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The purpose of this competitive Career and Technical Education (CTE) Partnership Grant is to support regional and local partnerships to expand existing and/or develop new CTE programs and initiatives that increase student access to CTE opportunities, primarily through more effective use and integration of existing capacity and resources. Services provided are to supplement currently funded local, state, and federal programs.
Priority will be given to applicants that:
Competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status.
* The Massachusetts Legislature defines 26 Gateway Cities in the Commonwealth: Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, and Worcester.
Eligible applicants include Districts, Charters, or Collaboratives. Please identify and indicate in the application which partner will serve as project lead for this initiative.
Partner agencies may include employers, school consortia, educational collaboratives, community colleges, other publicly funded educational institutions, workforce development boards, or community-based organizations that provide publicly funded educational services but cannot include private proprietary schools or private postsecondary institutions. Applicants must identify proposed partners in this planning grant.
Applicants may pursue funding to plan or to implement a CTE Partnership, but Implementation awards are not contingent on prior receipt of Planning Grant funding.
Please note that DESE will consider applications from previous recipients of CTE Partnership Planning and/or Implementation funding.
State, 7035-0001
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 $400,000 is available.
This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.
Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.
Eligible applicants may apply for funds for one (1) planning grant and/or one (1) implementation grant.
Upon Approval – June 30,2026
Grant funds must be used to plan or implement programs/activities/initiatives that will increase student seats and student access to CTE pathways/programs, particularly for underserved populations and students residing in Gateway Cities where the regional technical high school serving that Gateway City is oversubscribed. All implementation activities must be appropriate and consistent with all applicable state and federal requirements.
Planning funds may be used for:
Implementation funds may be used for:
Grantees may not use funds to supplant local resources.
Additional General Grant coding Guidance is available: CCTE Resource for Grants .
Office for College, Career, and Technical Education
Lisa Weinstein
Wednesday July 30, 2025
Completed grant proposals must be submitted to the Department via GEM$ by 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP.
All responses must be submitted through the proper steps and received by the due date/time listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not received on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.
Please upload signed letters of commitment from any partners
Questions and Answers — Applicants can find all the questions asked regarding this funding opportunity and DESE's response at Chapter 74 Partnership Program (also known as "After Dark").
Final Report:
Recipients will be required to submit a final report on or before September 30, 2026. The final report must include:
Planning
Implementation
The FY26 0412 Career and Technical Education Partnership Grant Application will be submitted in GEM$, DESE's cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system.
New organizations that do not have an established LEA with DESE skip to Step 3.
Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time. 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 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.
Step 2: Submit the grant through all LEA steps in GEM$. There are three LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:
Competitive grant applications are considered submitted once the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP. Please plan accordingly.
The Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved Step allows for the organization lead to review and approve the grant application. Removing the requirement for the Part I Standard Contract Form, this step signifies Superintendent /Chief Executive sign off. Any grant budget changes requiring signature, will re-execute this step when amended signifying the organization lead is approving these changes.
Step 3: (If applicable) New organizations request temporary organization access. New organizations are entities that have not been established as an LEA in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization in GEM$ must contact the DESE Program Unit issuing this grant at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.
Temporary Access will need to be created by DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2.
Failure to provide DESE with GEM$ Temp Organization Access Request at least 5 business days prior to the due date may result in not meeting the submission due date listed above. DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.
Last Updated: June 9, 2025