BJA’s STOP School Violence Grant Program

Funds to prevent violence in a K–12 school setting

Program Goals

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) STOP School Violence Program provides up to $2M for Category 1 awards and up to $1M for Category 2 awards to equip students and teachers with tools needed to recognize, respond quickly to, and help prevent acts of violence. The FY26 BJA STOP School Violence Program application period is expected to open and close in the fall. Allowable expenses include:

violence prevention training,
anonymous reporting systems,
development and deployment of threat assessment and intervention teams,
and other measures the BJA Director determines will significantly improve these areas.

Who Is Eligible?

Category 1 is open to state governments as well as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.

Category 2 is open to:

nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
independent school districts
and other eligible entities

Private K–12 schools, including private charter schools, should apply as “nonprofits.” Public charter schools should apply as “independent school districts.”

Focus areas

Develop and operate technology solutions such as anonymous reporting systems (ARS) for threats of school violence, including mobile telephone applications, hotlines, websites, or other school safety technology solutions, for accurate identification of danger or other technology solutions shown to improve school safety. Applicants will need to detail how the data collected through this system is handled, secured, and shared.
Develop and implement multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment (BTA) and/or intervention teams. BTA and/or intervention teams must be multidisciplinary and should coordinate with law enforcement agencies, behavioral health specialists, community stakeholders, and school personnel. Applicants should demonstrate in their applications or with attached letters of support or MOUs that they have the support of relevant team partners.
Train school personnel and educate students on preventing school violence. This includes anti-bullying and suicide prevention training and can include specialized training for school officials to respond to mental health crises.