II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4845 

To provide for safe schools and safe communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself and Mr. BARRASSO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for safe schools and safe communities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Our Schools 

5 Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NONPROFIT SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 2009 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

8 (6 U.S.C. 609a) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘2020 through 

10 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2023 through 2030’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub2 section (i); 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(f) FEEDBACK.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Administrator denies 

7 an application for a grant under this section, not 

8 later than 120 days after the date of the denial, the 

9 Administrator shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) notify the applicant; and 

11 ‘‘(B) provide an explanation for the denial. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXPLANATION.—An explanation described 

13 in paragraph (1)(B) shall include information identi14 fying the reason for the denial of the application, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(A) any factors that led to a lower score 

17 or rank compared to other applicants; and 

18 ‘‘(B) an identification of any deficiencies in 

19 the application. 

20 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS AND TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE.—A State through which the Administrator 

22 makes a grant to an eligible nonprofit organization under 

23 this section shall receive a 5-percent increase in the 

24 amount of the grant— 

25 ‘‘(1) for administrative costs; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to provide technical assistance to the eligi2 ble nonprofit organization. 

3 ‘‘(h) APPLICATION UPDATE AND IMPROVEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC MEETING.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the date of enactment of the Securing 

6 Our Schools Act of 2022, the Administrator shall 

7 hold a public meeting to solicit recommendations on 

8 updating the application process for a grant under 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of enactment of the Securing Our Schools 

12 Act of 2022, the Administrator shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) develop recommendations to mod14 ernize and update the application process for a 

15 grant under this section, which shall include 

16 considerations for— 

17 ‘‘(i) establishing a more streamlined 

18 application process; 

19 ‘‘(ii) establishing greater uniformity in 

20 the application process among all appli21 cants and the guidance provided to States 

22 through which the Administrator makes 

23 grants to eligible nonprofit organizations 

24 under this section; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ensuring that the application 

2 template is compatible with the latest or 

3 most widely used version of software pro4 grams; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) coordinating with the Adminis6 trator of General Services to ensure that 

7 applications submitted under this section 

8 are compatible across online platforms of 

9 the Federal Government; and 

10 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Home11 land Security and Governmental Affairs of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Homeland Secu13 rity of the House of Representatives a report 

14 that includes— 

15 ‘‘(i) the recommendations developed 

16 under subparagraph (A); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) a description of whether the rec18 ommendations developed under subpara19 graph (A) are consistent with feedback re20 ceived at the public meeting required under 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDA23 TIONS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of 

24 enactment of the Securing Our Schools Act of 2022, 


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1 the Administrator shall implement the recommenda2 tions developed under paragraph (2)(A). 

3 ‘‘(4) PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT WAIVER.— 

4 For the purpose of meeting the deadlines established 

5 under this subsection, the Secretary may waive the 

6 application of subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, 

7 United States Code, to the requirements of this sub8 section.’’; and 

9 (4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$75 mil11 lion for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

12 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘$540,000,000 for each of 

13 fiscal years 2023 through 2030’’; 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) HIGH-RISK URBAN AREAS.—Of the 

17 amounts made available to carry out this section for 

18 each of fiscal years 2023 through 2030, not less 

19 than 0.35 percent shall be for grants to eligible re20 cipients located in each high-risk urban area receiv21 ing grants under section 2003. 

22 ‘‘(3) SALARIES AND EXPENSES.—Of the 

23 amounts made available to carry out this section in 

24 any fiscal year, the Administrator may transfer to 

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1 ment Agency not more than 3 percent for salaries 

2 and administrative expenses, including any necessary 

3 expenses to provide feedback or technical assistance 

4 to applicants for a grant under this section in ac5 cordance with subsection (g).’’. 

6 SEC. 3. SECURING SCHOOLS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) APPROPRIATION.—There are authorized to 

9 be appropriated, and there are appropriated, to the 

10 Secretary of Education to carry out subpart 1 of 

11 part A of title IV of the Elementary and Secondary 

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7111), 

13 $2,560,000,000 for fiscal years 2023 to 2032. 

14 (2) SCHOOL SECURITY.—The Secretary of Edu15 cation shall use 50 percent of the funds appropriated 

16 under paragraph (1) to carry out clause (v) of sec17 tion 4104(b)(3)(B) of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 7114(b)(3)(B)). 

20 (b) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

21 OF 1965.—Section 4104 of the Elementary and Secondary 

22 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7114) is amended in 

23 subsection (b)(3)(B)— 

24 (1) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

25 and 


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1 (2) by inserting after clause (iv) the following: 

2 ‘‘(v) improving school conditions for 

3 student learning, by enabling local edu4 cational agencies to use funds available 

5 under subsection (a)(3) for the purpose of 

6 planning and designing school buildings 

7 and facilities, installing infrastructure, and 

8 implementing technology or other meas9 ures, that strengthen security on school 

10 premises, which may include— 

11 ‘‘(I) controlling access to school 

12 premises or facilities, through the use 

13 of metal detectors, or other measures, 

14 or technology, with evidence-based ef15 fectiveness (to the extent the State in16 volved determines that such evidence 

17 is reasonably available), which may in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(aa) secured campus exter20 nal gate or locked doors or check21 in points; 

22 ‘‘(bb) active shooter alert 

23 systems; 

24 ‘‘(cc) access control; 

25 ‘‘(dd) internal door locks; 


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1 ‘‘(ee) peepholes for class2 room doors; 

3 ‘‘(ff) school site alarm and 

4 protection systems; 

5 ‘‘(gg) metal detectors or x6 ray machines (including port7 able); 

8 ‘‘(hh) door locking mecha9 nisms and access control doors; 

10 ‘‘(ii) increased lighting on 

11 school grounds; 

12 ‘‘(jj) emergency call boxes; 

13 ‘‘(kk) two-way radios; 

14 ‘‘(ll) emergency alerts; 

15 ‘‘(mm) surveillance cameras 

16 or systems and infrastructure 

17 (such as poles and wiring); 

18 ‘‘(nn) software costs and 

19 warranties; 

20 ‘‘(oo) fencing and gating; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(pp) emergency generators 

23 to provide back-up power for 

24 phone systems, critical lighting, 

25 and essential outlets; 


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1 ‘‘(II) implementing any tech2 nology or measure, or installing any 

3 infrastructure, to cover and conceal 

4 students within the school during cri5 sis situations; 

6 ‘‘(III) implementing technology 

7 to provide coordination with law en8 forcement and notification to relevant 

9 law enforcement and first responders 

10 during such a situation, which shall 

11 include— 

12 ‘‘(aa) emergency planning 

13 and preparation; 

14 ‘‘(bb) emphasis on a school 

15 safety plan with buy in from all 

16 elements of the school commu17 nity, including board members, 

18 employees, students, parents, law 

19 enforcers, government and busi20 ness leaders, the media, and local 

21 residents; 

22 ‘‘(cc) school implementation 

23 of threat assessment programs; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) development of dis2 trict-based mandatory incident 

3 reporting systems; 

4 ‘‘(ee) establishment of local 

5 school safety advisory groups (in6 cluding parents, families, judges, 

7 first responders, health and 

8 human service professionals, and 

9 mental health professionals); 

10 ‘‘(ff) evidence-based training 

11 for school resource officers, 

12 school personnel, and students to 

13 prevent student violence to enable 

14 them to recognize and quickly re15 spond to warning signs; 

16 ‘‘(gg) development and oper17 ations of anonymous reporting 

18 systems; 

19 ‘‘(hh) evidence-based school 

20 threat assessment and crisis 

21 intervention teams; 

22 ‘‘(ii) programs to facilitate 

23 coordination with local law en24 forcement; 


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1 ‘‘(jj) liability and insurance 

2 for school districts; 

3 ‘‘(kk) trauma-informed 

4 training for school staff on re5 sponses to active shooter situa6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(ll) community engagement 

8 for planning and implementing 

9 safety policies and procedures; 

10 ‘‘(IV) implementing any tech11 nology or measure, including hiring 

12 school security officers, or installing 

13 any infrastructure, with evidence14 based effectiveness (to the extent the 

15 State involved determines that such 

16 evidence is reasonably available) to in17 crease the safety of school students 

18 and staff; 

19 ‘‘(V) implementing any tech20 nology or measure, or installing any 

21 infrastructure, for school safety rein22 forcement, including bullet-resistant 

23 doors and windows; and 

24 ‘‘(VI) implementing any tech25 nology or system that would reduce 


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1 the time needed to disseminate official 

2 information to parents regarding the 

3 safety of their children during and im4 mediately following a crisis;’’. 

5 SEC. 4. IMPROVING SCHOOL SECURITY THROUGH THE 

6 COPS ON THE BEAT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con8 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(24) to pay salaries and expenses of school re16 source officers at public, charter, and private ele17 mentary schools and secondary schools (as such 

18 terms are defined under section 8101 of the Elemen19 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

20 U.S.C. 7801)); and 

21 ‘‘(25) to improve physical school security at 

22 public, charter, and private elementary schools and 

23 secondary schools (as such terms are defined under 

24 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) by obtaining 


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1 security equipment to protect students in schools 

2 and equip law enforcement officers responding to 

3 school security issues and installing physical struc4 ture improvements, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) fencing, external gates, door locks, 

6 and check-in points, to establish a secured cam7 pus; 

8 ‘‘(B) active shooter alert systems; 

9 ‘‘(C) access controls; 

10 ‘‘(D) internal door locks; 

11 ‘‘(E) school site alarm and protection sys12 tems; 

13 ‘‘(F) metal detector or x-ray machines (in14 cluding portable machines); 

15 ‘‘(G) ballistic safety equipment for schools 

16 and responding law enforcement officers; 

17 ‘‘(H) increased lighting on school grounds; 

18 ‘‘(I) emergency call boxes; 

19 ‘‘(J) two-way radios; 

20 ‘‘(K) emergency alert systems; 

21 ‘‘(L) surveillance cameras or systems, in22 cluding infrastructure for such systems such as 

23 poles and wiring; 

24 ‘‘(M) software costs and warranties; and 


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1 ‘‘(N) emergency generators to provide 

2 back-up power for phone systems, critical light3 ing, and essential outlets.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH. 

5 (a) STUDENT ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH PRO6 GRAM FUND.— 

7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 (A) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligi9 ble school’’ means a school in which the lowest 

10 grade at the school is not lower than grade 6 

11 and the highest grade at the school is not high12 er than grade 12. 

13 (B) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of Education. 

15 (2) STUDENT ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH

16 PROGRAM FUND.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the funds made 

18 available to carry out section 2001 of the Amer19 ican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (20 U.S.C. 3401 

20 note), $10,000,000,000 shall be transferred to 

21 establish the ‘‘Student Access to Mental Health 

22 Program Fund’’, to remain available through 

23 September 30, 2031. The Secretary shall use 

24 amounts available in such Fund to award 

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1 paragraph (B), to enable the States to support 

2 the salary of a mental health professional in eli3 gible schools located in the State. 

4 (B) ALLOCATION.—From the amounts 

5 available in the Fund established under sub6 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall make an al7 location to each State in the same proportion as 

8 the number of eligible schools located in the 

9 State. 

10 (C) PARTNERSHIP.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State awarded a 

12 grant under this subsection shall comply 

13 with the following: 

14 (I) The State shall use the grant 

15 funds to cover the cost of the salary, 

16 which shall be not more than $55,000, 

17 for 10 years for a mental health pro18 fessional to serve eligible schools lo19 cated in the State. Such mental health 

20 professional shall serve not more than 

21 5 eligible schools in any school year by 

22 rotating among the schools for not 

23 less than 1 day a week at each such 

24 school. 


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1 (II) The State shall expend non2 Federal funds to pay for the other 

3 costs of recruitment, training, and 

4 benefits for each such mental health 

5 professional, and any other expenses 

6 related to such employment. 

7 (ii) CONDITIONS OF GRANTS.—A 

8 State awarded a grant under this sub9 section shall require that each eligible 

10 school served by the grant— 

11 (I) provide to the parents of any 

12 student enrolled in the school who has 

13 not reached age 19 who meets with a 

14 mental health professional employed 

15 at the school with all counseling 

16 records and mental health assess17 ments for such student; 

18 (II) not teach Critical Race The19 ory or include Critical Race Theory in 

20 any school program; and 

21 (III) not advocate for abortion or 

22 abortion services in any form. 

23 (b) FUNDS FOR PROGRAMS.—The unobligated bal24 ance of funds made available to carry out sections 2021 

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1 lic Law 117–2) shall be transferred to, and evenly divided 

2 among, the following programs: 

3 (1) Project AWARE State Educational Agency 

4 Grant Program carried out by the Secretary of 

5 Health and Human Services. 

6 (2) Student Support and Academic Enrichment 

7 Grant Program carried out by the Secretary of Edu8 cation. 

9 (3) Community Mental Health Services Block 

10 Grant Program carried out by the Secretary of 

11 Health and Human Services. 

12 (4) Children’s Mental Health Initiative of the 

13 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Ad14 ministration. 

15 (c) BEST PRACTICES.— 

16 (1) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, 

17 the terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and ‘‘secondary 

18 school’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

19 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

21 (2) DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF

22 BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 

24 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

25 Administration, the Secretary of Health and Human 


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1 Services, and the Secretary of Education shall work 

2 in consultation to— 

3 (A) develop best practices for identifying 

4 warning signs of mental health problems with 

5 students and identify warning signs for teachers 

6 and administrator that a student is at high-risk 

7 for violence, specifically for a mass shooting; 

8 (B) develop best practices for identifying 

9 warning signs of mental health problems with 

10 children and identify warning signs for individ11 uals who work at a social service agency that a 

12 child under the age of 18 is at high-risk for vio13 lence, specifically for a mass shooting; and 

14 (C) disseminate the best practices devel15 oped under subparagraphs (A) and (B) to each 

16 elementary school and secondary school in the 

17 United States, and publish the best practices on 

18 a publicly accessible website of the Department 

19 of Education and the Substance Abuse and 

20 Mental Health Services Administration. 

21 (d) GAO STUDY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

23 the United States shall conduct a study on how 

24 many elementary schools and secondary schools in 

25 the United States have a mental health provider for 


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1 students, how many students take advantage of the 

2 mental health services, the main causes for students 

3 to access the services. 

4 (2) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, 

5 the terms ‘‘elementary school’’ and ‘‘secondary 

6 school’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 

7 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATIONS OF FUNDS. 

10 The unobligated balance of funds made available to 

11 carry out section 18003 of division B of the CARES Act 

12 (Public Law 116–136; 134 Stat. 565), section 313 of the 

13 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appro14 priations Act, 2021 (division M of Public Law 116–260; 

15 134 Stat. 1929), and section 2001 of the American Rescue 

16 Plan Act of 2021 (20 U.S.C. 3401 note) shall be trans17 ferred to the Secretary of Education to be used to carry 

18 out this Act in an amount not to exceed $38,000,000,000. 

19 SEC. 7. NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ABORTIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—No funds authorized or appro21 priated by this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, 

22 shall be expended for any abortion or counseling that re23 sults in encouraging, facilitating, or referral for an abor24 tion. 


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1 (b) HEALTH BENEFITS COVERAGE.—No funds au2 thorized or appropriated by this Act, or an amendment 

3 made by this Act, shall be expended for health benefits 

4 coverage that includes coverage of abortion. 

5 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—The limitations established in 

6 paragraphs (a) and (b) shall not apply to an abortion— 

7 (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of 

8 rape or incest; or 

9 (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a 

10 physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, 

11 including a life-endangering physical condition 

12 caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that 

13 would, as certified by a physician, place the woman 

14 in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. 

Æ 


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