Safe and Supportive Schools Grants

1. Safe and Supportive Schools Grants
   1. Fund Code (FC) 335 Safe and Supportive Schools Competitive Grant
   2. Fund Code (FC) 337 Safe and Supportive Schools Continuation Grant
   3. Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program Evaluation
2. Webinars
3. Professional Development Opportunities — for Grantees and Others
4. Student and Family Voice
5. Additional Resources

The Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Programs (Fund Code 335 and 337) are state-funded programs, funded through state line item 7061-9612 .

Most specifically, this work is intended to help districts ensure that each school creates a safe, positive, healthy, equitable and inclusive whole-school learning environment and makes effective use of a system for integrating services and aligning initiatives that promote students' behavioral health, including social and emotional learning, bullying prevention, trauma sensitivity, dropout prevention, truancy reduction, children's mental health, foster care and homeless youth education, inclusion of students with disabilities, positive behavioral approaches that reduce suspensions and expulsions, and other similar initiatives. Schools that receive funding (through their district) under this grant program will either convene a school team, respond to the questions in the Safe and Supportive Schools Self-Reflection Tool, determine areas to prioritize for improvements, and finalize an action plan; or implement and assess progress on a previously created action plan.

The Safe and Supportive Schools Self-Reflection Tool is available for any school to use. It can be accessed by requesting a username and password by emailing achievement@mass.gov . Once completed, schools can use the following documents to complete their action and implementation plans:

• Safe and Supportive Schools — Action Plan Guidance and Template

• Safe and Supportive Schools — Implementation Status Update

1. Safe and Supportive Schools Grants

1a. Fund Code (FC) 0335 Safe and Supportive Schools Competitive Grant

The fiscal year 2025-2026 (FY2026) grant has been awarded. For information about this year's grant, please see the FC0335 RFP page.

2025-2026 Fiscal Year (FY2026) Grantees

Grant Program Purpose: The purpose of this state funded competitive grant program is to provide funding to school districts (and their selected schools) to organize, integrate, and sustain school and district-wide efforts to create safe and supportive school environments. Additionally, this grant is designed to coordinate and align student support initiatives based on their findings from completing the Safe and Supportive Schools (SaSS) Framework and Self-Reflection Tool .

The main priorities for this grant are to help ensure that each participating school creates an equitable, safe, positive, healthy, culturally-competent, and inclusive whole-school learning environment for all students, and makes effective use of a system for integrating services and aligning initiatives that promote students' behavioral health and wellness, through one of two grant applicant options:

• Option One: Action Planning
  These grantees will convene a school team (likely virtually this year) composed of various stakeholders (e.g., including but not limited to teachers, nurses, counselors, family members, etc.) to review and respond to the questions in the SaSS Tool .

  Based on the school team's reflections informed by using the SaSS Tool, the team will identify school and district areas to prioritize for improvements related to creating safer and more supportive learning environments, and will finalize a school plan that is aligned to school and district priorities, and a district plan that supports the schools' efforts.

  The SaSS action plans shall address all six sections of the SaSS Tool:

  1. Leadership and Culture
  2. Family and Community Engagement
  3. Professional Learning Opportunities
  4. Access to Resources and Services
  5. Teaching and Learning that Fosters Safe and Supportive Environments
  6. Policies and Procedures
  
  

• Option Two: Implementation and Support
  These grantees will begin or continue to implement school-focused action plans (and associated district-support plans) that were created in prior year(s), i.e., during or before school year 2024-2025. The creation of those action plans must have been informed by a local self-reflection process using the SaSS/BHPS Framework and Tool.

  These grantees will also provide supports for Option One grantees, other new SaSS Tool users, schools and districts that are new to implementation, as well as the Department, Commission, and others as needed and appropriate.

1b. Fund Code (FC) 337 Safe and Supportive Schools Continuation Grant

Grant Program Purpose: The goals of this state funded safe and supportive schools continuation grant program are to:

• Help support implementation of school-wide action plans created by Fund Code 335 (FC 335) Option 1 (Action Planning) grantees in the prior year, and
• Continue, expand, or extend the implementation and support efforts by FC 335 Option 2 (Implementation and Support) grantees.

For current year continuation grantees, these districts (and their selected schools) have worked towards organizing, integrating, and sustaining school and district-wide efforts to create safe and supportive school environments. As part of this work, Option 1 grantees created action plans last year based on their insights gained from completing the Safe and Supportive Schools (SaSS) Self-Reflection Tool (Tool). Schools supported through these continuation grants are also expected to incorporate these action plans into their school improvement plans developed under MGL, c. 69, s. 1I. Option 2 grantees created action plans in last year or earlier and were awarded competitive funds in last year to implement or extend these action plans. Option 2 grantees also provided support to other Tool users, the Department, the Safe and Supportive Schools Commission, or others last year and will this year too.

2025-2026 Fiscal Year (FY2026) Grantees

1c. Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program Evaluation

Since the 2017-2018 school year, DESE has contracted with the Research and Evaluation Department of the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) to evaluate the Safe and Supportive Schools Grant Program, through a competitive Request for Response (RFR) statewide procurement process. Over the years, CES has:

• reviewed grant policies and supports,
• analyzed professional development offerings and evidence of impact,
• conducted interviews and focus groups with grantees and SaSS Commission members to learn more about school and district improvement plans and their alignment to SaSS work,
• reviewed action plans and implementation updates with a focus on student voice and linguistically and culturally appropriate and sustaining supports, and
• other activities.

Reports and/or report summaries can be provided upon request.

2. Webinars

• FC 335 FY2025 Competitive Grant — Informational Webinar (May 2025)

3. Professional Development Opportunities — for Grantees and Others

• The Safe and Supportive Schools, Rethinking Discipline, and SEL and Mental Health Initiative: 2025-2026 Professional Development Calendar

When possible, these and related events are shared in the Commissioner's Weekly Update , or the Holistic Supports & Enrichment: Strengthening Social Emotional Competencies, Health & Safety Newsletter .

4. Student and Family Voice

The Safe and Supportive Schools line-item states "… that grant awards shall be prioritized to applications that include a process for developmentally appropriate input from students who are reflective of the school population;…". Student and family voice are two critical aspects of a safe and supportive learning environment. Below please find a few examples of resources available related to incorporating student and family voice into the safe and supportive schools self-reflection process and in other aspects of the school and district decision making.

• Family Engagement Initiatives and Resources — This site is the main clearinghouse for family engagement initiatives, guidance, and resources from the Department. Please contact Family Engagement Specialist Olga Lopez with any questions.

• Safe Schools for LGBTQ Students — The Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students informs policy and provides training, technical assistance, and professional development to school administrators and staff on topics related to gender identity, sexual orientation, and school climate. The Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students works closely with students and youth throughout the state and can provide training and resources related to including student voice. Contact Director Jason Wheeler with questions or for more information.

• Promoting Safe and Healthy Learning Environments: Elevating Student Voice and Well-Being Competitive Grant Program (Fund Code 0128) — This grant is designed to help schools and districts engage with students, elevate their voices, and help build administrators' and educators' capacity to engage with students in ways that are developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive, and anti-racist. The grant will help districts implement one of six evidence-based practices: a 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) high school internship; a PreK–3 Playful Learning Institute; integrating service learning, social emotional learning, and academics; comprehensive health and physical education; youth and teen mental health first aid; and youth participatory action research (YPAR).

• Students Speak — Harvard Law School's Education Law Clinic, part of TLPI, created this site to share what they have learned working with students. The goal is to share lessons from students' own experiences about how to create better schools in order for schools to become safe and supportive learning environments where all students can learn and succeed.

5. Additional Resources

• From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope — Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development

• Trauma Sensitive Schools Books and Videos and other resources — The Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative's (TLPI) mission is to ensure that children traumatized by exposure to family violence and other adverse childhood experiences succeed in school.

• Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates — A resource from the U.S. Department of Education (March 2023)

Last Updated: January 17, 2025