Critical Incident Digital Mapping Funding for Indiana Schools

With the passing of House Bill No. 1492, Indiana schools are now eligible to use funds from the Secured School Safety Grant (SSSG) for a wider breadth of school safety expenses. This expansion includes funding for the development of critical incident digital mapping and other technology for expediting notification of emergency response agencies and facilitating a coordinated response.

Since 2013, the SSSG program has issued more than $133 million in grants to Indiana schools, with another $25 million in funding appropriated in the budget for FY23-24.

StrataSite® critical incident digital mapping is GIS-compatible and meets and exceeds funding criteria as defined by the bill, for the digitized mapping of a school building and school grounds to best assist first responders in an emergency.   
- Scott Lowry, StrataSite President

StrataSite President Scott Lowry said, “The expansion of services covered under House Bill 1492 enables Indiana schools to not only develop critical incident digital mapping but allows the implementation of geographic information system (GIS) mapping, which provides real-time data to emergency responders in order to efficiently assess needs and deploy resources.” 

According to Lowry, StrataSite® critical incident digital mapping is GIS-compatible and meets and exceeds funding criteria as defined by the bill, for the digitized mapping of a school building and school grounds to best assist first responders in an emergency that must: 

1. include accurate floor plans overlaid on or current aerial imagery of a school building or school plan with surrounding school grounds;
2. include site-specific labeling that matches:
   1. the structure of the school building, including room labels, hallway names, room numbers, external doors, interior doors, stairwell numbers, locations of hazardous materials, key utility locations, key boxes, automated external defibrillators, and trauma kits; and
   2. the school grounds, including parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties;
3. be compatible with platforms and applications used by local, state, and federal public safety agencies;
4. be verified for accuracy through a walk-through of a school building and school grounds;
5. not require the purchase of additional software for use;
6. be accessible in a printable format;
7. be shared with:
   1. the law enforcement agency and fire department that have jurisdiction over the mapped school building; and
   2. the statewide 911 system as described in IC 36-8-16.7-22 through the public safety answer point, or "PSAP", described in IC 36-8-16.7-20 that has jurisdiction over the mapped school building; and
8. be kept confidential and withheld from public disclosure.

Secured School Safety Grant (SSSG) funds now allocated toward critical incident digital mapping for Indiana schools further positions StrataSite as a leading Indiana school safety vendor, as the company’s complementary service, Active Threat Planning, is also currently deployed across the state -- including a county-wide deployment in Lake County.      

Are You an Indiana School Safety Planning Professional?

Request a quote today to see how StrataSite can go beyond simple school map development to maximize this grant funding opportunity.