FY2026: Partnership for Reading Success — Massachusetts (PRISM) III Grades 4–12

Fund Code: 594B

Purpose:

In July 2025, DESE awarded the competitive Partnership for Reading Success — Massachusetts (PRISM) III grant to support the evaluation, selection, and implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) in ELA/Literacy classrooms for grades 4–12.

This continuation grant is designed to help previously awarded LEAs deepen this work. Specifically, it will support the ongoing evaluation, selection, purchase, and implementation of HQIM by ensuring that LEA curriculum councils continue to receive stipends, leadership coaching, and curriculum-based professional learning from their PRISM Curriculum and Instruction Coaches. This sustained support will help LEAs build internal capacity and strengthen instructional practices aligned with high-quality instruction materials as outlined in the FY26 PRISM III Program Details .

Priorities:

DESE seeks to award PRISM III grants to LEAs/consortia who demonstrate:

• A commitment to prioritizing evidence-based, inclusive, and culturally and linguistically sustaining literacy practices for all learners
• A commitment to having routines and systems for instructional leaders and grade-level teams to support high-quality, culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction with the new curriculum
• The ability to bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders committed to the activities articulated in the grant proposal, including families, staff members, administrators, school principals, and school committee
• Acknowledgement of and commitment to addressing literacy achievement disparities along lines of race, income, language status, and/or disability status

Eligibility:

This continuation grant is intended for FY26 PRISM III FC0594 Grantees eligible for continuation. The eligible districts include:

• ACCEPT Educational Collaborative
• Attleboro Public School District
• Barnstable Public School District
• Bi-County Collaborative
• Easthampton Public School District
• Everett Public School District
• Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical School District
• Haverhill Public School District
• Hudson Public School District
• Lowell Public School District
• Milford Public School District
• Northampton Public School District
• Somerville Public School District
• Spencer East Brookfield Public School District
• Ware Public School District

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.371 Comprehensive Literacy State Development | U.S. Department of Education

Federal grant funds must adhere to:

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

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.

Funding:

Approximately $2,730,500 is expected to be available for FY26 (federal) Continuation (Upon Approval – September 30, 2026), pending funding.

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.

Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, awarded grantees may be eligible for additional continuation grant(s) in Federal Fiscal Year(s) 2027 and 2028. In subsequent years of the grant, PRISM III LEAs will receive federal funding to implement customized PRISM Literacy Plans. Please see the Budgeting Guides for more information.

Fund Use:

This continuation grant will provide funding for:

• Stipends: Supports PRISM Curriculum Council members and other educators through stipends for work beyond contracted hours or substitute coverage to provide release time for grant-related activities.
• Materials: Funds to support the purchase of Tier 1 core high-quality instructional materials. This grant covers 50% of the cost of HQIM in ELA/literacy in the approved grade bands, with the LEA expected to cover the remaining 50%. Please see individualized budget guides for more information. Track 1 and 3 districts may reallocate unused funding from other line items e.g. stipends, to materials, provided the overall budget remains in compliance with budget guidance.
  • Note: PRISM III can only fund curricular materials that meet the current CURATE definition of "high quality" at the time of application/and or the time of selection, whichever is more current.
• PRISM Curriculum & Instruction Coach: Funds DESE-approved coaching for curriculum analysis, lesson preparation routines, progress monitoring, and curriculum-based professional learning to ensure evidence-based, inclusive, and culturally and linguistically sustaining implementation. Publisher professional development may be included in this cost, as either a subcontract with the coach or as a separate contract between the publisher and district, if that is identified as a need by both the district and the PRISM Curriculum and Instruction Coach. The decision regarding publisher professional development should be determined during contract development with the PRISM Curriculum and Instruction Coach.

For full details about the PRISM III program and how funds may be used, please refer to your individualized Budget Guide that was emailed to your grant lead for this program.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No earlier than February 1, 2026) – September 30, 2026

Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, awarded grantees who meet the eligibility requirements for CLSD funding may be eligible for targeted continuation grant(s) in Fiscal Year 2027 and Fiscal Year 2028. Continuation grants will be funded by the federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant.

Program Unit:

Office of Literacy and Humanities, Center for Instructional Support

Contact:

Lori McNally

Phone Number:

781-338-6244

Date Due:

Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST

Proposals must be received at the Department by 5 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

All responses must be received by the due date 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.

Additional Information:

Curriculum Data (K–8) must be submitted and 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.

Grantees are expected to participate fully in all grant-related data collection activities, including surveys, focus groups, and the submission of district-level data. PRISM III recipients must prepare and provide any data requested by the Department to support evaluation of the effectiveness of grant-funded activities and to ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements.

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FY26 594B PRISM III [2/1/26 – 9/30/26] Continuation Grant will be submitted in our new GEM$ system. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that has phased out the use of EdGrants.

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: December 24, 2025