StrataSite announced that the company is a qualified vendor-resource for Wisconsin schools as they submit grant applications for the development of critical incident digital mapping data – part of the state’s 2021 Wisconsin Act 109, Digital Mapping of School Buildings-2022, originated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Office of School Safety.
The project period for this grant funding opportunity is July 1st, 2022 – June 30th, 2024, and according to StrataSite president Scott Lowry, the state’s commitment to critical incident digital mapping data for Wisconsin schools is an important step toward an even more comprehensive solution that includes collaboration among all responding agencies.
“Digital mapping in Wisconsin schools is an important aspect of better response, and beyond mapping alone, StrataSite delivers the tools necessary to collaborate, create and train for a coordinated multi-agency response for safety professionals responsible for lives in hundreds of schools, workplaces, and public event spaces. We are committed to making sure all responders to Wisconsin schools will share awareness and adoption of critical incident maps and emergency response plans -- saving precious time and outlining roles and responsibilities during an event. We are pleased that more communities in Wisconsin will have an opportunity to benefit from what only StrataSite has to offer,” Lowry said.
Grant Snapshot
- 2021 Wisconsin Act 109 Digital Mapping of School Buildings – 2022
- Accepting applications 07/01/2022 – 06/30/2024
- Application approval subject to availability of funds
- Applications must be submitted through the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Egrants portal
Wisconsin Legislative Council Act Memo, excerpted, below:
State law requires each school board and the governing body of each private school, to have a school safety plan in effect, and to review and approve that plan at least once every three years after it goes into effect. Upon creating the plan, and upon each subsequent review, the board or governing body must submit a copy of the most recent blueprints of the school to the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the school and to the Office of School Safety (OSS) at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ). The OSS must coordinate with schools to compile and keep confidential all blueprints, unless a law enforcement agency requests access.
2021 Wisconsin Act 109 allows school boards and the governing bodies of private schools to submit critical incident mapping data, in lieu of blueprints, to the relevant law enforcement agency and the OSS, and similarly requires the OSS to compile such data and maintain its confidentiality, subject to the exception allowing law enforcement access upon request. In addition, the act creates a DOJ grant program to assist school boards and governing bodies of private schools in submitting critical incident mapping data, and requires DOJ to accept grant applications from school personnel working jointly with local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over the school.
The act further specifies that grant funds must be used for site-specific critical incident mapping data to enhance security and increase situational awareness for first responders, and that any mapping data created with grant funds must meet the following requirements:
The data must be compatible with platforms and applications used by local, state, and federal public safety officials. The data may not require local, state, or federal public safety officials, school districts, or private schools to purchase additional software. The data must include information that can best assist first responders in an emergency, such as building numbers, floors, suite designations, room numbers, or other available relevant location information.
The act authorizes the Joint Committee on Finance (JCF), in the 2021-23 fiscal biennium, to supplement DOJ’s school safety appropriation with sufficient funds, not to exceed $2,000,000 in the biennium, to implement the grant program, upon DOJ’s request. Under the act, DOJ must submit to the JCF co-chairpersons an annual report providing an account of the awarded grants and the expenditures made with the grant moneys.
