The Archdiocese of Miami is turning up the pressure in Tallahassee, urging the Florida Legislature to help cover the growing cost of security at private and religious schools instead of leaving families to absorb it alone. Church leaders say cameras, gates, contracted guards and training, which some parishes and schools already fund, are expensive and unevenly deployed across the state. One Catholic school in Miami reportedly spends roughly $250,000 a year on security, a figure backers say underscores just how heavy the financial load has become.
As reported by CBS Miami, Jim Rigg, superintendent of Catholic schools for the archdiocese, put it bluntly: "We believe the state should help to offset the cost of safety and security." Father Manny Alvarez, who told the station he was a priest in Parkland, called the push personal and said he wants "every single kid in that school ... to go home to their parents at the end of the day." The archdiocese is encouraging parents to contact state legislators and press them to include private and religious schools in any package of school security aid.
Where state money exists now
The state already has limited tools that can benefit nonpublic schools. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs a School Security Assessment program that made roughly $5 million available in 2024–25 for local agencies to conduct site assessments, training and reimbursements that could assist private schools along with public ones. This session's school safety proposals would widen those options: language in LegiScan for CS for CS for SB 896 would authorize sheriff-run guardian training and allow grant funds for security improvements at nonpublic and postsecondary institutions.
What it would mean for families and faith schools
Right now, private schools largely cover security through tuition and donations, a setup that can squeeze low- and middle-income families, advocates say. Parents quoted by CBS Miami told reporters they would welcome state help so security is not "coming out of our pockets." For archdiocesan schools that serve tens of thousands of students across three counties, supporters argue that even targeted state grants could ease stress on school budgets and help keep tuition more manageable.
Legal and political questions
Sending public dollars to religious or private schools immediately runs into legal and political tripwires. Florida's constitution explicitly bars using state revenue "in aid of any church," according to Online Sunshine. Yet recent state budgets have carved out money for narrowly tailored security grants aimed at Jewish day schools and other nonpublic institutions, as reflected in fiscal language in a Senate budget bill listed on LegiScan. That pattern suggests lawmakers believe they can craft limited safety funding that survives constitutional scrutiny.
What's next
The archdiocese says it plans to mobilize parents while security and budget bills move through legislative committees, keeping pressure on lawmakers to expand aid to nonpublic campuses. Legislators will have to juggle constitutional limits, competing demands for education dollars and the rising cost of hardening campuses before any broader security program can win approval. For families in Miami and across Florida, the outcome will determine whether school security stays a local line item or becomes a shared state responsibility.
