Missouri schools to get more than $15 million from Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS), today announced that Missouri will receive more than $15 million in school safety funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“As a parent and grandparent, I know that school safety is a top priority for every student, everyone who has a child in school, and all of the teachers, administrators, and staff who are part of the education system,” said Blunt. “In the wake of the Uvalde tragedy in May, Congress came together to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to provide additional safety, violence prevention, and mental health support to schools. I was proud to vote for the bill and I will continue working with the administration to support its full implementation.”

As a leader on the Labor/HHS appropriations subcommittee, Blunt worked to include a total of $1 billion in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law in June, for Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants (also known as Title IV-A). The funding supports grants to high-need school districts, as determined by states, for activities related to supporting safe and healthy students, including mental health, school safety, and violence prevention.

In addition to the ESEA Title IV-A funding, the law includes the following Blunt-backed student safety resources:         

• $50 million for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which supports educational programming for students outside of school hours;
• $500 million for school-based mental health services grants, which are competitive grants to states and school districts to use to increase and retain the number of qualified mental health professionals serving students in high-need schools;
• $500 million for mental health services professional demonstration grants. These competitive grants support partnerships between school districts and institutions of higher education that increase the availability of trained mental health professionals in schools. They allow for graduate students preparing for school-based mental health jobs to be placed in schools to finish required field work, internships, or similar training.