SF5274

Purpose

This bill creates a one-time funding program to help schools establish and maintain an anonymous threat reporting system. The money comes from Minnesota's general fund and is aimed at improving school safety by letting students and staff report threats anonymously.

Main recipients and how grants work

• Eligible recipients: school districts, charter schools, cooperative units, and Tribal contract schools.
• Source and administration: Grants are from the general fund, awarded by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS/EM) with input from the Minnesota School Safety Center.
• Grant flexibility: The program may run in more than one round and can provide grants to all geographic regions. At least half of the grants must go to recipients located outside the 11-county metropolitan area.
• Grant amount: Each recipient receives a grant amount not to exceed a specified limit per district, charter school, cooperative unit, or Tribal contract school (the exact dollar cap is not shown in the summary text).
• Application and pre-approval: Recipients must apply and provide documentation showing how the grant will be used and who will respond to threats through the system.

Use of grant funds

• Eligible uses: Development, purchase, implementation, operation, and maintenance of the anonymous threat reporting system. This includes staffing costs.
• Response staffing: Funds may be used to compensate staff who respond to threats reported through the system.

Administration, oversight, and reporting

• Administrative cap: The Department of Public Safety may retain up to 10% of the appropriation for administering the grants and for the Minnesota School Safety Center to provide technical assistance.
• Pre-award requirements: Before a grant is awarded, the recipient must provide documentation acceptable to the DHS/EM director detailing how the grant will be used and who will handle threat responses.
• Reporting to lawmakers: By February 15 after each year a grant is awarded, the Minnesota School Safety Center, DHS/EM, and the Department of Public Safety must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees overseeing K-12 education and public safety. The report must identify grant recipients and explain how the funds were used.

Timeframe and duration

• Onetime appropriation: This is a one-time funding source.
• Availability window: The funds are available for use until June 30, 2028.
• Effective period: The grant program begins with the fiscal year 2027 appropriation.

Significance and potential impact

• The bill formalizes state support for anonymous threat reporting in schools and creates a structured process with matching funds, geographic funding considerations, and annual reporting.
• It designates specific state agencies to manage and support the program (DHS/EM, DPS, Minnesota School Safety Center) and ties funding to measurable reporting requirements.

Significant changes to existing law

• Establishes a new, dedicated, one-time funding stream for anonymous threat reporting systems in schools.
• Adds a 50% nonstate-match requirement for grant recipients.
• Requires annual public reporting on how funds were awarded and used.
• Allocates up to 10% of the appropriation for administration and technical assistance.
• Sets geographic distribution priorities and a clear deadline for use of funds by 2028.

Relevant Terms anonymous threat reporting system grants Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Minnesota School Safety Center Department of Public Safety school districts charter schools cooperative units Tribal contract schools general fund appropriation nonstate match staff compensation threat responses administration and technical assistance reporting requirements geographic distribution one-time appropriation June 30, 2028 fiscal year 2027