FY26 COPS School Violence Prevention Program

Key facts

Funder

Community Oriented Policing Services

Application deadline

August 4, 2026

Award range

$500K

Eligibility

The following entities are eligible to apply under this program: States, units of local government, Indian Tribes, and their public agencies, including school districts (including public charter schools and school districts with a single school); School boards; Law enforcement agencies. Note: Individual schools not operating as school districts and independent schools and private schools, including private charter schools, are NOT eligible to apply as primary applicants. Pursuant to 34 U.S.C. §§ 10552(a)(1)–(2), each application shall be accompanied by an assurance that the application was prepared after consultation with individuals not limited to law enforcement officers (including licensed mental health professionals, social workers, students, parents, school violence researchers/academics (if practical), teachers, principals, and other school personnel) to ensure that the improvements to be funded under the grant are consistent with a comprehensive approach to preventing school violence including being protective of student privacy and ensuring that students are not discriminated against on the basis of race, national origin, disability, religion, or sex, and individualized to the needs of each school at which those improvements are to be made. State and local governmental entities must comply with 8 U.S.C. § 1373, which provides that State and local government entities may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, receiving from, maintaining, or exchanging information regarding citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual with components of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or any other federal, state or local government entity. This includes any prohibitions or restrictions imposed or established by a State or local government entity or official.

Geography

United States

Focus areas

Justice

Opportunity number

O-COPS-2026-172540

Program overview

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by supporting the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources. This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the FY26 School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP). This funding opportunity seeks to provide competitive 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. The COPS Office anticipates that up to $73,000,000 will be available for up to $500,000 per award, with approximately 200 awards anticipated. A local cost share (matching funds) of at least 25 percent in the form of cash is required unless a match waiver is requested and approved, and the period of performance duration will be 36 months, with a period of performance start date of 10/1/26.

How to apply

1. Confirm your organization meets the eligibility criteria above.
2. Read the full funding opportunity announcement from Community Oriented Policing Services.
3. Draft your narrative against the funder's stated priorities and review criteria.
4. Submit before August 4, 2026, allowing time for registration and validation.

View the official funding announcement

Related grant opportunities

• Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence
• Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) Program: Employment Among People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) Program: Research on Resilience and Positive Mental Health Outcomes Among People with Spinal Cord Injury
• Medical Forensic Access Initiative
• NAVIGATE Reproductive Center of Excellence (Network for Assessment, Validation, Innovation, Guidance, Access, Treatment and Evaluation)