NOTE: The NIJ canceled the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in FY2018. With the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, the funding planned for these solicitations is no longer available for research and evaluation. Instead, it will be used for other purposes under the Stop School Violence Act of 2018. This information is for historic purposes only.
The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) funds rigorous research that produces practical knowledge that can improve the safety of schools and students across the nation. Projects funded under the CSSI are designed to produce knowledge that can be applied to schools and school districts across the nation for years to come. This is accomplished through partnerships involving educators, researchers, and other stakeholders (e.g., law enforcement, behavioral, and mental health professionals) working toward the following objectives:
- Increasing scientific knowledge about the root causes, characteristics, and consequences of school violence and other threats to school and student safety;
- Developing, supporting, and rigorously evaluating a wide range of school and student safety programs, practices, and strategies;
- Developing a comprehensive school safety framework based on the best available information and evidence and testing it in selected school districts.
In FY 2018, NIJ is soliciting applications for CSSI funding in five categories. The first three categories are focused on developing knowledge about what works to make schools safe using a tiered evidence approach. The tiered evidence framework is based on a continuum of evidence that builds from early stage evaluations of innovative programs to highly rigorous evaluations of programs that are ready to scale-up. Increasing amounts of funding are awarded to programs of research according to their level of evidence effectiveness. The final funding categories support research on causes and consequences of school safety issues as well as assessments of school safety issues in tribal communities.
- Developing Novel and Innovative School Safety Programs, Practices, and Strategies.
- Demonstration, Evaluation and Validation Tests for School Safety.
- Expanding the use of Effective Interventions through Scaling-up.
- Research on School Safety.
- Translation and Dissemination of Comprehensive School Safety Initiative Findings.
In FY 2018, NIJ is particularly interested in applications that address the following:
- School Shootings
- School Resource Officers
- School Discipline and School Coordination with the Criminal Justice System
- Disinvestment in Ineffective School Safety Programs
- Bullying and Cyberbullying Intervention and Prevention
- School Safety in Non-Classroom Settings
- Implementation and Translation of School Safety Research
CSSI funding in FY18, NIJ will give priority in award decisions to those studies and projects that advance school safety research in new and novel ways.
Applications primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies will not be funded. A budget may include these items if they are necessary to conduct research, development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis.