BJA FY 20 Preventing School Violence: BJA's STOP School Violence Program | BJA 2020 17312

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2020 17312

The BJA FY 20 Preventing School Violence: BJA's STOP School Violence Program is a discretionary federal grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), created to help communities strengthen safety and security in K-12 school settings. The program focuses on practical, prevention-oriented steps that improve a school's ability to recognize warning signs early, respond faster to potential threats, and reduce the likelihood of violence. Rather than treating school safety as a single solution, the grant is structured to support a mix of strategies that address local risk factors and gaps in preparedness.

At its core, the STOP School Violence Program is built around improving a school's capacity to identify and manage threats before they escalate. One major emphasis is training for students, teachers, and other school personnel so they can better recognize behaviors and indicators associated with potential violence, understand reporting pathways, and respond appropriately when concerns arise. The program also supports the development or enhancement of school threat assessment and intervention teams. These teams are typically multidisciplinary groups that review reports of concerning behavior, assess the seriousness of threats, coordinate interventions, and connect students to services or supports when needed. The overall intent is to move schools toward structured, consistent practices for assessing risk rather than relying on informal judgment or ad hoc responses.

Another key component is the use of technology to make reporting safer and easier, especially for students or community members who may be reluctant to come forward openly. The grant explicitly highlights anonymous reporting solutions that can be deployed across an applicant's geographic area, including mobile phone-based applications, telephone hotlines, and web-based reporting portals. These tools are meant to create clear, accessible channels for people to share information about threats, weapons, planned violence, or other safety concerns without fear of retaliation. In addition to anonymous reporting, the program allows for other school safety strategies that directly assist in preventing violence, provided they align with the program's prevention goals and address documented needs.

This opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number BJA 2020 17312, CFDA 16.839) was announced on March 11, 2020, with an original application closing date of June 9, 2020. Awards under this solicitation could be as large as $2,000,000, and BJA anticipated making roughly 150 awards, signaling a broad national investment in school safety initiatives that can be adapted to different community contexts and school system sizes.

Eligible applicants include a wide range of public and nonprofit entities that are commonly positioned to lead school safety efforts. This includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (other than institutions of higher education). That eligibility structure is designed to allow both school systems and their government or community partners to apply, which reflects how school violence prevention often requires coordination among education leaders, law enforcement, behavioral health providers, and community organizations.

Overall, the STOP School Violence Program is aimed at helping applicants put concrete prevention infrastructure in place: training that improves awareness and response, formalized threat assessment and intervention processes to manage risk, and reporting technology that lowers barriers to sharing critical information. The program's underlying purpose is to reduce incidents of school violence by strengthening early identification, timely intervention, and coordinated prevention strategies tailored to the needs of the local community.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the community development, disaster prevention and relief, education, employment, labor and training, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), information and statistics, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 20 Preventing School Violence: BJA's STOP School Violence Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.839.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 11, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 09, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 150 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for BJA 2020 17312

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