COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP)

The law behind SVPP (the STOP School Violence Act) lists five purposes: coordination with local law enforcement; training local law enforcement to prevent student violence; metal detectors, locks, lighting, and other deterrent measures; technology for expedited notification of local law enforcement during an emergency; and other measures that significantly improve security.

Common examples in the FY2026 resource guide include:

• Equipment: access control and door locks, entry control, visitor management and ID scanners, security cameras, intercom/PA systems, panic and alarm notification systems, emergency call boxes, two-way radios, window film, lighting and fencing, motion detectors, and GIS maps of schools and bus routes
• Civilian staff: school safety or security coordinators, technology managers, project managers, emergency management coordinators, and trainers (hired on or after the award start date)
• Other costs: school safety assessments, software and warranties up to 36 months, one-time staff training on operating funded equipment, law enforcement training, and awareness campaigns

Recipients must complete a comprehensive school safety assessment of every school in the project during the award. COPS may waive this requirement if comprehensive assessments were completed or updated within the previous three years. Fencing can trigger a federal environmental (NEPA) review. When it applies, the review must be completed before the district obligates, spends, or draws down funds for any purpose of the award, not just the fencing, and it can take months.

The FY2026 resource guide lists costs SVPP will not pay for, including:

• Personnel: sworn officers and school resource officers (the COPS Hiring Program covers those), security guards, teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers
• Technology: vape detectors, facial recognition and other biometrics, license plate readers, body-worn cameras, and dispatch or records systems (CAD/RMS)
• Other: weapons, vehicles, construction and renovation (other than fencing), indirect costs, and costs incurred before the award
• Banned equipment: telecommunications and video equipment from Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, or Hytera (2 CFR 200.216)

Violence-prevention training for school staff and students, anonymous reporting apps, threat assessment teams, and mental health crisis training fall outside SVPP and are funded through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s STOP School Violence Program instead. The same project cannot be submitted to both. One-time staff training on operating equipment bought with SVPP funds is allowable.

Each year’s notice also carries federal funding conditions, so read the current resource guide’s list before budgeting.

Eligible applicants are states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and their public agencies, including school districts (including public charter schools and single-school districts), school boards, and law enforcement agencies. Individual schools that are not districts, and private and independent schools, cannot apply.

Each applicant may submit one application, and consortia are not eligible; partners apply under one primary applicant. A memorandum of understanding with law enforcement is not required, but projects that involve another agency (for example, the local police department) need letters of support from those partners.

Applicants must also certify that the application was developed in consultation with people beyond law enforcement, such as mental health professionals, social workers, students, parents, teachers, principals, and other school staff. Without that certification the application is ineligible.

Your district needs an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI) to apply, and must keep it active for the life of the award. Registration must be renewed every year. The Department of Justice recommends starting at least 30 days before the Grants.gov deadline; districts that start fewer than 10 business days before it are not eligible for a late-submission waiver. Register with your federal EIN.

Your SAM.gov Electronic Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) manages your district’s Grants.gov registration. For organizations new to JustGrants, the E-Biz POC automatically becomes the JustGrants Entity Administrator; districts that have used JustGrants before should confirm who their current Entity Administrator is and that user roles are up to date. In JustGrants, a district needs two Authorized Representatives: a programmatic official (such as the superintendent) and a financial official (such as the business manager). Both must log in and activate their accounts before the deadline; not doing so is not a valid reason for an extension. Changes made in SAM.gov take about five days to reach JustGrants. See the DOJ application submission checklist.

In FY2026, half of the initial score was based on improved security need. A recent school safety assessment gives you the evidence to show it. CISA’s free K-12 School Security Guide and School Security Assessment Tool are a good starting point.

Start the required consultation now with mental health professionals, social workers, teachers, principals, students, and parents, and talk with your local police department about how the project supports emergency response. Ask partners early for letters of support.

Budget for a cash match of at least 25% of total project cost, paid during the award period. Waivers are granted only for severe fiscal distress and are limited, so plan as if you will need the full match. Smaller districts should also watch for a microgrant set-aside; in FY2026 it waived the match for requests up to $100,000.

Check every planned purchase against the allowable and unallowable lists, avoid banned telecommunications and video brands, and buy American-made equipment where practicable. If your project includes fencing, allow extra time: when an environmental review is required, no award funds can be used until it is complete.

In FY2026, the initial review weighed program impact (25%), improved security need (50%), and federal assistance need (25%), then reviewers rated the narrative on school safety planning, the funding request, the management plan, and sustainability. Applicants not funded in the previous three rounds have received additional consideration. The FY2027 criteria may differ.

• School Violence Prevention Program (COPS)
• FY2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (COPS)
• FY2026 Application Resource Guide (COPS)
• FY2026 Frequently Asked Questions (COPS)
• FY2025 Award List (COPS)
• Application Submission Checklist (DOJ)

• SAM.gov Entity Registration
• Grants.gov
• JustGrants

• SchoolSafety.gov
• K-12 School Security Guide and Assessment Tool (CISA)
• School Safety (CISA)
• National Threat Assessment Center (U.S. Secret Service)
• National Center for School Safety