. Kemp spoke to local and state public safety personnel, school resource officers (SROs), other law enforcement officers, emergency management personnel, teachers, school administration officials, and school counselors at the 2022 Georgia School Safety & Homeland Security Conference, hosted by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education. Having started in 2009, the three-day event is the state’s premier and longest-running conference for school safety.

In addition to encouraging greater partnership among all the stakeholders represented, Gov. Kemp also announced the following major updates to reinforce school security in Georgia:

▪ The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) - an executive branch agency - voted last Friday to award $2.6 million from the State Law Enforcement Training Grant Program to the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) to enhance its SRO training. These funds will increase instructor capacity and further grow the number of courses available for local SROs.
▪ The Council will award over $182,000 in federal grant funds to purchase 210 tactical kits for SROs as part of the Single Officer Response to an Active Threat training.
▪ The Council will allocate $1 million in Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funds to support state-wide school safety efforts. These dollars can be spent on regional school safety trainings, safety operation quick reference guides, to provide for professional development of SRO instructors, course expansions, and more.
▪ The Council will release a competitive grant opportunity next month to award $4.5 million in Law Enforcement Training Grant Funds to local and state law enforcement agencies. These funds will be spent on training for school safety, use-of-force and de-escalation training, and mental health resource needs.
▪ The Council is partnering with GEMA, GPSTC, and the Georgia Department of Education in two federal grant applications requesting $3 million to provide additional training for school staff and SROs and to improve school climate.
Applications for these grants are expected to go live in the next several weeks, at which point they will be posted on the Current Grant Opportunities section of the CJCC website.