COPS SVPP Allocates $73 Million for School Safety Improvements With a Dedicated Microgrant Track for Rural and Low-Resourced Districts

The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is accepting applications for the FY26 School Violence Prevention Program, a competitive grant opportunity funding states, local governments, Indian tribes, and their public agencies to implement evidence-based school safety programs at elementary and secondary schools through physical security improvements, technology, law enforcement training, and coordination measures. Up to $73,000,000 is available across approximately 200 standard awards at a ceiling of $500,000 each, with a separately reserved $1,000,000 microgrant pool for rural, tribal, and low-resourced school districts capped at $100,000 with no match required. Applications are due August 4, 2026.

Assistance Listing Number: 16.071
Opportunity Identification Number: O-COPS-2026-172540
Funding Agency: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
Application Deadline: August 4, 2026

Eligible Institutional Structures and Geographic Priorities

Eligible applicants include states, units of local government, Indian tribes, and their public agencies. Within that pool, school districts including public charter schools and single-school districts, school boards, and law enforcement agencies may apply directly. Individual schools that do not operate as school districts are not eligible to serve as primary applicants. Private schools and private charter schools are explicitly excluded.

Nonprofit organizations and private higher education institutions are not eligible. Multi-entity applications are permitted, meaning a school district and a law enforcement agency may collaborate on a single submission, but only one entity may serve as the primary applicant while others are structured as formal subrecipients. Each applicant may submit only one application under FY26 SVPP; multiple submissions from the same entity result in only the most recent version being reviewed.

The program provides additional competitive consideration to applicants that did not receive SVPP funding in FY23, FY24, or FY25, which directly benefits rural school districts that have not previously engaged with this program. The microgrant track specifically names rural, tribal, and low-resourced schools as the target recipient class, creating a focused competitive environment within the broader program for those districts.

Financial Mechanics and Match Requirements

Total program funding is up to $73,000,000. Standard awards are available at up to $500,000 per applicant, with approximately 200 awards anticipated. The microgrant track reserves approximately $1,000,000 for awards capped at $100,000 each, targeted at rural, tribal, and low-resourced school districts. Applying for the microgrant track does not exclude an agency from consideration under the standard track.

Standard SVPP awards require a cash cost share of 25 percent. In-kind contributions are not accepted. Applicants facing documented severe fiscal distress may request a cost-share waiver at the time of application. Waiver requests are evaluated by comparing the applicant's fiscal health data against the overall applicant pool, and applicants must indicate in their submission whether they want the COPS Office to continue reviewing their application if the waiver request is denied. Microgrant recipients are automatically exempted from the 25 percent match requirement. The period of performance for all awards is 36 months beginning October 1, 2026.

Allowable uses of funds include civilian personnel serving as law enforcement coordination staff, training for local law enforcement officers on student violence prevention, physical security measures such as metal detectors, locks, and lighting, technology enabling expedited emergency notification to law enforcement, and any other measure the COPS Office Director determines provides a significant improvement in school security.

Administrative Compliance and Post Award Oversight

Awards are subject to 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance. Microgrant recipients below $750,000 in total federal expenditures across all sources in a fiscal year will not face a Single Audit requirement from this award alone. Standard award recipients and any school district already receiving Title I, ESSER, or other federal education funding should monitor their aggregate annual federal expenditures, as those combined amounts may meet the $750,000 threshold triggering a Single Audit regardless of SVPP award size alone.

No Build America Buy America provisions are identified as applicable for this program. Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements do not apply to equipment installation or training activities of the type funded here. A mandatory post-award condition requires all recipients to conduct comprehensive school safety assessments for every school included in the project during the grant period. These assessments must inform the specific measures implemented and must demonstrate that improvements are individualized to each school's identified needs. This is a binding obligation, not a suggested practice, and districts should plan assessment activities into the project timeline before the award begins.

As a condition of application, all applicants must certify that the application was developed through consultation with a multi-stakeholder group that includes licensed mental health professionals, social workers, students, parents, school violence researchers where practical, teachers, principals, and other school personnel. The COPS Office includes direct questions about this consultation process in the application, and applicants that do not provide the required assurance are ineligible for award. Performance reports are submitted to the COPS Office on the schedule specified in the award terms throughout the 36-month period of performance.