As a district leader, you are responsible for creating a safe environment where students can learn, grow, and engage with their communities. You’ve invested significant time and resources in securing your school buildings during the day—installing controlled access points and cameras, conducting regular emergency drills, and implementing safety protocols.
But what about after school?
Athletic contests and after-school events are times when the entire community gathers, and these are also moments of heightened vulnerability. The same care and attention you put into securing your schools during the day must be applied to after-school events. This is where 97c and 31aa funding through MDE becomes critical. The grants allow you to access funding for assessing your athletic fields and facilities and your large event spaces, which can help address gaps in after-hours safety protocols. By utilizing these resources, you can extend the same level of preparedness to large gatherings outside regular school hours.
Why is this important?
School shootings and violent incidents at after-hours events—particularly athletic contests—have become far too common. With over 330 shooting incidents at athletic events since August 2024, this is no longer a hypothetical concern (K-12 School Shooting Database, 2024). You’ve done well to secure your schools during the day, but athletic fields and facilities, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and parking lots are often left unmonitored or inadequately staffed despite the high volume of people and emotions these events generate.
The reality:
Consider this: you likely have well-established emergency plans and procedures for classroom hours. Students and staff know how to respond during a lockdown drill. But do those same detailed plans exist for an athletic event with a thousand people on-site? Are there plans for evacuation, crowd control, or how to handle an altercation between rival groups? Unfortunately, the answer is no in many districts, or these plans are not nearly as robust. 97c and 31aa funding allows you to understand these gaps and implement actionable recommendations. With this funding, you can:
– Conduct thorough site assessments of athletic facilities and event spaces.
– Develop specific emergency protocols for after-hours events, including detailed evacuation routes and response plans for large crowds.
– Enhance security measures during these events, ensuring that you are not over-reliant on a limited staff to manage complex situations.
The WHY: protecting what matters
Your “why” as district leaders is clear: you are responsible for the safety of your students and your community. Your investment in securing your campuses should not stop when the school bell rings.
Athletic contests and after-school events are as much a part of the school experience as classroom learning. Unaddressed security risks should not overshadow the excitement of a big game.
By using 97c and 31aa funding, you ensure that the same thoughtfulness and preparedness applied to your daytime operations extend to the times when students, families, and community members come together for shared experiences. The stakes are high, and your proactive approach could be the difference between a smooth, secure event and a preventable tragedy.
Now is the time to act.
MDE has reopened 97c to public schools, PSAs, and nonpublic schools, and the opt-on window for 31aa closes on November 1. The Michigan legislators recognize this growing threat and have made financial resources available to districts to address safety and security gaps and weaknesses outside the school day.
SEC is here to help. Please feel free to reach out to our team for more information or questions. You can learn more about our assessment process here.