The Partnership for Reading Success — Massachusetts (PRISM) I grant is a component of Literacy Launch, an initiative to promote early literacy success for all Massachusetts students. This grant will support local education agencies (LEAs), including districts and charter schools, to implement and sustain an evidence-based, culturally and linguistically sustaining multi-tiered system of support for literacy in grades preK–3. Ultimately, a high proportion of students in PRISM districts will meet reading benchmarks, with equitable experiences and outcomes for all student groups.
DESE, in collaboration with EEC, will provide significant resources, in the form of funding, coaching, and technical assistance resources to PRISM I districts and community-based preschool partners, and directly support/guide the districts and community-based preschool partners in an equity-focused literacy improvement planning process and operationalization of that plan. Please see the PRISM I Program Details attachment for more information about what this grant program entails.
Please note, this grant opportunity is pending funding.
DESE seeks to award PRISM I grants to entities that:
This continuation grant is intended for FY25 PRISM I recipients. The eligible districts include:
State Line Item 1596-2437 Federal CFDA 84.371
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 $12,300,000 is expected to be available for FY26, pending funding. Recipients will need to provide detailed cost information to DESE to demonstrate compliance with grant priorities and approved fund uses in order to draw down funds over the grant period.
This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.
Funding is contingent upon state and federal appropriation and 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.
The Fund Use details below are a summary. Please see the Fund Use Details and the FY26 PRISM I Budget Calculator .
Funds for FY26 will be used to implement customized Early Literacy MTSS Action Plans. PRISM I awardees will receive funding to support the components of the early literacy multi-tiered system of support identified as priorities through the district's Literacy Systems Scan and outlined in the action plan. Not all grantees may need or be approved for expenses in every category listed below. Fund use may include:
Upon Approval (No Earlier than 7/1/2025) – 6/30/2026
Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, awarded grantees may be eligible for continuation grant(s) in Fiscal Year(s) 2027-2029.
Office of Literacy and Humanities, Center for Instructional Support
Amy Tavares
(781) 338-6241
Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at 5 p.m.
Proposals must be received at the Department by 5 p.m. Eastern on the date due.
Curriculum Data must be up to date on DESE District Profiles for K–8 ELA/Literacy, K–12 math, and 6–8 Science by the time of the grant due date. To check if this information is complete, check the statewide Curriculum report. Or, visit your District Profiles page via Profiles Home, and select Curriculum Data from the left-hand navigation. If the required data is not complete or up-to-date, details and directions on how to enter or update this data can be found at Curriculum Data Collection webpage.
Early Literacy Universal Screening: LEAs receiving this award for ELA/Literacy will be required to participate in research efforts, including providing student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools during the award period. DESE will request that data be submitted by June 30 of each year awarded. DESE will analyze the statewide data collected for research purposes, including evaluation of this program. Analyses will comply with state and federal confidentiality laws.
The FY26 0592 PRISM I Grant will be submitted in the GEM$ system. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system.
Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)
Continuation grant applications are considered submitted when the Superintendent / Chief Executive approves the grant application in GEM$. In order to be considered for continuation funding, applicants must submit a grant application by the due date listed in the RFP.
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.
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: May 19, 2025