US School Safety Grants for 2026-27: Funding for K-12 Schools

US schools are being asked to manage a growing range of safety risks at a time when budgets are already stretched. As of August 13, 17 K-12 school shootings resulting in injury or death had been recorded in 2026, nearly matching the 18 recorded across all of 2025. Cyberbullying is also rising: a 2025 national survey of around 3,500 US teens found 32.7% had experienced cyberbullying in the previous 30 days, up from 26.5% in 2023 and 16.7% in 2016. Meanwhile, an EdWeek Research Center survey found that around 70% of school and district leaders had already made or expected to make cuts due to federal or state funding shifts.

For many districts, federal and state school safety grants provide a critical pathway to funding safety measures that tightening budgets might otherwise push aside, from violence prevention and threat assessment to early intervention, staff training, emergency preparedness and physical security.

US schools and school districts have several federal school safety grants and funding programs to consider in 2026-27, including BJA STOP School Violence, Title IV-A, COPS SVPP, Stronger Connections, the School Safety Enhancement Program, and FEMA’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program.

These programs fund a range of needs, from violence prevention, threat assessment, and mental health to physical security, emergency response, and security equipment. Eligibility also varies: some funding goes directly to school districts or Local Educational Agencies, while other programs are administered by State Educational Agencies or limited to eligible nonprofit schools.

This guide compares the main programs, what they fund, who can apply, and where Fastvue may fit when funding supports monitoring, reporting, or early identification rather than physical

Where Fastvue fits: Fastvue is a potential fit for funding that supports violence prevention, threat assessment, early identification, or monitoring, particularly BJA STOP, Title IV-A, and Stronger Connections. It is not a fit for grants primarily focused on physical security equipment, such as cameras, locks, metal detectors, or emergency notification systems.

1. BJA STOP School Violence Program

The BJA STOP School Violence Program is designed to help prevent violence in K-12 schools through funding for threat assessment and intervention teams, violence prevention training, and supporting technology. Eligible applicants include independent school districts. The most recent funding round allowed Category 2 applicants to seek awards of up to $1 million.

This grant differs from traditional school security grants in that it focuses on helping schools recognize, assess, and respond to potential threats rather than funding physical security updates such as locks or cameras.

BJA expects applicants to demonstrate that the proposed technology will improve school safety and be part of a comprehensive violence-prevention strategy. Applications should use current local data to demonstrate the need, explain how the technology will be implemented, address student privacy and data security, and define measurable outcomes.

Learn more about Fastvue's early detection monitoring and reporting solution.

2. Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment

For many school districts, Title IV-A may be one of the most accessible sources of funding for school safety initiatives because it is an ongoing federal formula grant rather than a competitive one-off program.

The program supports three broad areas:

Well-rounded education: Expanding access to subjects and learning opportunities such as STEM, arts, civics and advanced coursework

Safe and healthy students: Supporting safer, healthier and more supportive school environments

Effective use of technology: Using technology to improve teaching, learning and digital capability

For Local Educational Agencies receiving $30,000 or more in Title IV-A funding:

• A comprehensive needs assessment is required.

• At least 20% of funds must support well-rounded education.

• At least 20% must support safe and healthy students.

• A portion of funding must support the effective use of technology.

• No more than 15% of the funding allocated for the effective use of technology may be spent on technology infrastructure.

• Administrative costs are capped at 2%.

This creates several potential funding pathways for school safety and digital monitoring projects, particularly where technology is being used to support student wellbeing, digital literacy, or more effective teaching and learning.

How does Fastvue fit with Title IV, Part A funding?

Depending on the identified local need and proposed use, Fastvue could potentially support allowable activities across all three Title IV-A program areas:

• Well-rounded education: AI activity insights can be integrated into subjects such as mathematics, coding, and STEM to help students develop more advanced AI and prompting skills.

• Safe and healthy students: The same monitoring can help schools identify concerning searches, AI prompts, and other online activity associated with student safety or well-being.

• Effective use of technology: Schools can use real-world data on how students use AI and other digital tools to improve digital literacy, inform teaching, and make technology use more effective.

Fastvue is being leveraged in this way by several schools globally. In one notable case, Fastvue Reporter for FortiGate's AI prompt monitoring is being used to understand how students interact with generative AI. Prompt data is fed into a bespoke in-house dashboard to assess how students prompt, with those insights used to shape more advanced prompting and iteration lessons in areas such as mathematics and coding.

Rather than simply monitoring AI, the school is feeding Fastvue's insights back into teaching workflows. This is a useful example of how Fastvue can support safer technology use, stronger digital literacy, and broader learning outcomes.

3. Stronger Connections Grant Program

The Stronger Connections Grant Program was created under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, providing states with $1 billion in federal school safety funding for State Educational Agencies to award as competitive subgrants to high-need Local Educational Agencies. Its purpose is to help schools create safer, healthier, and more supportive learning environments, and to prevent and respond to bullying, violence, and hate.

The program is designed to help school districts improve school safety and create safer, healthier, and more supportive learning environments. States determine which local educational agencies are considered high-need, using factors such as poverty, chronic absenteeism, bullying, school violence, student trauma, and access to mental health support.

Because the grant funds are distributed by State Educational Agencies, eligibility, priorities, and application timelines vary by state.

What can Stronger Connections funding support?

Allowable school safety measures and safety initiatives can include:

• Bullying, harassment, and school violence prevention

• Behavioral and mental health services

• Early detection, screening and warning systems

• Threat assessment systems and multidisciplinary teams

• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

• Safety training and professional development for school personnel

• Emergency response planning and coordination

• Certain school security equipment and minor physical security improvements.

Department of Education guidance specifically encourages the use of Stronger Connections grant funds for early detection, screening, and warning systems that can “identify students who may be at risk, a danger to themselves or others.” The same guidance allows funding for activities that “help prevent bullying and harassment” and identifies “comprehensive systems for monitoring student well-being” as one approach schools may use.

Where Fastvue fits: Stronger Connections is a particularly strong potential fit for Fastvue funding because federal guidance specifically supports early detection and warning systems, bullying and harassment prevention, and comprehensive systems for monitoring student wellbeing. Fastvue helps schools use existing firewall data to identify concerning online activity and provide appropriate school personnel with clearer information for earlier assessment and intervention.

4. COPS School Violence Prevention Program

The COPS School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) is a competitive federal school safety grant administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. For FY26, the program made around $73 million available, with individual awards of up to $500, 000, to help public K-12 school districts and local agencies improve physical security, emergency response, and coordination with local law enforcement.

Around 200 awards are anticipated, with a 36-month performance period beginning October 1, 2026. Most recipients must provide a 25% cash match, although approximately $1 million of the funding pool was reserved for microgrants of up to $100,000 for rural, tribal, and low-resourced school districts. The local match is waived for successful microgrant applicants.

Who is eligible?

Eligible applicants include:

• public school districts, including public charter schools operating as school districts

• school boards

• state, county, city, and other units of local government

• tribal governments

• law enforcement agencies

Note: Nonpublic, independent, and private schools cannot apply as primary applicants.

What can COPS SVPP grant funds be used for?

The program is primarily designed to improve school security infrastructure and emergency response capability. Eligible school safety equipment and technology can include:

• Access control systems and door locking mechanisms

• Entry control and identification equipment

• Security cameras and monitoring systems

• Visitor management systems

• Panic alarms and emergency notification systems

• Intercom and public address systems

• Two-way radios

• Lighting and fencing on school grounds

• Other security systems that directly support the approved school safety project.

The program also supports coordination with local law enforcement, officer training to prevent student violence, and technology that speeds emergency notification during a crisis.

Applicants need to demonstrate a genuine need for improved school security, using information such as existing infrastructure, safety plans, and incident rates. If funded, recipients must conduct comprehensive school safety assessments during the grant period, with the results guiding the physical security upgrades and other school safety measures implemented through the project.

What can't COPS SVPP funding be used for?

Not every school security expense is eligible for COPS SVPP funding.

The FY26 guidance specifically excludes:

• Salaries and benefits for sworn officers, including school resource officers

• Salaries for civilian security guards

• Firearms, ammunition and weapons

• Body-worn cameras

• Biometric technology, including facial recognition

• Automated license plate readers and associated software

• Vape detection systems

Note: Some civilian positions directly connected to an SVPP project, such as school safety coordinators, technology managers, and emergency management coordinators, can be allowable.

5. School Safety Enhancement Program

The School Safety Enhancement Program is a new competitive federal school safety grant designed to strengthen statewide school safety systems and the physical security of schools.

For FY26, the U.S. Department of Education made an estimated $93 million available, with around 30 awards expected. Individual grants are expected to range from $500,000 to $5 million over a project period of up to 36 months, with no matching funds required.

Note: Only State Educational Agencies can apply directly. States can choose to run the program themselves or use grant funds to support Local Education Agencies through subgrants.

What can School Safety Enhancement grant funds support?

The program requires State Educational Agencies to show how grant funds will support specific physical security and emergency preparedness priorities. The guidance includes “installation or upgrading of interior door locks and secure entry systems” and “acquiring or upgrading emergency communication systems.” It also covers deterrent measures such as security cameras, perimeter controls, visitor screening, emergency response planning, and preparedness training for school personnel and school resource officers.

Eligible safety and security initiatives can include:

• installing or upgrading interior door locks and secure entry systems

• metal detectors and security cameras

• perimeter controls

• access control systems, including badge readers and keyless entry

• visitor screening infrastructure and visitor management kiosks

• panic buttons and emergency notification devices

• emergency communication systems

• emergency response and coordination plans

• Safety training and preparedness exercises for school personnel and school resource officers.

Note: Major construction, renovations, and general capital improvement projects are not eligible. General Cybersecurity projects are outside the scope of the program.

6. Nonprofit Security Grant Program

The FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) provides federal security funding to nonprofit organizations at heightened risk of terrorist or extremist attack.

For schools, the program is mainly relevant to eligible private and religious schools operating as nonprofit organizations, usually under 501(c)(3) status, rather than to public school districts.

FEMA made $300 million available for FY26, split evenly between:

• NSGP Urban Area: $150 million for nonprofit organizations within designated high-risk urban areas.

• NSGP State: $150 million for nonprofit organizations outside those designated urban areas.

Who can apply for the FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP)?

Eligible organizations must generally:

• qualify as a nonprofit under section 501(c)(3)

• demonstrate that the organization or facility is at high risk of terrorist or other extremist attack

• apply through the relevant State Administrative Agency, rather than directly to FEMA.

Note: Educational facilities are specifically included among examples of organizations that may qualify.

What can Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding support?

Grant funds can support planning, security equipment, training, and preparedness exercises aimed at improving physical security, cybersecurity, and facility hardening.

Common security improvements funded through the program include:

• video assessment and security systems

• impact-resistant doors and gates

• physical access control systems

• fencing, barriers and other perimeter security

• security lighting

• Cybersecurity resilience and related security initiatives.

Each proposed site must have its own vulnerability and risk assessment, linking the requested security improvements back to the threats identified at that location.

What about State and Local safety grants to enhance school safety?

Federal school safety grants are only part of the funding picture for K-12 schools.

State Educational Agencies, state school safety offices, and local governments regularly open school safety funding, school security grants, and local grant programs covering areas such as:

• Physical security upgrades

• Access control systems and visitor management systems

• Security cameras and other school security equipment

• Emergency response coordination

• Mental health and student wellbeing

• Bullying and school violence prevention

• Safety training for school personnel

• Technology and other school safety solutions

Eligibility and allowable expenses vary by state and school type, so districts should check their State Educational Agency, state school safety office, and relevant state grant portals, in addition to federal opportunities.

The SchoolSafety.gov Grants Finder Tool can also help identify current federal school safety grants by topic, applicant type, award amount, and deadline.

How to prepare for a school safety grant application

A strong school safety grant application starts with the problem the school needs to solve, not a list of security equipment or technology it wants to buy.

1. Define the local safety need

Use local evidence to show what needs to change. Depending on the grant program, this could include:

• school violence or bullying incident data

• threat assessment data

• safety or security assessments

• mental health and wellbeing indicators

• emergency response reviews

• gaps in current physical security or school safety infrastructure.

For example, the FY26 COPS SVPP application asks applicants about recent risk assessments and school violence incidents reported to law enforcement.

2. Match the project to the right grant program

Do not assume all federal school safety grants fund the same things. Use the comparison table above to match the project to a grant whose purpose, eligibility, and allowable uses align with the need.

3. Link every budget item back to an identified need

Whether the project involves access control systems, security cameras, technology, training programs, or another school safety measure, explain:

• what problem it addresses

• who will use it

• how it will be implemented

• what outcome the school expects it to improve.

This makes the application easier to assess and avoids the familiar grant-writing trap of asking for a shiny thing first and inventing the problem afterward.

4. Check eligibility and matching requirements early

Confirm:

• whether the applicant must be a school district, Local Educational Agency, State Educational Agency, or nonprofit organization

• whether public charter schools or private schools are eligible

• whether a local funding match is required

• whether there are limits on award size or particular expense categories

• whether the applicant applies directly or through a state agency.

These rules vary significantly between grant programs.

5. Get federal registrations sorted before the deadline

Many federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity Identifier, as well as registration with Grants.gov or the relevant federal grant system.

This is not something to leave until submission day. Federal guidance warns that new or renewed SAM.gov registrations can take several weeks.

6. Decide how success will be measured

Strong applications explain what the funding is intended to achieve.

Depending on the project, useful measures might include:

• reduced response times

• increased reporting of safety concerns

• faster identification and referral of students needing support

• fewer repeated bullying or violence incidents

• improved emergency preparedness

• completion of safety training

• improved coverage of identified physical security gaps.

The measures should relate directly to the problem identified in the application.

Finding the right school safety funding

There is no single school safety grant that covers every safety and security initiative.

Some grant programs are designed to prevent school violence or improve mental health and early intervention. Others are specifically intended to fund physical security, school security infrastructure, and emergency response.

Start with the risk or problem your school needs to address. Then identify the funding program whose purpose, eligibility, and allowable costs match that need.

That approach gives schools a much stronger foundation for securing funding than starting with a product and trying to fit the grant to it afterward.

Looking for a school safety solution that goes beyond physical security? Fastvue Reporter for Education turns existing firewall data into student-specific reports and real-time alerts, helping schools identify concerning online activity earlier and give the right people clearer information to act on. Our team can also help you assess where Fastvue may fit within a school safety business case or grant proposal.

Get started by downloading a trial or talking to our sales team today.

US K-12 School safety grant FAQs