DOJ Awards State Department of Education and Oklahoma City and Norman Schools More Than $2.3 Million for School Security

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Department of Justice has awarded more than $85.3 million to bolster school security—including funding to educate and train students and faculty—and support first responders who arrive on the scene of a school shooting or other violent incident.  Including a statewide grant to the Department of Education, more than $2.3 million will go to school security measures in the Western District of Oklahoma.

"These federal resources will help to prevent school violence and give our students the support they need to learn, grow, and thrive," said Attorney General William P. Barr.  "By training faculty, students, and first responders, and by improving school security measures, we can make schools and their communities safer."

"Improving public safety by reducing violence is a top priority for this office," said U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing of the Western District of Oklahoma.  "I am pleased the Department of Justice’s grants can help our state’s educators keep our schools free of violence."

The grants include $600,000 to prevent violence in schools in Norman and Oklahoma City.  They also provide more than $1.7 million to the Oklahoma State Department of Education.  In particular, DOJ has awarded:

• $250,000 to the State Department of Education and $100,000 to Norman Public Schools to address threats through anonymous reporting technology;
• $996,855 to the State Department of Education to create or enhance a state school safety center;
• $498,997 to the State Department of Education to prevent and respond to mental health crises; and
• $500,000 to Oklahoma City Public Schools for school security measures.

President Trump signed the STOP School Violence Act into law in March 2018, authorizing grants that are designed to improve threat assessments, train students and faculty to provide tips and leads, and prepare law enforcement officers and emergency professionals to respond to school shootings and other violent incidents.  The grant programs are managed by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance, within the Department’s Office of Justice Programs, and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services manage the programs and administer the grants, which include funds to:

• Develop school threat assessment teams and pursue technological solutions to improve reporting of suspicious activity in and around schools;
• Implement or improve school safety measures, including coordination with law enforcement, as well as the use of metal detectors, locks, lighting and other deterrent measures;
• Train law enforcement to help deter student violence against others and themselves;
• Improve notification to first responders through implementation of technology that expedites emergency notifications;
• Develop and operate anonymous reporting systems to encourage safe reporting of potential school threats;
• Train school officials to intervene when mentally ill individuals threaten school safety; and
• Provide training and technical assistance to schools and other awardees in helping implement these programs.

About the Office of Justice Programs:

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal justice system.  More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

About the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services:

The COPS Office is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide.  Since 1994, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 130,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.  For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.