a key pillar of its Harrisburg agenda<\/a>. The advocacy organization wants to increase funding for the program from $20.7 million to $30 million and raise the maximum grant from $75,000 to $125,000.<\/p>\nThe 2026 recipients include 14 of the 34 day schools across the state, according to Jenny Sved, the executive director of Teach PA. Eight of those 14 \u2014 Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, Abrams Hebrew Academy, I.S. Kosloff Torah Academy High School for Girls, Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia, Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia, Cheder Chabad of Philadelphia, Politz Hebrew Academy and Yeshiva Ketana of Philadelphia \u2014 are in the Philadelphia area.<\/p>\n
Seven of those eight got either the $75,000 maximum or close to it. Barrack received a grant worth $23,864.<\/p>\n
Grant money from this program can go toward security or mental health needs, according to pa.gov. In total, 405 institutions and organizations applied for funding, and 353 were awarded grants.<\/p>\n
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which distributes the money, lists the project start date as July 1, 2026. Funding must be used within a 24-month period. Applications opened on Feb. 2.<\/p>\n
Jewish day schools can and often do apply for and receive grants from the state\u2019s Nonprofit Security Grant Program. But in that initiative, they are competing with synagogues, churches and other nonprofit organizations. Sved has explained why nonpublic schools need their own program to Philadelphia Jewish Exponent before.<\/p>\n
\u201cA day school that has students in it all day long is different from a synagogue that might have a few members in and out throughout the day, and maybe a couple of clergy members,\u201d she said in a May story about Teach PA\u2019s Mission to Harrisburg.<\/p>\n
She expanded on the point in an interview about this year\u2019s grants.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a school, you have tons of children in and out. You have parents in and out, carpools. Schools tend to be more vulnerable and also at this point targeted,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re also probably known to be easy targets, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
A recent Teach PA survey found that, among seven day schools that responded, average security costs exceeded $200,000, a 78% increase since Oct. 7, 2023, when they were $77,000.<\/p>\n
Teach Coalition, the parent organization of Teach PA, recently conducted research that discovered that 78% of day schools in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey were either charging security fees or raising tuition due to security costs. That\u2019s about a 50% increase since Oct. 7.<\/p>\n
Those costs should be covered, according to Sved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the state\u2019s responsibility to keep all of Pennsylvania\u2019s children safe, regardless of where they go to school,\u201d she said. \u201cOur children shouldn\u2019t have to worry when they go to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
The executive director was clear that it\u2019s not solely Pennsylvania\u2019s responsibility to cover these costs. Some combination of state and federal dollars can lower the \u201cJewish tax.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween state and federal funds, not necessarily just this program,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Local-Targeted-School-Safety-Grants-for-Nonpublic-Schools-program-2.jpg\")
Rabbi Ira Budow (Courtesy of Abrams Hebrew Academy)<\/p>\n
Abrams Hebrew Academy, based in Yardley, spends close to $100,000 per year, or between $70 and $80 an hour, on security, according to Rabbi Ira Budow, Abrams\u2019 head of school.<\/p>\n
Abrams received a grant worth $74,460 from the Nonpublic Schools program, but only about $25,000 is earmarked for security, per Budow. The rest will be allotted for mental health needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery penny we get for security is being used for security, and we still probably come up short. We also applied for a federal grant for security,\u201d Budow said.<\/p>\n
The rabbi added that he\u2019s grateful to the state for the help. It\u2019s just difficult to find enough support.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s using the money to the max,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teach PA\u2019s Mission to Harrisburg in April (Photo credit: Bryan Doersom) Federation and day school leaders today talk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[182,139,28,30,29],"class_list":["post-231989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Local-Targeted-School-Safety-Grants-for-Nonpublic-Schools-program-1.jpg\")
Teach PA\u2019s Mission to Harrisburg in April (Photo credit: Bryan Doersom)<\/p>\n