AZ Stronger Connections

The Stronger Connections Grant program supports the school safety needs for Arizona schools. It has been established within the Arizona Department of Education to provide resources to ‘High-Need LEAs’ to hire, train, and support effective School Safety Officers (SSOs) for their school(s). These federally funded SSOs, may be a peace officer or a full-authority reserve peace officer who is certified by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. SSOs will perform the same duties as a School Resource Officer (SRO) as required by existing School Safety Grant protocol, albeit in an off-duty or extra-duty capacity versus a full-time capacity. This provides much needed local flexibility, and would be appropriate for schools that could not find SROs in their communities. 

Through a collaborative partnership, the Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Bar Foundation provide Stronger Connections Grant program sites that have been awarded SSOs with training, resources, and technical assistance to help them effectively meet the goals and objectives of this program. To see if your school is a Stronger Connections Grant funded site, click on the following site list. 

• FY26 Stronger Connections Grant Awarded Sites