The EAGLES Act of 2025 reauthorizes and expands the National Threat Assessment Center, placing it within the United States Secret Service and directing it to train, research, and coordinate prevention efforts for targeted violence. It creates a national program focused on school violence prevention and requires a plan to disseminate training across states within one year of enactment.
The bill also authorizes funding, sets a sunset date, and establishes reporting requirements to measure implementation and impact.
At a Glance
What It Does
It establishes the National Threat Assessment Center within the Secret Service, with functions that include training, consultation on complex threat cases, research, information sharing, and development of evidence-based prevention programs.
Who It Affects
Federal, state, and local agencies; school districts; educational staff; law enforcement; and mental health professionals involved in threat assessment and violence prevention.
Why It Matters
It creates a centralized, standardized approach to preventing targeted violence, with a formal focus on school safety and cross-agency coordination.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill establishes a new National Threat Assessment Center (the Center) within the U.S. Secret Service to lead efforts on threat assessment and violence prevention. The Center’s functions include training professionals in best practices for threat assessment, consulting on difficult cases, conducting and publishing research, and coordinating information sharing among agencies that have public safety responsibilities.
A key feature is a Safe School Initiative that focuses on research, training, and coordination with other federal departments to address school violence. The Center is authorized to hire additional personnel with expertise in child development and school threat assessment, and it will be responsible for producing a Congress-directed report assessing staffing levels, training reach, and program effectiveness.
The bill also requires the Center to offer training and resources to entities in each state within a year of enactment and to coordinate with the Department of Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services. Funding of $10 million per year is authorized for 2026–2030, and the program terminates on September 30, 2030.
Importantly, funds cannot be used to train individuals in firearms, and the bill clarifies that it does not preclude other firearm trainings under existing law. The text also restates findings about past incidents and the effectiveness of proactive threat assessment, using Parkland as a reference point.
Finally, the bill includes a requirement for a detailed set of reporting elements to Congress two years after enactment to gauge implementation progress and impact.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill creates a National Threat Assessment Center within the U.S. Secret Service to train, consult, research, and share information on threat assessment and the prevention of targeted violence.
It mandates a Safe School Initiative with research, training, and coordination with other federal agencies and states, plus a plan to offer training in every state within one year of enactment.
Funding of $10,000,000 is authorized for each fiscal year 2026–2030 to support the Center’s activities.
The program prohibits using Center funds for firearms training and includes a termination date of September 30, 2030.
A two-year congressionally mandated report will document staffing levels, training reach, school participation, interagency engagement, and program effectiveness.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Establishment of the Center
This section establishes the National Threat Assessment Center as a unit operated by the United States Secret Service under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security. The Center consolidates threat assessment efforts and serves as the primary Federal entity for prevention-focused research, training, and coordination.
Center functions
The Center’s core functions include training in threat assessment, consultation on complex cases, research on prevention of targeted violence, and the dissemination of evidence-based practices. It also facilitates information sharing among federal, state, and local entities with protective or public safety responsibilities and with relevant private partners.
Safe School Initiative
This subsection creates a national program on targeted school violence prevention. It requires research, training, coordination with the DOJ, DOE, and HHS, and an interactive website to share practices. It also obligates the Center to disseminate materials through the School Safety Clearinghouse and to publish findings on public platforms.
Hiring authority
The Director of the Secret Service may hire additional personnel with expertise in child psychological development and school threat assessment to meet the Section’s requirements, ensuring capacity to implement training and research programs.
Congressional reporting
Not later than two years after enactment, the Director must report to relevant Senate and House committees on actions taken, including staff numbers, state and district reach, training and assistance provided, evaluation findings, and dissemination plans.
Authorization of appropriations
The bill authorizes $10,000,000 to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out the Center’s duties and the Safe School Initiative.
No firearms training
Funds made available under this section may not be used to train individuals in the use of firearms, signaling a prevention-only posture for these activities.
No effect on other laws
This provision clarifies that nothing in this section precludes or contradicts other laws authorizing firearms training or related activities, maintaining legal compatibility with existing statutes.
Termination
The provision sets a sunset for the authorization and activities of the Center on September 30, 2030, after which the program would require reauthorization.
Definitions
Key terms such as ‘‘evidence-based,’’ ‘‘local educational agency,’’ and ‘‘State’’ are defined to ensure consistent interpretation across program implementation and reporting.
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Explore Government in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- The United States Secret Service gains a formal, resourced Center focused on threat assessment, ensuring clearer mandate and enhanced capability to prevent targeted violence.
- Local law enforcement agencies benefit from standardized practices and shared training resources in threat assessment.
- School districts and local educational agencies gain access to targeted violence prevention training and evidence-based practices via the Safe School Initiative.
- State educational agencies and other public safety partners can coordinate with the Center to disseminate resources and training within their jurisdictions.
- Students, teachers, and communities benefit indirectly from improved prevention and early intervention measures.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal government bears the cost of new staffing, training, and research programs funded through the authorized appropriations.
- State and local educational agencies may incur administrative and scheduling costs to participate in Center trainings and implement recommended practices.
- Local law enforcement and mental health organizations may allocate time and personnel to support joint training and information-sharing initiatives.
- Private sector and nonprofit partners contributing data or participating in pilot programs may shoulder additional coordination tasks and time commitments.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Expanding a national threat-assessment program inside the Secret Service to prevent violence while preserving civil liberties, ensuring effective cross-agency implementation, and securing ongoing funding beyond the sunset date.
The bill creates a centralized center with a strong emphasis on evidence-based prevention, but it also raises questions about implementation scope and civil liberty considerations. The sunset provision in 2030 invites scrutiny of long-term outcomes and whether the program will be renewed or scaled.
While prohibiting firearms training aligns the Center with a prevention-first posture, it may raise concerns about balancing prevention with broader security training needs across agencies. The mandate for cross-agency coordination and data sharing must be weighed against privacy interests and the practicalities of interagency collaboration across jurisdictions.
The reliance on “evidence-based” standards will also depend on the availability and quality of data to support such standards, which could be uneven across states and districts.
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