COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program Solicitation | O COPS 2021 89002

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2021 89002

The COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) Solicitation is a competitive, discretionary grant opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Justice through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). The COPS Office is the federal agency component focused on advancing community policing nationwide by providing grants and practical resources to state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement. Through this program, the COPS Office directs funding to help communities strengthen safety and security at K-12 schools (elementary and secondary schools, including Bureau-funded schools) by supporting evidence-based strategies, planning, training, and targeted safety technology that align with broader school safety efforts rather than isolated, purely hardware-driven fixes.

SVPP is authorized by the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018 (34 U.S.C. 10551 et seq.). The central purpose is to improve security at schools and on school grounds within an applicant's jurisdiction through measures that are grounded in evidence and fit the actual risks and needs identified at each site. The solicitation emphasizes that effective school safety is not simply about adding equipment; it is about integrating security improvements into comprehensive planning, assessment, coordination, and a positive school climate that supports learning and student wellbeing.

Eligible applicants include states, units of local government (such as counties, cities, and townships), Indian tribes, and their public agencies, with independent school districts also listed among eligible entities. In practical terms, this means applicants are often law enforcement agencies, local governments, tribal governments, or school districts working in close partnership with public safety and school stakeholders. The award ceiling listed is $500,000, and the solicitation anticipated approximately 160 awards for the referenced cycle (FY 2021). The funding instrument is a federal grant under CFDA 16.710.

SVPP funding can be used under several specific purpose areas spelled out in statute. These include: hiring or supporting civilian personnel who act as coordinators with local law enforcement; training for local law enforcement officers aimed at preventing student violence against others or self-harm; purchasing and installing deterrent and access-control measures such as metal detectors, locks, lighting, and related security hardware; acquiring and installing technology that speeds emergency notification to law enforcement; and other measures that the COPS Office Director determines can significantly improve school security. The program is therefore designed to support both people-driven coordination and training as well as carefully selected equipment and technology, as long as the approach is justified, evidence-based, and connected to a larger safety plan.

The solicitation lays out several anticipated outcomes that reflect both operational improvements and broader community policing goals. These outcomes include better information sharing with local law enforcement, stronger day-to-day communication between school officials and police, faster notification to law enforcement during emergencies, improved response to threats and incidents, and more accurate identification of genuine dangers without relying on discriminatory stereotypes or violating student privacy. It also highlights increased knowledge and use of community policing principles, along with stronger safety and sustainability planning so improvements can be maintained after the grant period ends.

A key condition of receiving SVPP funds is the requirement to conduct comprehensive school safety assessments during the award period for all schools included in the project. Those assessments must directly inform what measures are chosen and how they are implemented, reinforcing the idea that grant-funded purchases or programs should respond to documented risks and needs rather than assumptions or one-size-fits-all solutions. The solicitation also underscores that school safety should involve the whole school community, encouraging input from students, parents, teachers, administrators, and law enforcement, and it encourages approaches that protect civil rights, respect privacy, and use trauma-informed practices to avoid causing additional harm or fear among students.

The broader guidance in the solicitation stresses that the most effective interventions are embedded in comprehensive school safety planning. That includes maintaining ongoing partnerships and accountability structures among agencies and stakeholders; performing site and risk assessments focused on building access, emergency preparedness, and threat likelihood; developing coordinated emergency operations plans with first responders and community partners (including mental health entities); improving school climate through policies and programs that support physical, social, and emotional safety; conducting routine trainings and drills so plans work in practice; and regularly reviewing and updating plans. The solicitation also cautions applicants to think carefully before investing in technology, noting that technology should not create a punitive or prison-like atmosphere, cannot compensate for weak building design, requires training and the right organizational culture to be effective, and brings long-term costs for maintenance, replacement, and support. Technology selection is framed as a tool to solve a clearly defined problem, not an end in itself.

Finally, the solicitation points applicants toward widely used federal and research-based resources that can support planning and application development, including SchoolSafety.gov, the REMS Technical Assistance Center tools (including the REMS Site Assess App), FEMA school emergency planning toolkits, and research syntheses from RAND and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory on school safety technologies. It also references evidence-based program resources like OJJDP's Model Programs Guide and the Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse, along with federal anti-bullying resources. Taken together, SVPP is positioned as a funding opportunity for communities that want to strengthen school safety through structured assessment, collaborative planning, community policing partnerships, and carefully chosen interventions that improve security while protecting student rights and supporting a healthy learning environment.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 07, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 160 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O COPS 2021 89002

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