State Sen. Lynne Walz, former Education Committee chair, called for a review of school safety in 2022 after the deadly Uvalde, Texas, school shooting
Nebraska Examiner Press Release
BY: ZACH WENDLING
HEARTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS APPLIED FOR THIS GRANT AND RECEIVED $193,100 TO BE USED TOWARDS ITS NEW FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. THE FUNDS WILL SPECIFICALLY GO TOWARDS THE FRONT OFFICE RENOVATION, MAKING IT A SAFE AND SECURE ENTRANCE. HEARTLAND RECEIVED THE 12TH LARGEST AWARD AMONG THE 217 APPLICANTS.
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Department of Education has distributed $10 million to about half of the state’s public school districts and a few dozen private schools to improve school safety and security infrastructure.
The funds were divided among 122 public districts and 43 private schools for projects in the next year, such as strengthening doors and windows or installing cameras and lighting. State lawmakers approved the proposal as part of Legislative Bill 705, which passed 47-0 in 2023 as a large package of legislation from the Legislature’s Education Committee.
One measure, LB 516 from State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, included recommendations from the state’s School Safety Task Force that formed after the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed.
It was the deadliest school shooting since 20 children and six adults were killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Sandy Hook is the deadliest K-12 school shooting in the country’s history.
Walz, a former teacher and former Education Committee chair, called for the task force two days after the Uvalde shooting. Members represented law enforcement, city leaders, public and private school educators, and parents.
“It is great to see that this legislation is going to be able to improve security measures in so many schools throughout our state and protect students and teachers in schools,” Walz told the Nebraska Examiner. “The safety of our students is a bipartisan priority and something I am proud to have championed during my time in the Legislature.”
State Sen. Jana Hughes, a former Seward school board member, said she was “pumped” that so many schools got grant funds, including in her legislative district.
Application process
The Nebraska Department of Education began soliciting grant applications in February and reviewed applications for a variety of factors, including:
- The needs, objectives, assessment and implementation of the requests.
- Stakeholder engagement.
- A district’s poverty percentage.
- Evidence-based programs.
- Allowable uses of grant funds.
The department received a total of 217 applicants: 162 public districts and 55 private schools through local Educational Service Units. Requests totaled $60.4 million.
An evaluation committee that included department administrators, school safety team members, mental health personnel, program coordinators, former superintendents, and principals initially recommended awarding $16.4 million in funds. This was pared back to the $10 million limit.
Funding projects that dealt with “prevention” were prioritized over those dealing with preparedness, response, and recovery, which are four pillars of school safety, according to the Education Department.
Grant funds will be used for audio/communication systems, bollards, cameras, controlled access systems, door locks, fencing, front office/vestibule builds or remodels, glass/safety film to tint or strengthen windows, key fobs, lighting, phone systems, replacing or strengthening doors, “Stop the Bleed” kits and walkie talkies.
Locked classroom doors were a key best practice outlined in the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission report.
The majority of funds were awarded to projects dealing with doors, locks, vestibules/entryways and access systems.
About 50 districts or schools that applied did not receive funds because school leaders didn’t correctly complete the application process, the application scored low on an evaluation rubric or the request wasn’t covered under the grant, such as mental health services or school personnel.
The minimum grant amount was $2,000, which was used for less preventative requests. About 10 districts or schools refused the funds because they didn’t fully fund their planned projects.
Statewide impact
Nearly 200,000 students will be served through the grants in public and private schools.
Just over 140,000 students are covered in about a dozen urban districts, while 92% of schools for the remaining students are in geographic rural areas across the state.
Public school districts received about 89% of the funds, or $8.9 million. Funds must be obligated by Aug. 15, 2025.
State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, Education Committee chair and a former school board member for what is now Sandy Creek Schools said the requests demonstrated a huge demand for stronger structural security statewide in rural and urban, large and small districts.
“Unfortunately, we need to do that in our schools, to strengthen them structurally,” Murman said.
Walz’s proposal also included $870,000 in state funds for the state’s Safe2HelpNE anonymous reporting line. The statewide reporting system supports threat assessment teams or law enforcement and seeks to reduce potential risks or incidents of violence for Nebraska students or schools. Lawmakers created the system in 2021 and funded it for three years with available federal funds.
Anonymous reports can be submitted at any time online, over the phone at 833-980-7233 (SAFE), or through mobile apps for Android or Apple.
There is currently no Educational Service Unit 12 or Educational Service Unit 14. South Central Nebraska Unified 5 in ESU 9 split into two districts beginning with the 2024-25 school year.
A need to ‘change society’
Murman led another Education Committee package this spring, LB 1329, which included LB 1339 from State Sen. Tom Brewer of north-central Nebraska. That measure allows school boards to authorize select school security personnel to carry firearms on school grounds.
The bill took effect July 19, 2024, for private schools. It will apply to public school districts that are Class I or Class II — with fewer than 5,000 total inhabitants in the district — after Jan. 1.
After that date, the state’s education commissioner will reclassify small public school districts into Class I or Class II districts. Currently, all districts are classified as Class III except Lincoln Public Schools (Class IV) and Omaha Public Schools (Class V).
The State Board of Education on Dec. 6 approved a model firearms policy in consultation with the Nebraska State Patrol for Brewer’s legislation.
An analysis by the North Platte Telegraph found that across 28 counties in western and west-central Nebraska, 50 out of 58 school districts fell under the 5,000 population limit. Of those, 17 were more than 15 minutes away from the nearest police station or sheriff’s office.
Cody-Kilgore Public Schools in Cherry County, for example, in Brewer’s district, is 40 minutes and roughly 38 miles from the nearest law enforcement office, according to the Telegraph.
Murman said the proposals from Brewer and Walz represent two approaches to keeping children safe. School size, beliefs and distance from law enforcement or emergency providers, Murman added, might make one approach more practical than the other.
“I think the only way to truly protect our students is we have to — and, unfortunately, it’s not going to be easy to — change society,” Murman said.
Grant recipients by Educational Service Unit (ESU)
ESU 1
- Public school districts: 8
- Private schools: 1
ESU 2
- Public school districts: 9
- Private schools: 1
ESU 3
- Public school districts: 13
- Private schools: 8
ESU 4
- Public school districts: 7
- Private schools: 1
ESU 5
- Public school districts: 7
- Private schools: 0
ESU 6
- Public school districts: 9
- Private schools: 1
ESU 7
- Public school districts: 9
- Private schools: 4
ESU 8
- Public school districts: 8
- Private schools: 3
ESU 9
- Public school districts: 5
- Private schools: 0
ESU 10
- Public school districts: 18
- Private schools: 1
ESU 11
- Public school districts: 4
- Private schools: 0
ESU 13
- Public school districts: 11
- Private schools: 1
ESU 15
- Public school districts: 1
- Private schools: 0
ESU 16
- Public school districts: 9
- Private schools: 0
ESU 17
- Public school districts: 3
- Private schools: 0
ESU 18
- Public school districts: 0
- Private schools: 11
ESU 19
- Public school districts: 1
- Private schools: 11
