NH Delegation Announces $1.25M to Bolster School Safety Efforts in NH

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) and Annie Kuster (NH-02) announced $1,249,762 in federal grants to bolster school safety efforts in New Hampshire from the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).  These grants include $500,000 to the New Hampshire Department of Education and $249,762 to Merrimack County to fund violence prevention and mental health training programs in schools, and $500,000 to the New Hampshire Department of Education to develop threat assessment and crisis intervention programs. This funding will improve school security and prepare students and teachers to recognize, respond to, and prevent acts of violence.

“A safe and supportive learning environment is fundamental to a quality education,” said Shaheen, who advocated for this funding as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “These grants will help educators and administrators meet that standard by providing resources to prepare both students and teachers to prevent acts of violence, including crises involving gun violence. Empowering our communities with the funding and training they need to keep our schools secure must remain a congressional priority, and I will continue to advocate for federal resources to help ensure New Hampshire students, parents, and teachers are safe.”

“As we work to address the epidemic of gun violence, there are specific steps that we can take now to keep our schools safe,” said Hassan. “These grants will help train students and teachers on how to recognize and report a potentially dangerous situation, as well as fund improvements to school safety. While we must do far more to ensure that students, teachers, and their families do not fear for their lives at school, these grants are an important step to keep our communities safe.”

“All children have a right to safe schools and classrooms,” said Shea-Porter. “I am pleased that the federal government has awarded $1.25 million to New Hampshire to help protect our students by supporting crisis training, threat assessment, and intervention response programs that prevent and stop violence in schools. These are important programs that need to be funded, but Congress must also take action to help stop gun violence by passing common sense reforms.”

“When students go to school, they should only have to worry about doing well in class, not being harmed in an act of violence,” said Kuster. “These funds will help prevent violent acts before they occur by educating students and school personnel on what the warning signs look like for someone who is planning an act of violence, how to safely report potential threats, and how to appropriately interact with and help a person who could potentially harm themselves or others. I’m pleased to join my colleagues to announce this collective investment into school safety in New Hampshire, and I will continue to fight for commonsense violence prevention measures so that no Granite State student feels afraid at school.”

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