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Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2027: Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life Grant Program

Fund Code: 0177

Purpose:

The purpose of this competitive state-funded grant is to support eligible Massachusetts public school districts, charter public schools, and educational collaboratives in providing students with developmentally appropriate education and learning experiences focused on safe, responsible, and healthy social media use.

The Fiscal Year 2027 state budget supports grants to school districts to provide student education on safe, responsible, and healthy social media use. Funded activities may include, but are not limited to, high-quality curriculum and other instructional materials that promote evidence-based practices, as well as educator training and professional development.

Through this grant, DESE seeks to support implementation-ready projects that provide educators with the resources, professional learning, and supports necessary to engage students in developmentally appropriate instruction and structured learning experiences related to safe, responsible, and healthy social media use. Projects may serve elementary/primary, middle, and/or high school students, educators, and families and must be designed for implementation during the grant period ending June 30, 2027.

Grant-funded activities may address:

  • safe, responsible, and healthy social media use and digital wellness;
  • media and information literacy, including misinformation, AI-generated or manipulated content, and source credibility;
  • privacy, security, digital footprints, cyberbullying, and online safety;
  • responsible digital participation and communication; and
  • educator and family capacity to support students' digital lives.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is guided by its Educational Vision and strategic priorities to ensure that all students, particularly students furthest from opportunity, have equitable opportunities to succeed.

This grant supports DESE's strategic priorities by promoting developmentally appropriate, evidence-based learning experiences that strengthen students' ability to navigate social media and digital environments safely, responsibly, and in ways that support their health and well-being.

The grant particularly supports DESE's commitment to Accelerating Achievement, a cross-agency priority focused on providing differentiated and comprehensive supports to schools serving students furthest from opportunity. It also provides opportunities to strengthen educator and family capacity and to support accessible and inclusive learning experiences for English learners, students with disabilities, and other locally identified student groups.

Applicants should use grant funds intentionally to advance the purpose of the Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life Grant while supporting DESE's strategic priorities.

Priorities:

Priority will be given to proposals that:

  • demonstrate strong alignment with the purpose of educating students about safe, responsible, and healthy social media use;
  • use developmentally appropriate, evidence-based instructional approaches;
  • demonstrate readiness to begin implementation promptly and complete grant-funded activities by June 30, 2027;
  • build educator capacity through professional learning and implementation support;
  • provide meaningful opportunities for student voice, leadership, and engagement;
  • meaningfully engage families and caregivers in supporting students' safe, responsible, and healthy digital lives;
  • address equity and accessibility for English learners, students with disabilities, and other students furthest from opportunity; and
  • demonstrate coordination across relevant instructional, student-support, family-engagement, and grants-management functions.

Competitive priority will be given to eligible applicants serving districts and schools participating in DESE's Accelerating Achievement initiative.

Projects centered solely on planning, purchasing materials, resource development, or one-time assemblies will not be prioritized for funding.

Eligibility:

All Massachusetts public schools, including public charter schools, and educational collaboratives are eligible to apply.

Eligible applicants serving districts and schools participating in DESE's Accelerating Achievement initiative will receive competitive priority as described in the Priorities section of this RFP.

Funding Type:

FC 0177  State line item: 7010-0005

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 $1,750,000 is anticipated to be available through this competitive grant program. DESE anticipates awarding approximately 25–30 grants of up to $60,000 each. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP.

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.

Fund Use:

Each grantee must budget $25,000 of its grant award for services provided by the DESE-approved vendor. This required set-aside will support professional learning, reflection, and data-collection activities as directed by DESE. Each grantee must establish an agreement with the selected vendor. The vendor will invoice the grantee directly, and the grantee is responsible for timely payment from the set-aside in the approved grant budget. These payments are part of the grant award and do not constitute additional funding.

The remaining awarded funds may be budgeted for allowable implementation expenses, including curriculum and instructional materials; stipends for grant-related work conducted outside regular contracted hours; substitute costs necessary for grant-related professional learning or implementation; student and family learning activities; accessible and multilingual resources; and other DESE-approved implementation costs necessary to complete the project by June 30, 2027.

Grant funds may not be used for:

  • Activities that are not directly related to the approved project.
  • Costs incurred before the grant start date or after June 30, 2027.
  • Any expenditure prohibited by state or federal law, regulation, or DESE grant requirements.
Project Duration:

Upon Approval – June 30, 2027

Program Unit:

Office of Instruction and Multilingual Education

Contact:

Alva Laster and Beth Williams-Breault

Date Due:

Monday, November 9, 2026, by 5:00 PM

Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

DESE Competitive Grant Submission Policy

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 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.

Required Forms:

Required application information will be submitted directly into DESE's Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) system. See Submission Instructions below for details.

Additional Information:

Applicants should review the Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life Grant Key Requirements for detailed information regarding required project components, professional learning, curriculum and instructional resources, family engagement, student voice, equity and accessibility, reflection and data collection, required vendor set-asides, and allowable fund use.

Applicants may also use the Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life Grant Application Planning Template in GEM$ to draft responses before entering required information into GEM$.

Questions received regarding this funding opportunity and DESE's responses will be posted on the STEM Grants and Opportunities webpage. Questions must be submitted using Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life form by Friday, October 9, 2026. Responses will be posted by Friday October 16, 2026.

Submission Instructions:

The FY27 0177 Safe, Healthy, and Responsible Digital Life Grant will be submitted in our GEM$ 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:

  • Grantwriter Submitted
  • LEA Fiscal Representative Approved
  • LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved

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$. Entities that do not have an organization established in GEM$ 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: September 25, 2026

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