Policy Name:	School Safety and Security Grant (SSSG) Program
Policy #:	SP-19-04
Code/Rule Reference	ORC 4121.37 and OAC 4123-17-56.
Effective Date:	June 6, 2025
Origin:	Office of Safety Services (OSS)
Supersedes:	Policy issued June 28, 2024.
History:	Revised June 6, 2025; June 28, 2023; March 11, 2022; and September 17, 2020. New policy issued November 29, 2018.
Review Date:	June 16, 2030

 

 I.      Policy Purpose

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) created the School Safety and Security Grant (SSSG) Program as an extension and modification of BWC’s general industry Safety Intervention Grants Program. BWC uses the SSSG Program to partner with Ohio schools to substantially reduce or eliminate injuries or illnesses among school employees and students.

 II.    Applicability

This policy applies to BWC Office of Safety Services (OSS), employers, and their authorized representatives.

 III.   Definitions

A.    Eligibility cycle: The eligibility cycle applies to previous grant recipients who may be eligible to receive up to $40,000 per eligibility cycle. The eligibility cycle is three years. The eligibility cycle start date is determined by the date of the earliest grant warrant.

B.    Fast track grants: Applications for specific equipment where there is high risk for injuries and illnesses, and the specific equipment is likely to have a significant impact on eliminating future injuries and illnesses.

C.   Pre-assessment and pre-report: A review of the worksite that may be conducted at BWC’s discretion prior to implementation of the grant purchased equipment using a checklist to observe and evaluate the area or task where the equipment will be used.

D.   Post-assessment and post-report: A review of the worksite and newly purchased equipment that may be conducted at BWC’s discretion after implementation, using a checklist to observe and evaluate the area or task where the equipment is used.

E.    Retroactive purchases: Equipment purchased prior to approval from BWC for the safety intervention, which includes ordered equipment, paid equipment, and received paid equipment.

F.    The following definition found in the Safety Intervention Grants Program policy does not apply to the SSSG Program: unapproved purchases.

IV.  Policy

A.    Unless otherwise specified in this policy, all application requirements, eligibility, participation criteria, reporting, and procedures stated in the Safety Intervention Grants Program policy apply to the applicants and participants of the SSSG Program. BWC uses this policy to set forth the unique components of the SSSG Program.

 

B.    Eligibility criteria.

1.    The employer must be a state fund private employer or public employer taxing district that has employees who work with students. The employer must provide information on the application clearly describing the student population.

2.    Eligible employers include public and private K-12 schools, charter schools, joint vocational school districts, and pre-schools licensed through the Ohio Department of Education or the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

3.   Employers not eligible for the SSSG program include:

i. Colleges and universities;

ii. Self-insuring employers;

iii. Professional employer organizations;

iv. Alternate employer organizations; and

v. State agencies.

4.  The maximum total grant amount an employer can receive is $40,000 per eligibility cycle to purchase employee safety interventions, incident response equipment, facility equipment, transportation equipment, and ground security equipment described in this policy in sections IV.D.1.a. through IV.D.1.d. The eligibility cycle for this equipment is three years. The eligibility cycle start date is determined by the date of the earliest grant award.

5.  Employers currently participating in the Safety Intervention Grant Program are eligible to apply for the SSSG Program even if they have already received up to $40,000 in their current Safety Intervention Grants eligibility cycle. Employers who are in the Safety Intervention Grants Program must be up to date on all required documentation and reports to be eligible to apply for the SSSG Program.

6.   BWC reserves the right to conduct a visit to the employer’s site based on the information provided in the application and complete either or both of the following:

a.  A pre-report and assessment before approval of the grant application, and

b.  A post-report and assessment after the approval of the grant application.

C.   Pre-application steps.

1.    The employer must access the Ohio BWC Grant & Program Management Portal to complete and submit the Application for School Safety and Security Grant (SH-56).

2.    The employer must provide BWC with the following information:

a.  Describe of the type of school facility, school district, or organization, e.g., public K-12, private preschool, or 9-12 charter school;

b.   The number of buildings or facilities in the organization that are occupied by students;

c.  The number of students receiving services from the organization, and

their age range;

d.   The number of employees within the organization; and

e.   Description of the problem and proposed intervention.

3. The employer must obtain three detailed price quotes from equipment vendors. Each quote must be specific to the employer applying for the grant and must list all items to be purchased. The quotes must include the date of the quote and the equipment vendor’s contact name and phone number. BWC highly recommends obtaining quotes of at least one hundred twenty (120) days. If the vendor is a sole source provider, one quote is acceptable. For a sole source provider an explanation of the uniqueness of the item, and how the applicant determined that the item is only available from one source, must be provided in the application.

 

D.   Application requirements.

1.  The employer must submit the completed application with all questions answered in the Ohio BWC Grant & Program Management Portal. The employer may only apply for and use grant funds to purchase the following:

      a. Employee safety interventions.

i.      Flooring or floor coatings to reduce slip hazards;

ii.     Lightweight lunch tables that reduce lifting and handling hazards;

iii.    Motorized bleacher systems;

iv.   Safe food fryers;

v.     Cutting or slicing equipment; or

vi.   Floor cleaning machines.

b. Incident response equipment.

i.      Equipment bags or backpacks stocked with trauma first aid supplies;

ii.     Two-way communication devices and software designed to interface   directly with emergency responders; or

iii.    School-wide panic alarm or panic button system.

c. Facility/transportation/grounds security.

i.      Interior and exterior security doors and mechanisms (e.g., panic bars or other fire code compliant door locking mechanisms, bullet-resisting glass and materials, security window film to mitigate the effects of a bomb or deter and delay forced entry);

ii.     Protective vehicle crash barriers in front of entrances;

iii.    Modifications of building or facility entrances to restrict access;

iv.   Secured keycard or keycode systems;

v.     Metal detectors (fixed or portable);

vi.   Security cameras; or

vii.  Emergency (police dispatch) call poles.

d. HVAC improvements.

i.      Engineering services, recommissioning, or retro­-commissioning of existing HVAC systems or ventilation systems related to improving indoor air quality;

ii.     Servicing of HVAC or venti­lation systems to ensure ventilation and outdoor air intake systems are operat­ing as intended;

iii.    New, replacement or additional tempera­ture, humidity, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) monitoring for improved indoor air quality monitoring;

iv.   Verification or review that the existing systems are providing code required ventilation under Ohio Mechani­cal Code/American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 62.1 or 62.2;

v.     Purchase of Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV-13) or higher filters for HVAC sys­tems to improve IAQ;

vi.   Improvements to building control systems to allow for increased ventilation;

vii.  HVAC system modifications to allow for increased ven­tilation above the Ohio Mechanical Code required minimum;

viii. Ventilation modifications due to fewer building occu­pants so existing HVAC system can handle addi­tional ventilation load;

ix.   Commercial grade portable point-of-use air filtration systems with minimum MERV-13 or High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) standards; or

x.     Air treatment devices that may include, but are not limited to, ion­ization technology or ultraviolet (UV-C) technology designed to reduce airborne pathogens.

2.   There are no quantity limitations to the items listed in section IV.D.1.

3.    BWC will not approve an SSSG Program application for any equipment not listed in section IV.D.1. above.

4.    Section V (Budget) and Section VI (Agreement) of the application require the signature of an employee who has authority and responsibility for the employer.

5.  The employer agrees as the signer of the agreement, and any assigns or successors, are bound by the employer’s SSSG Program obligations to:

a.   Purchase and implement the approved equipment;

b.   Provide receipt documentation to BWC within one hundred twenty (120) days of the date of the grant award; and

c.   Submit a case study to BWC one year after the anticipated equipment implementation date provided on the SH-56.

6.   When a school, which falls under a municipality’s BWC policy number or a county’s BWC policy number, applies for a grant, BWC will distribute the grant funds to the municipality or county board for the approved use.

7.   Pre-schools licensed solely under Ohio Department of Job and Family Services must provide the following supplemental information with their application:

a.    The most recent inspection report with capacity and enrollment numbers;

b.    A copy of their license; and

c.     A copy of the curriculum provided to the pre-school population.

8.  The state of Ohio considers a grant recipient a supplier. As such, the employer must obtain a supplier ID number through the Ohio Shared Services website, then complete and submit the following forms to Ohio Shared Services:

a.    Request for Taxpayer Identification Number & Certification (W-9 via the Supplier Portal).

b.    Authorization Agreement for Direct Deposit of EFT Payments (OBM-4310-Rev.11/1/2011 via the Supplier Portal).

E.  BWC evaluation of application.

1.   BWC considers the employer’s application complete upon receipt of the following items:

a.  The completed application;

b.  The Statement of Agreement with original signatures; and

c.     The Budget page with electronic signatures and at least three vendor quotes  or one vendor quote and a sole source letter;

2.  SSSG Program grants are considered fast track grants and are reviewed by two members of the Review Committee who recommend approval or denial of the application to the OSS Superintendent or their designee.

3.   BWC requests grant funds for approved applications through the Department of Administrative Services. Employers can expect to receive funds approximately six to eight weeks after approval of the application.

F.   Operation of program.

1.  The employer must agree to submit one case study to BWC one year after the implementation of the equipment.

a.  The case study must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the one-year reporting period.

b.  The employer may request assistance from a BWC Field Safety Service Consultant.

c.   The employer must complete and submit the case study online accessed through the SSSG Program web page.

d.  BWC requires an employer who fails to adhere to the case study reporting requirement to reimburse the full amount of the grant.

2.  BWC reserves the right to observe the newly purchased equipment and complete a post-assessment and post-report.

3.  There are no life expectancy requirements for the newly purchased equipment.

4.   BWC will not approve, and the employer may not use, grant funds for retroactive purchases.

5.   Equipment purchases have a three-to-one matching grant requirement to purchase equipment described in this policy in sections IV.D.1.a. through IV.D.1.d. This means BWC gives $3 through the grant for every $1 the employer contributes.

 

G.  Scenarios.

1.   A school received a Safety Intervention Grant in the amount of $40,000 to purchase a portable scissor lift to assist facility maintenance tasks. The grant check was dated five months prior to an SSSG Program application to purchase slip resistant flooring for the elementary school kitchen. The employer has not provided BWC the required receipt documentation for the Safety Intervention Grant Program. 

 

Response: An employer participating in the Safety Intervention Grants Program must be current on all receipt documentation and reporting to be eligible for the SSSG Program. This employer is not eligible to apply for the SSSG Program until the required documentation is submitted.

2.   A school district applies for the SSSG Program in the amount of $5,000 to cover the cost of first aid trauma kits. Two months after receiving the grant, the school district applies for $18,000 to purchase security cameras. What are the matching amounts, and may the school district submit a third grant for other items?

Response: If the total cost of the trauma kits is $5,000, the school district’s three-to-one employer match for this grant is $1,250. The school district’s three-to-one employer match for $18,000 to purchase security cameras is $4,500. The school district still has $22,750 ($40,000 - $3,750 - $13,500) available from BWC for future applications under the program until the eligibility cycle ends.