Wisconsin State Funding
State Funding
Wisconsin supports school safety through digital mapping grants, violence prevention funding, school safety training, anonymous reporting resources, and guidance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety.
Digital Mapping of School Buildings Grant
The Digital Mapping of School Buildings Grant was administered by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety under 2021 Wisconsin Act 109.
The program helped school boards, private school governing bodies, charter schools, and tribal schools obtain reimbursement funding for critical incident mapping data. These digital maps are intended to support faster and more coordinated emergency response by giving law enforcement and first responders accurate school building information.
The grant project period ran from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2026. Wisconsin DOJ reports that Act 109 digital mapping grants were awarded to 378 Wisconsin schools or school districts, with total awards exceeding $6.2 million.
Because the listed project period has ended, this should now be described as a previously available grant opportunity unless Wisconsin DOJ announces a new application round.
State Violence Prevention Grant Program
The State Violence Prevention Grant Program is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Office of Violence Prevention.
The program provides funding for evidence-based or evidence-informed violence prevention initiatives, especially in communities disproportionately affected by violence. Eligible applicants may include school districts, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits, local governments, higher education institutions, tribal governments, and other qualified organizations.
The program includes several funding categories, including School-Based Programming. School-related activities may include suicide prevention, firearm safety training, threat assessment training, mentoring, after-school programming, and other initiatives that help prevent violence and improve community safety.
The grant is supported by approximately $10 million in federal ARPA funding. Applications for the current cycle were due January 16, 2026, and eligible expenses must be incurred between December 5, 2025, and December 31, 2026. As of July 2026, this should be described as an awarded or closed application cycle, not an open grant.
Wisconsin Office of School Safety
The Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety supports public schools, private schools, tribal schools, law enforcement, and community partners with school safety resources, training, technical assistance, and crisis support.
The office provides guidance on comprehensive school safety, behavioral threat assessment and management, crisis response, school safety grants, annual school submissions, and the Speak Up, Speak Out reporting system.
Comprehensive School Safety Framework
Wisconsin’s school safety approach emphasizes prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
The Wisconsin DOJ Office of School Safety provides a Comprehensive School Safety Framework to help schools and communities build local safety strategies. The framework encourages schools to consider climate and culture, student engagement, policies, physical security, emergency planning, law enforcement coordination, behavioral threat assessment, and recovery planning.
The goal is to help schools move beyond one-time security upgrades and build a more complete safety model that protects students, staff, and visitors while supporting a healthy learning environment.
Speak Up, Speak Out Resource Center
Speak Up, Speak Out Wisconsin is a confidential school safety reporting resource managed through the Wisconsin DOJ Office of School Safety.
Students, parents, school staff, and community members can use the resource to report school safety concerns or ask for help when someone may be hurting, struggling, or in danger. Wisconsin DOJ also provides promotional and instructional materials to help schools introduce the resource to students and families.
School Safety Training
Wisconsin DOJ provides school safety training on topics such as behavioral threat assessment and management, targeted violence prevention, critical incident response, effective drills, standard response protocols, reunification, and crisis recovery.
These training opportunities are designed to help schools prevent violence, identify concerns early, prepare for emergencies, respond effectively during a crisis, and support recovery after a serious event.
Building Security and Emergency Preparedness
Wisconsin school safety guidance encourages schools to review both interior and exterior safety conditions. This may include visitor management, access control, classroom and hallway safety, exterior grounds, communication systems, emergency operations plans, and coordination with local law enforcement and first responders.
Schools should also review emergency procedures, distribute safety plans appropriately, maintain working communication equipment, conduct drills carefully, and use lessons learned from each exercise to improve future response.
The funding information and links provided on this page are based on publicly available information at the time of publication. While we make every effort to keep this resource current and relevant, funding programs, eligibility requirements, deadlines, and website links may change over time. If you discover outdated information, inaccurate content, or a broken link, please let us know by emailing info@carehawk.com.