West Virginia school safety

School safety mapping laws & grants in West Virginia

Yes. West Virginia's W. Va. Code section 18-9F-10a (HB 3166) requires every county board to produce standardized school safety mapping data, verified-imagery floor plans with full site labeling, effective September 1, 2026, with per-school funding available to fund it.

West Virginia HB 3166 (2025) created W. Va. Code §18-9F-10a, requiring every county board of education to produce standardized, interoperable school safety mapping data (verified-imagery floor plans with site labeling) that integrates with public safety/PSAP software and is shared at no cost with the state, Homeland Security, and local police/fire/EMS. The requirement is effective September 1, 2026, and county boards may receive up to $4,500 per school.[1]

Why this matters in West Virginia

Why West Virginia schools need this now

West Virginia's mapping requirement takes effect September 1, 2026, demanding true-north, gridded, fully labeled data interoperable with PSAP software for every one of 684 schools across 64 county boards. With up to $4,500 per school available to fund it, districts that scan now capture the entire specification in one visit and clear the deadline rather than racing it, delivering a live 3D twin responders open with no new software.

The mandate

What West Virginia law requires

Law
House Bill 3166 (2025 Regular Session)[2]
Statute
W. Va. Code §18-9F-10a ("Standardized school safety mapping data")[1]
Compliance
September 1, 2026 (per codified §18-9F-10a: "The school safety mapping requirements of this section shall be effective on September 1, 2026."). Note: the introduced bill draft referenced establishing data "before September 1, 2025"; the codified statute controls and states an effective date of September 1, 2026.[1]

What schools must provide: Each county board of education must develop standardized school safety mapping data for all public school facilities. The data must include accurate floor plans overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of the school campus; site-specific labeling such as room names, hallway designations, exterior doors, stairwell numbers, and the locations of hazards, critical utility controls, key boxes, AEDs, and trauma kits; plus parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties. Maps must use a fixed grid with consistent x/y coordinates, be oriented to true north, conform to/integrate with and be accessible within the software platforms used in local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and by city/county/state/federal public safety agencies without requiring additional software purchases, be printable and shareable electronically, viewable/printable from open-source viewers, and digitally integrated into interactive mobile platforms if requested. The finalized data must be provided at no cost (beyond initial production) to the state board of education, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and local first response agencies including police, fire, and EMS. The statute also authorizes county boards to receive not greater than $4,500 per school for this purpose.[1]

Funding

Grants that help West Virginia 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.

West Virginia state programs

School Safety Mapping Data funding (statutory per-school allowance under HB 3166 / W. Va. Code §18-9F-10a)Open
Funding Not greater than $4,500 per school (statutory cap)
County boards of education in West Virginia, for developing the standardized school safety mapping data required by §18-9F-10a for their public school facilities.
Deadline: Tied to the §18-9F-10a compliance effective date of September 1, 2026. No separate application deadline confirmed on an official source.[1]

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[3]
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[4]

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 statute is exacting: true-north orientation, a fixed grid, room and door labels, hazard, utility, AED and trauma-kit locations, all interoperable with PSAP and public-safety software at no added cost. A single-day LiDAR and drone scan captures the entire specification in one visit and delivers it as a live 3D digital twin responders open through RapidSOS, no new software required. 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

West Virginia school safety, answered

Does West Virginia require school safety mapping?
Yes. West Virginia's W. Va. Code section 18-9F-10a (HB 3166) requires every county board to produce standardized school safety mapping data, verified-imagery floor plans with full site labeling, effective September 1, 2026, with per-school funding available to fund it. West Virginia HB 3166 (2025) created W. Va. Code §18-9F-10a, requiring every county board of education to produce standardized, interoperable school safety mapping data (verified-imagery floor plans with site labeling) that integrates with public safety/PSAP software and is shared at no cost with the state, Homeland Security, and local police/fire/EMS. The requirement is effective September 1, 2026, and county boards may receive up to $4,500 per school.
What does House Bill 3166 (2025 Regular Session) require?
Each county board of education must develop standardized school safety mapping data for all public school facilities. The data must include accurate floor plans overlaid on current, verified aerial imagery of the school campus; site-specific labeling such as room names, hallway designations, exterior doors, stairwell numbers, and the locations of hazards, critical utility controls, key boxes, AEDs, and trauma kits; plus parking areas, athletic fields, surrounding roads, and neighboring properties. Maps must use a fixed grid with consistent x/y coordinates, be oriented to true north, conform to/integrate with and be accessible within the software platforms used in local public safety answering points (PSAPs) and by city/county/state/federal public safety agencies without requiring additional software purchases, be printable and shareable electronically, viewable/printable from open-source viewers, and digitally integrated into interactive mobile platforms if requested. The finalized data must be provided at no cost (beyond initial production) to the state board of education, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and local first response agencies including police, fire, and EMS. The statute also authorizes county boards to receive not greater than $4,500 per school for this purpose.
When must West Virginia schools comply?
September 1, 2026 (per codified §18-9F-10a: "The school safety mapping requirements of this section shall be effective on September 1, 2026."). Note: the introduced bill draft referenced establishing data "before September 1, 2025"; the codified statute controls and states an effective date of September 1, 2026. House Bill 3166 (2025 Regular Session). Districts should confirm current timelines with their state education agency.
What grants help West Virginia schools pay for safety mapping?
West Virginia districts may be eligible for programs including School Safety Mapping Data funding (statutory per-school allowance under HB 3166 / W. Va. Code §18-9F-10a), COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP), Project SERV (School Emergency Response to Violence). 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.

  1. West Virginia Code §18-9F-10a (official WV Legislature codified statute) verified 2026-06-23
  2. West Virginia Code §18-9F-10a (official WV Legislature codified statute) verified 2026-06-23
  3. COPS Office - School Violence Prevention Program (official program page) verified 2026-06-23
  4. 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 South region compares on school safety mapping.

Free brief

The West Virginia brief, on one page

A printable summary of West Virginia’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

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