COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that more than $42 million will be going toward physical safety and security upgrades at 624 K-12 schools.

What You Need To Know

  •  Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday 624 additional schools will be receiving grants for physical safety and security

  •  The awards are a part of the Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program

  •  The additional awards bring the total number of schools helped to 2,789 and the total amount awarded to more than $215 million

The awards make up round five of the Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program.

"Our educators care deeply about the safety of Ohio students, as evidenced by the thousands of schools that came forward with solid security improvement plans that they intend to carry out with this funding," said Gov. DeWine. "There is nothing more important than the safety of our kids, and with today's announcement, every qualifying school that applied for a grant has now received at least one award, including schools in all 88 counties."

With this fifth round, the total number of schools served is 2,789 and the total amount awarded is more than $215 million.

The Ohio K-12 School Safety Grant Program was launched in 2021 and was created to help schools pay for physical security expenses such as security cameras, automatic door locks, and visitor badging systems.

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission in partnership with the Ohio School Safety Center administered the program. Funding came from Ohio’s operating budget and allocations from the American Rescue Plan Act.