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Research has shown that students' well-being is critically important to their academic and overall success. Data from various state and national sources continue to highlight the need for resources and collaboration to address the social and emotional and behavioral and mental health needs of students, families, and schools. As we continue to navigate and understand the long-term impacts of the pandemic and our country's reckoning with racial injustice on mental well-being it is critical that we consider community and system work to address the individual and varying needs across sectors and settings.
The purpose of this state-funded continuation grant program is to adapt, expand, and strengthen multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS ) to respond to the social-emotional and behavioral and mental health needs of students, families, and educators and to build strong partnerships with community-based mental health agencies and/or providers to create comprehensive mental health systems.
This grant aims to build capacity of school districts, charter schools, and educational collaboratives to do the following:
This grant supports the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (Department's or DESE's) Educational Vision , specifically efforts 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."
Through this grant initiative, participating districts are asked to prioritize the following areas as they relate to social-emotional and behavioral health for students, staff, and families. Applicants are expected to propose activities that align with the priorities below.
Applicants will prioritize activities aligned, but not limited to those detailed for each of the following categories:
Coordinate Services through Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (required)
A Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is a framework for how school districts can build the necessary systems to ensure that each and every student receives a high-quality educational experience. It is designed to support schools with proactively identifying and addressing the strengths and needs of all students by optimizing data-driven decision-making, progress monitoring, and the use of evidence-based supports and strategies with increasing intensity to sustain student growth. Please refer to the DESE website for further resources on MTSS: Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) - Systems for Student Success Office.
Create and sustain partnerships with Community-Based agencies this can include other Local Education Agencies to increase Access to Services and resources (required)
Piloting Universal Mental Health Screening Systems: (optional)Note: all grantees have the option to begin or expand the pilot of a universal mental health screener (UMHS) this year and may apply for additional funds for this activity.
Universal Mental Health Screening (UMHS) tool:
Mental Health Screening tools are essential in detecting mental health disorders, such as anxiety, mood disorders, stressors, and trauma, early.
The Department will allocate at least $1,000,000 of the total available funds towards this option. Applicants that submit their application by the due date (noted below) may apply for up to $17,000 to support the following activities. (After the grant due date (noted below), any unrequested funding for UMHS will be reallocated to those that indicated they would participate and submitted their grant prior to the due date).
Applicants choosing to participate in piloting universal mental health screening will also be expected to compile and submit an end of grant report no later than June 22, 2026, which will include the following data*:
Additional information that will be captured in report:
* The Department with support from its vendors will provide a template for this report.
Coaching will also be offered to grantees who choose this category.
Competitive priority will be given to:
Recipients of the FY25 SEL & Mental Health Grant are eligible to apply.
State line items 7061-0028 and 7061-9650
The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Approximately $3,500,000 is available.
Base Eligibility Amounts *
*Applicants that choose to participate in the UMHS pilot may apply for additional funds above the base amounts as outlined in the Priorities section above.
Applicants' requests for funding should be commensurate with the scope of activities proposed.
All grant awardees will be expected to participate in a virtual SEL/MH grant kickoff meeting, one virtual and one in-person networking meeting that will be facilitated by the DESE and/or its professional development partners during the course of the grant.
Note: Efforts proposed through this grant must be supplementary and complementary to (and not supplant) what is funded through other grants/contracts.
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 it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.
These funds must be used in ways that are aligned to the grant purpose and priorities described above and that have reasonable likelihood of being sustained (and/or having impact) beyond the grant period.
Fund use may include, but is not limited to:
Upon Approval* – 6/30/2026
* Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.
MTRS is Not an allowable expense on this state-funded grant.
Student and Family Support
Chris Pond
Friday, September 5, 2025
Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis and may be submitted prior to the due date. Extensions, if needed, may also be requested by the due date.
The FY26 FC0311 Supporting Students' Social Emotional Learning, Behavioral & Mental Health, and Wellness — (SEL & Mental Health) Continuation Grant will be submitted in the cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system GEM$.
Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)
Please Note: Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All these roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the 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: August 1, 2025