FY2026: Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant

Fund Code: 0309

Purpose:

Title IV, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides supplemental resources to local school districts to build capacity to help ensure that all students have equitable access to high quality educational experiences.

Title IV, Part A is one of four principal programs that are available to districts through formula grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current reauthorization of ESEA. The other programs are Title I, Part A; Title II, Part A; and Title III, Part A.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is guided by its Educational Vision where:

• All students in Massachusetts, particularly students from historically underserved groups and communities, will have equitable opportunities to excel in all content areas across all grades.
• Culturally and linguistically sustaining classroom and school practices will support students to thrive by creating affirming environments where students have a sense of belonging, engage in deeper learning, and are held to high expectations with targeted support.

DESE partners with districts, schools, and programs to:

Cultivate systems to support the whole student and foster joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn. Strategic Objective 1 — "Whole Student"

Promote deeper learning so that all students engage in grade-level work that is real-world, relevant, and interactive. Strategic Objective 2 — "Deeper Learning"

Develop and sustain a workforce that is diverse, culturally responsive, well-prepared, and committed to continuous improvement, so that all students have equitable access to effective educators. Strategic Objective 3 — "Diverse and Effective Workforce"

Applicants for this grant opportunity should be intentional in the use of grant funds to support at least one of these strategic objectives.

Priorities:

The priorities of Title IV, Part A are to:

• Support well-rounded educational opportunities;
• Support safe and healthy students; and
• Support effective use of technology.

Districts are required to prioritize funds to schools based on one or more of the following criteria:

• they are among the schools with the greatest need (as determined by the district);
• the have the highest percentages of low-income students;
• they are identified for comprehensive support and improvement;
• they have consistently underperforming subgroups; and
• they are identified as a persistently dangerous public elementary school or secondary school under section 8532 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Note: Title IV, Part A, does not require that funds are allocated directly to schools. Funds may be used for district-wide and other programming/activities that support as many students and teachers as possible, particularly those in schools that meet the three Title IV priorities.

Evidence-Based Practices
ESSA encourages, and in select cases, requires, states and districts to implement "evidence-based" practices, activities, strategies, and interventions with demonstrated evidence of effectiveness. Evidence-based practices refer to interventions for which there is evidence of significant positive impact that can be found in published research papers, literature reviews, or DESE research briefs. Alternately, evaluations of local practices that a district or state may be used to identify evidence-based practices with statistically significant positive impacts or other high quality research findings that indicate a strong likelihood that the interventions will have a positive impact on student outcomes. For more information on ESSA's evidence-based tiers see the US Department of Education's Guidance . For more information on using, building, and sharing evidence to improve student outcomes, see information on DESE's "The How Do We Know Initiative."

Eligibility:

A district is eligible to receive funds based on criteria established by the United States Department of Education (ED). District allocations are calculated by formula in the same proportion as the districts' prior year's Title I, Part A allocation. Grants are awarded to local school districts after state review and approval of its application.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA: 84.424A

Federal grant funds must adhere to:

• UGG (2 CFR 200)
• EDGAR As Applicable
• EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76

Funding:

FY26 Fund Code 0309 Title IV, Part A District Allocations will be posted at Grant Allocations & Awards page when it becomes available.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available for allocations, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document. Unclaimed funds will be redistributed to eligible districts via a competitive RFP.

Fund Use:

Funds may be used for a wide variety of activities* to support one or more of the Title IV, Part A priorities above, including but not limited to: direct services for students, professional development for staff, salaries for personnel to carry out programs and services, and supplemental educational resources and equipment.

Districts with an allocation of less than $30,000 must spend funds on one or more of the three Title IV, Part A Priorities (see top of Priorities section above).

Districts with an allocation of $30,000 or more must:

• Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment that includes a focus on the Title IV, Part A priorities (see above). Note: Districts may fulfill (or may have already fulfilled) this requirement as part of the development of the districts' strategic plan, improvement plan, etc.
• Spend at least 20% of the allocation on access to well-rounded educational opportunities
• Spend at least 20% of the allocation on safe and healthy schools
• Spend some amount on improving the use of technology
• Spend the remainder on activities that support any/all of the three priorities

No more than 15 percent of funds used for activities to support the effective use of technology may be used "for purchasing technology infrastructure. (e.g., devices, equipment, software applications, platforms, digital instructional resources and/or other one-time IT purchases.) For example, a district with a $100,000 allocation that chooses to spend $60,000 on technology (maximum allowable), may only spend a maximum of $9,000 on technology infrastructure.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No Earlier than 7/1/2025)* through 9/30/2027**

*The grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable application submission as directed in the Submission Instructions of this RFP. Funds cannot be obligated beyond the project duration end date.

**The obligation end date on these grant funds covers multiple state fiscal years. Grantees should obligate and expend grant funding throughout the grant lifecycle. Grant balances can be liquidated on this award through November 30, 2027, using the reimbursement request form. Grantees must file a Final Expenditure Report (FER) to close out the grant by December 31, 2027. Grantees may file FERs ahead of this deadline if grant funds have been paid in full across each section of the consolidated grant and/or the obligation end date has passed, whichever comes first. If grant funds are not liquidated by November 30, 2027, the FER filing can be used to claim final balances if it is submitted by December 31, 2027.

Program Unit:

Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning

Contact:

Federal Grant Programs

Phone Number:

(781) 338-6230

Date Due:

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Required Forms:

FY26 Federal Grant Assurances — The FY26 Federal Grant Assurances Signature Page (Page 1 only) completed and signed by the Superintendent/Executive Director and uploaded in GEM$ in the LEA Document Library under Assurances, in folder Federal Entitlement Grant Assurances. We cannot approve any federal entitlement grant without a signed, properly dated and uploaded Federal Grant Assurance signature page.

Additional Information:

• Title IV, Part A Quick Reference Guide on allowable and unallowable costs

• Title IV, Part A Resource Guide

• SMART Goals: Measuring Title IVA Activities' Effectiveness and Impact on Student Needs

• ESSA Family Engagement Resources

• Private School Equitable Services under ESSA resources

• DESE Educational Vision

Note: Applicants may only legally claim expenses to the grant starting from the date of final DESE approval. The start date for the grant is the date on which the district submits substantially approvable budget and information for the grant. Therefore, to expedite approval, it is essential to have district staff that can be reached in July and August to respond to questions, as needed.

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FY2026 Fund Code 0309 Title IV, Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant will be completed and submitted in the Grants for Education Management System (GEM$). GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.

Please Note: Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All these roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level, or sent in to DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Last Updated: May 30, 2025