Pa. Department of Education awards $1.4 million to address sexual violence on school campuses

• By Betul Tuncer/WESA

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration awarded $1.4 million in Its On Us PA grants through the Department of Education. Awarded to 37 colleges, universities and post-secondary schools, the grants aim to improve resources on sexual violence and safety on campuses.

It’s On Us PA is a state-wide campaign that aims to end sexual violence by improving resources, awareness, prevention and safety on college campuses. The campaign first began as a national movement created by the Obama Administration in 2014.

In Pennsylvania, Act 55 expanded the campaign’s efforts by requiring all higher education institutions to adopt a definition of consent into their code of conduct and harassment policy in 2022. The act also required each institution to have rape crisis centers and domestic violence programs to provide resources and education to students.

Now, the participating institutions must work to address the It’s On Us campaign’s goals:

1. Improve awareness, prevention, reporting and response systems regarding sexual violence in schools, colleges, and universities to better serve all students.
2. Remove or reduce barriers that prevent survivors of sexual violence from reporting incidents or accessing vital resources by creating a more consistent, empowering reporting process for student survivors of gender-based violence.
3. Demonstrate significant, proactive, and sustainable leadership to change campus culture by challenging Pennsylvania’s education leaders – including college and university presidents – as well as students, teachers, faculty, staff, families, and communities to pledge to improve their institutions’ climates.

Each of the 37 institutions were awarded up to $60,000 in funding to use through May, 2025. In Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Point Park University and Robert Morris University each received $40,000. The Pennsylvania Gunsmith School also received $1,779 in funding.

Through the campaign’s funding Secretary of Education Khalid N. Mumin said schools can work to provide resources and support to their students in an effort to protect learning environments.

“All Pennsylvanians deserve a safe learning environment,” Mumin said in a news release on Monday afternoon. “By participating in the It’s On Us PA grant program, higher education institutions are making their campus communities safer and more welcoming for the students who call them home.”