Up to $72.15 million is now available in grant funding opportunities through the School Violence Prevention Program. Authorized by the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, these funds are available across three separate grant solicitation programs managed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Federally-recognized tribes, tribal consortia, and Alaska villages are eligible to apply for the following grant opportunities:
Bureau of Justice Assistance:
BJA STOP School Violence Threat Assessment and Technology Reporting Program: Among its provisions, the STOP School Violence Act of 2018 authorized BJA to manage a grant program that would support efforts by state and local units of government and federally-recognized Indian tribes to prevent and reduce school violence. Specifically, the BJA program will address: (1) training school personnel and students to prevent student violence; (2) development and operation of anonymous reporting systems against threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications (apps), hotlines, and websites; and (3) development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams that may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel. In addition, the program may fund specialized training for school officials in intervening and responding to individuals with mental health issues that may impact school safety. This solicitation specifically seeks applications that address the development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams and the development of technology for local or regional anonymous reporting systems. This technology may be in the form of an app, hotline, or website. The proposed technology solutions may be those that could be used during an incident to assist in securing the safety of those involved, to include sharing information with first responders. Up to $21.15 million is available under this funding opportunity. Applications are due July 23, 2018. For more information, visit https://www.bja.gov/SSVthreat18.
BJA STOP School Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program: Among its provisions, the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018 authorized BJA to manage a grant program that would support efforts by state and local units of government and federally recognized Indian tribes to prevent and reduce school violence. Specifically, the BJA program will address: (1) training school personnel and educating students to prevent student violence; (2) development and operation of anonymous reporting systems concerning threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, and websites; and (3) development and operation of school threat assessment and crisis intervention teams that may include coordination with law enforcement agencies and school personnel. In addition, the program may fund specialized training for school officials in intervening and responding to individuals with mental health issues who may impact school safety. This solicitation specifically seeks applications that address training school personnel and educating students to prevent student violence and training school officials in responding to related mental health crises. Up to $26 million is available under this funding opportunity. Applications are due July 23, 2018. For more information, visit https://www.bja.gov/SSVtraining18.
Community Oriented Policing Services:
COPS School Violence Prevention Program. The Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (STOP School Violence Act of 2018) gave the COPS Office authority to provide awards directly to States, units of local government, or Indian tribes to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the jurisdiction of the grantee through evidence-based school safety programs. Up to $25 million is available through this year’s COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). SVPP funding will provide up to 75% funding for the following school safety measures:
- Coordination with law enforcement;
- Training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self;
- Metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures;
- Technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency;
- Any other measure that the COPS Office determines may provide a significant improvement in security
Applications are due July 30, 2018. For more information, including guidelines on the application process, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=2958.
