DOJ Announces $70M in School Safety Grants, Texas

U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox joins the DOJ in announcing more than $70 million in grant funding to bolster school security, educate and train students and faculty, and support law enforcement officers and first responders who arrive on the scene of a school violence incident.

In the Northern District of Texas, the grants include:

$500,000 to Tarrant County (STOP Prevention grant)

$499,997 to the City of Arlington (COPS grant)

$249,992 to Amarillo ISD (STOP Prevention grant)

$80,000 to O’Donnell ISD (STOP Prevention grant)

$15,885 to the City of Benbrook (COPS grant)

$1 million to the Texas Education Agency (STOP Threat Assessment grant)

President Trump and his administration will ensure the safety of every American school, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. ‘Earlier this year he signed into law the STOP School Violence Act, which provides grant funding to develop anonymous school threat reporting systems, to implement school building security measures, and to train students, school personnel, and law enforcement on how to prevent school violence.’

As the chief federal law enforcement officer in North Texas and mother of three students, U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said, ‘This significant investment by the Justice Department will go a long way to ensure the safety of students and educators in the Northern District of Texas.’

The Office of Justice Program’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) together are making more than 220 awards to jurisdictions across the country to help make schools more secure.

The awards, granted through three funding streams, will provide new technology for reporting systems and other threat deterrent measures and create school safety training and education programs for school administrators, staff, students, and first responders.

This includes support for existing crisis intervention teams and the creation of new ones.

‘The grants are authorized by the STOP School Violence Act, which are intended to improve school security by helping students and teachers reduce exposure to risks, prevent acts of violence, and quickly recognize and respond to violent attacks.’

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