New Jersey school safety

School safety mapping laws & grants in New Jersey

Yes. Under N.J.S.A. 18A:41-7.1, every public, charter, renaissance, and nonpublic school must give local law enforcement digital critical incident mapping data, aerial images, floor plans with room numbers, access points, and hazard and utility shut-off locations, in force since the 2023-2024 school year.

New Jersey law requires every public, charter, renaissance, and nonpublic school to give local law enforcement digital critical incident mapping data (aerial images, floor plans with room numbers, access points, hazardous-material and utility shut-off locations) that is interoperable with first-responder platforms, printable, and verified annually by a building walkthrough.^[1]

Why this matters in New Jersey

Why New Jersey schools need this now

New Jersey law has required digital critical incident mapping since the 2023-2024 school year, yet the state-contracted maps are flat data filed once, not a live model responders can move through during an emergency. Going beyond the floor-plan minimum to a cloud-viewable 3D twin closes the gap between meeting the statute and giving responders something genuinely usable, with RapidSOS delivery that needs no new platform.

The mandate

What New Jersey law requires

Law

S2426 (signed into law as P.L.2022, c.122), amending New Jersey's school critical incident mapping statute (originally P.L.2019, c.106)^[1]

Statute

N.J.S.A. 18A:41-7.1^[1]

Compliance

The amending act (P.L.2022, c.122 / S2426) took effect immediately upon signing on November 30, 2022, and applied to the first full school year following the date of enactment (i.e., the 2023-2024 school year). No separate later compliance deadline is set in statute; verification is ongoing via the required annual walkthrough.^[1]

What schools must provide: Each district board of education and the chief administrator of a nonpublic school must provide critical incident mapping data for all schools and school grounds to local law enforcement authorities (or, in municipalities with no police department, to an entity designated by the Superintendent of State Police). 'Critical incident mapping data' means information provided in electronic or digital form to assist first responders in an emergency, including but not limited to: aerial images of the school; floor plans, including room and suite numbers; building access points; locations of hazardous materials and utility shut-offs; and other relevant location information. The data must (1) be compatible with all platforms and applications used by local, State, and federal law enforcement authorities; (2) be provided in a printable format; and (3) be verified for accuracy through an annual walkthrough of school buildings and grounds. Revised mapping data must be provided any time the data changes.^[1]

Funding

Grants that help New Jersey schools pay for it

Districts often combine state and federal programs to fund first-responder mapping, AI threat detection, and emergency communications. We list only currently open or recurring programs; amounts and deadlines change, so confirm each at its official source before applying.

New Jersey state programs

Statewide School Security (Critical Incident Mapping) InitiativeOpen

All public and nonpublic K-12 schools in New Jersey. Not a competitive grant that schools apply for individually: the New Jersey State Police centrally contracts a vendor to collect and digitize school maps and load them into a database, so the funding pays for the mapping at the state level rather than reimbursing schools.

^[1]

Securing Our Children's Future Bond Act - School Security GrantOpen

Funding $75 million authorized statewide for school security projects under the bond act (per NJ DOE program materials and multiple reports)

New Jersey school districts and county vocational school districts, for eligible school security capital projects. Confirm current round eligibility and scope with NJ DOE Office of School Facilities.

^[2]

Nonpublic School Security Program (state aid)Formula

Funding Per-pupil aid set annually in the state Appropriations Act (no fixed statutory dollar amount); funds security services, equipment, or technology

Nonpublic schools that indicate participation on the Nonpublic School Enrollment Report; aid is administered through the resident public school district. Covers security equipment/technology (cameras, access control, building hardening, emergency communications, etc.); excludes capital improvements, permanent fixtures, and personnel.

Recurring program, confirm the current cycle at the source^[3]

Federal programs (available nationwide)

COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)Annual

Funding FY26: up to $73,000,000 total available, awarded over a 3-year (36-month) period with at least a 25% local cash match required (waiver possible) and approximately $1,000,000 reserved for microgrants of up to $100,000 for rural, tribal, and low-resourced school districts. Confirm the current per-award cap directly on the official COPS SVPP program page before applying, as the FY26 figure is being finalized.

Coordination with law enforcement; training for school personnel and local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self; placement/use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures; acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; other Director-approved security improvements at K-12 schools and on school grounds. (This is the COPS-administered arm of the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, focused on security equipment/technology and training.) (U.S. Department of Justice - Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office))

Deadline: FY26: Grants.gov SF-424 by Aug 4, 2026 4:59 PM ET; JustGrants by Aug 11, 2026 4:59 PM ET. Annual competitive cycle (typically opens spring/summer each fiscal year).Listing: 16.710^[4]

Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence)Rolling

Funding Two tiers, both at Secretary's discretion (subject to appropriations) sized to the incident: Immediate Services (emergency short-term assistance) and Extended Services (longer recovery). No fixed published cap on the official ed.gov page; funding amounts and project periods are established case-by-case to reflect the scope of the incident and recovery needs.

Short-term education-related services to help schools/campuses recover from and respond to a violent or traumatic event and restore the learning environment (e.g., mental health/counseling support, security and safety measures during recovery, substitute staffing, overtime, communication). Qualifying events: school shootings, suicide clusters, terrorism, natural disasters, school bus accidents, student homicides, hate crimes (non-exhaustive). (U.S. Department of Education - Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), Safe and Supportive Schools)

Recurring program, confirm the current cycle at the sourceListing: 84.184S^[5]

See full details on each federal funding program, including eligibility, deadlines, and how each can apply to responder-ready mapping.

How schools comply

From paper plans to a map responders can actually use

The law demands data that is interoperable with first-responder platforms, printable, and re-verified by an annual building walkthrough, so accuracy is a recurring obligation, not a one-time upload. A single-day LiDAR and drone scan produces a live 3D digital twin that stays current and reaches responders through RapidSOS, no new platform for any 911 center to adopt. Static PDFs go stale the moment a building changes, and they cannot be shared live with arriving units.

Ark Strategic builds a live 3D digital twin of a campus from a LiDAR and drone scan, often completed in a single day though larger campuses can take longer, with every room, exit, utility shutoff, AED, and access point labeled. Responders reach it two ways, neither of which requires anything new to install: through RapidSOS, the platform already connected to the vast majority of US 911 centers, or in any web browser, since the twin runs in the cloud. Either way, your 911 center and on-scene units see the campus inside tools they already have.

A flat floor plan tells responders where the walls are. A digital twin shows them where to go. The platform and setup are bundled into one deployment, often grant-funded, so there is no separate software line item for the district. See how the K-12 platform works.

FAQ

New Jersey school safety, answered

Does New Jersey require school safety mapping?

Yes. Under N.J.S.A. 18A:41-7.1, every public, charter, renaissance, and nonpublic school must give local law enforcement digital critical incident mapping data, aerial images, floor plans with room numbers, access points, and hazard and utility shut-off locations, in force since the 2023-2024 school year. New Jersey law requires every public, charter, renaissance, and nonpublic school to give local law enforcement digital critical incident mapping data (aerial images, floor plans with room numbers, access points, hazardous-material and utility shut-off locations) that is interoperable with first-responder platforms, printable, and verified annually by a building walkthrough.

What does S2426 (signed into law as P.L.2022, c.122), amending New Jersey's school critical incident mapping statute (originally P.L.2019, c.106) require?

Each district board of education and the chief administrator of a nonpublic school must provide critical incident mapping data for all schools and school grounds to local law enforcement authorities (or, in municipalities with no police department, to an entity designated by the Superintendent of State Police). 'Critical incident mapping data' means information provided in electronic or digital form to assist first responders in an emergency, including but not limited to: aerial images of the school; floor plans, including room and suite numbers; building access points; locations of hazardous materials and utility shut-offs; and other relevant location information. The data must (1) be compatible with all platforms and applications used by local, State, and federal law enforcement authorities; (2) be provided in a printable format; and (3) be verified for accuracy through an annual walkthrough of school buildings and grounds. Revised mapping data must be provided any time the data changes.

When must New Jersey schools comply?

The amending act (P.L.2022, c.122 / S2426) took effect immediately upon signing on November 30, 2022, and applied to the first full school year following the date of enactment (i.e., the 2023-2024 school year). No separate later compliance deadline is set in statute; verification is ongoing via the required annual walkthrough. S2426 (signed into law as P.L.2022, c.122), amending New Jersey's school critical incident mapping statute (originally P.L.2019, c.106). Districts should confirm current timelines with their state education agency.

What grants help New Jersey schools pay for safety mapping?

New Jersey districts may be eligible for programs including Statewide School Security (Critical Incident Mapping) Initiative, Securing Our Children's Future Bond Act - School Security Grant, Nonpublic School Security Program (state aid), COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). Eligibility, amounts, and deadlines vary by program and should be confirmed at each program's official source.

What is critical incident mapping?

Critical incident mapping is the practice of giving first responders accurate, current digital maps of a building, with rooms, exits, utility shutoffs, AEDs, and access points labeled and shareable in real time, so police, fire, and EMS can navigate an unfamiliar campus during an emergency.

New to the terms? See the school safety mapping glossary for plain-language, sourced definitions, or the national FAQ for the questions districts ask most.

Sources

Every claim, cited

We do not ask you to take our word for any of this. Each numbered citation above links to its primary government source below, with the date we last verified it. Programs and deadlines change, so confirm current rules at the source. How we verify.

New Jersey Legislature - S2426 bill text (enacted as P.L.2022, c.122) verified 2026-06-23
NJ Department of Education - Securing Our Children's Future Bond Act School Security Grant Instructions (PDF) verified 2026-06-23
NJ Department of Education - Nonpublic School Security Program Guidelines verified 2026-06-23
COPS Office - School Violence Prevention Program (official program page) verified 2026-06-23
U.S. Department of Education - Project SERV (official program page) verified 2026-06-23

Compare across state lines

Neighboring states

School safety mapping varies by state line. See where the states next door stand.

See how the rest of the Northeast region compares on school safety mapping.

Free brief

The New Jersey brief, on one page

A printable summary of New Jersey’s mapping mandate, the grants that fund it, the buyer-side standard, and a district readiness checklist. Built to forward to your board.

→ Mandate status and key deadlines
→ State and federal grants that pay for it
→ Readiness checklist, every claim cited

Get your free New Jersey grant & readiness review

A free 15-minute review of which New Jersey mapping grants your district qualifies for and how a live digital twin would work for your campus.

→ First responder pre-registration included
→ One scan, one school day, zero disruption to classes
→ Grant guidance for New Jersey districts