The U.S. Department of Education recently issued proposed priorities and other details on its Project Prevent discretionary grant program. It has also launched a 30-day public comment period, according to a news release.
The proposed priorities emphasize the importance and efficacy of a coordinated effort between schools and community-based organizations, local faith-based organizations and/or local foundations or nonprofit organizations to help prevent and reduce gun crime and other forms of community violence and mitigate the short- and long-term effects this violence has on students.
The notice is intended to encourage effective implementation of community- and school-based strategies through proposed priorities that:
- Support local educational agencies in offering mental health services to students impacted by community violence.
- Support LEAs in the implementation of conflict management programs.
- Support LEAs in implementing other community- and school-based strategies to help their students break cycles of generational violence and to mitigate the impacts of exposure to community violence.
“Supporting the healthy growth and development of our children, youth and families takes the effort of whole communities working together. And when we leverage resources in both communities and in schools, students and families have the opportunity to receive a fuller spectrum of supports that can help them on a path to thriving lives,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “At the core of the Project Prevent program is a recognition that when our children, youth, and families succeed, our communities and our country succeed.”
The president’s FY22 budget calls for $10 million in new funding for the Project Prevent grant program to support community violence intervention strategies, complementing the Biden-Harris Administration’s call for a $5 billion investment in community violence interventions. This $10 million Project Prevent grant request would expand the capacity of LEAs to implement community- and school-based strategies to help prevent gun crime and other community violence, and to mitigate the impacts of exposure to violence.
The notice was published in the Federal Register and includes directions to submit comments about these priorities, the definition and the requirement.