COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program Solicitation

Overview of The COPS Office

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation's state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. The COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 134,000 officers. COPS Office information resources, covering a wide range of community policing topics such as school and campus safety, violent crime, and officer safety and wellness, can be downloaded via the COPS Office's home page, www.cops.usdoj.gov. For more information about the COPS Office please see "Other Information".

Statutory Authority

This program is authorized under the Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act of 2018 (34 U.S.C. § 10551 et seq.).

The COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) provides funding directly to states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and their public agencies to improve security at schools and on school grounds in the recipient's jurisdiction through evidence-based school safety programs. Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 10551(b)(5)-(9), SVPP funding is authorized and available under the following purpose areas:

"Coordination with local law enforcement"
"Training for local law enforcement officers to prevent student violence against others and self"
"Placement and use of metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures"
"Acquisition and installation of technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency"
"Any other measure that, in the determination of the COPS Office Director, may provide a significant improvement in security"

Program-Specific Information

The goal of the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) is to improve security at schools and on school grounds through the implementation of evidence-based school safety programs and technology. SVPP awards will contribute to this goal by funding projects which include funding of civilian personnel to serve as coordinators with local law enforcement, training for local law enforcement officers, purchase and installation of certain allowable equipment and technology, and other measures to significantly improve school security. Anticipated outcomes of SVPP awards include: improved information sharing with local law enforcement; increased interaction and improved communications between law enforcement and school officials; reduced notification times to law enforcement; improved response time to threats and events; accurate identification of danger (without resort to discriminatory stereotypes or violating privacy) and follow-up; increased knowledge of and use of community policing principles; and increased school safety and sustainability planning efforts. For the purposes of this program, a school is defined as an elementary or secondary school, including a Bureau-funded school (as defined in section 2021 of title 25).

As a condition of funding, if awarded, recipients must conduct comprehensive school safety assessments during the grant award period for all schools involved in the project. These assessments must inform the measures necessary to improve school safety and ensure a safe and positive learning environment for students. See Federal Award Administration Section for more information.

This is a competitive, discretionary program.

The Department of Justice is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights, increases access to justice, supports crime victims, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. Law enforcement plays a vital role in each of these areas, through developing and maintaining meaningful relationships with all segments of their communities, and working in partnership with those communities to provide effective crime prevention, intervention, and response services and resources. For all Fiscal Year 2021 COPS Office grant solicitations, applicants should consider these priorities when applying for COPS Office funding to advance community policing, and address these strategic planning priorities within their applications as applicable.

Background Information

The most effective school safety interventions incorporate the following measures into broader school safety planning and assessment efforts, focus on improving the overall school environments to create a positive learning climate for all students, and are designed to meet the unique needs and challenges of each school and jurisdiction. Improving school security should involve the entire school community, including input from students, parents, teachers, administrators as well as local law enforcement. When undertaking comprehensive school safety and security approaches, applicants should prioritize implementing school safety measures that help to promote a positive school climate that does not detract from the mission of the school to educate students or negatively impact the health and wellbeing of students. Applicants should also be mindful of the need to protect student privacy and safeguard their civil rights and the potential for some security measures to cause or exacerbate trauma for some students, and should use a trauma-informed approach when implementing security measures to help mitigate this concern. Many resources are available to assist schools in this strategic planning process.

Comprehensive school safety planning should include the following:

Maintaining effective ongoing communication, coordination and partnerships with all of those involved in school safety efforts within a jurisdiction to ensure accountability and monitor both effectiveness and compliance with all applicable requirements, including privacy and civil rights laws.
Site and risk assessments that examine the overall safety, physical accessibility and emergency preparedness of school buildings and grounds and improve jurisdictions' understanding of the likelihood of specific threats or hazards. For assistance, see

REMS Site Assess App, an application developed by the REMS TA Center to assist agencies in conducting site assessments, which can be found at online app stores. https://rems.ed.gov/SITEASSESS.aspx;
Educational Facilities Vulnerability/Hazard Assessment Checklist, https://rems.ed.gov/Docs/ACEF_ED_Facilitiesvulnerability-Hazardchecklist.Pdf;
A Guide to School Vulnerability Assessments: Key Principles for Safe Schools, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED515952.pdf.

Coordinated emergency operations plans that are developed in partnership with first responders (law enforcement, fire officials, and emergency medical services personnel), mental health entities, and community partners. For assistance see Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans, https://rems.ed.gov/docs/rems_k-12_guide_508.pdf.

Specific efforts, programs and policies designed to ensure positive school climates including the physical, social, and emotional elements that this entails. For assistance, see Department of Education School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/edscls.

Routine training and drills to ensure that plans are coordinated and effectively implemented. For assistance, see FEMA Toolkit Conducting Exercises and Drills, https://training.fema.gov/programs/emischool/el361toolkit/conductingexercisesdrills.htm.

Regular updating and review of planning efforts.

In addition, according to a 2016 National Institute of Justice report funded as part of the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative,[1] jurisdictions should consider the following items before acquiring and deploying school safety technology:

A positive school climate is paramount for learning; technology should not create a punitive or prison-like atmosphere or generate additional fears or traumatize students who may already be living in an unsafe environment.
Technology cannot compensate for inherent building design weaknesses.
Without training, technology can prove ineffective.
Without the appropriate culture, technology can be circumvented.
Technology may evolve rapidly (and so does the software that may accompany it); consideration must be given to replacement, maintenance, and repair costs.
Long-term support for the technology is a key factor.
Technology selection should focus on addressing a specified problem.

Additional Resources:

Below are additional documents developed through the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative which may be helpful in development of the application:

Schoolsafety.gov The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created SchoolSafety.gov to share actionable recommendations to keep school communities safe. SchoolSafety.gov aims to help schools prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from emergency situations
The Readiness and Emergency Management (REMS) Technical Assistance Center
Provides excellent interactive tools and other resources to help school planning teams and community partners develop and implement emergency operations plans. www.rems.ed.gov
FEMA Multihazard Emergency Planning for Schools Toolkit
Provides a wide variety of resources to assist schools in planning and assessments. https://training.fema.gov/programs/emischool/el361toolkit/start.htm
National Center For School Safety NCSS is a BJA STOP Program National Training and Technical Assistance provider and is a multidisciplinary​, multi-institutional center focused on improving school safety and preventing school violence. www.nc2s.org
The Role of Technology in Improving K-12 School Safety (RAND Corporation)
Provides a synthesis of expert opinions and a review of the literature regarding school safety technology.
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1400/RR1488/RAND_RR1488.pdf
A Comprehensive Report on School Safety Technology (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory)
Provides a comprehensive summary of what is currently known regarding the effectiveness of school safety technologies. https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250274.pdf

DOJ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP's) Model Programs Guide Contains information about evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. It is a resource for practitioners and communities about what works, what is promising, and what does not work in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection and safety. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/home

Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse: Behavior ​​​​​​Highlights effective and model practices surrounding behavior in schools. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/FWW/Results?filters=,Behavior

Federal Resources on Bullying Response and Prevention Provides research and resources on bullying and cyber bullying; includes tools for schools, families, and communities. https://www.stopbullying.gov/

[1] Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, A Comprehensive Report on School Safety Technology (Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, 2016), https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/250274.pdf.