In July 2025, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 English Language Arts ELA/Literacy classrooms for grades 4–12.
This continuation grant is designed to help previously awarded Local Educational Agencies LEAs deepen this work. Specifically, it will support the ongoing evaluation, selection, purchase, and implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials HQIM by ensuring that Local Educational Agency LEA curriculum councils continue to receive stipends, leadership coaching, and curriculum-based professional learning from their Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts PRISM Curriculum and Instruction Coaches. This sustained support will help Local Educational Agencies LEAs build internal capacity and strengthen instructional practices aligned with high-quality instruction materials as outlined in the FY27 Program Details Document .
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE seeks to award Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts PRISM III grants to Local Educational Agencies LEAs/consortia who demonstrate:
This continuation grant is intended for FY26 Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts PRISM III FC 0594 Grantees eligible for continuation. The eligible districts include:
Federal Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance CFDA 84.371 Comprehensive Literacy State Development | United States U.S. Department of Education
Federal grant funds must adhere to:
Approximately $2,920,000 is expected to be available for FY27 (federal) Continuation (Upon Approval – September 30, 2027), pending funding.
This Request for Proposal 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 Request for Proposal RFP document.
Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, awarded grantees may be eligible for additional continuation grant(s) in Federal Fiscal Year 2028.
This continuation grant will provide funding for:
For full details about the Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts 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.
Upon Approval – September 30, 2027.
Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, awarded grantees who meet the eligibility requirements for Comprehensive Literacy State Development CLSD funding may be eligible for targeted continuation grant(s) Fiscal Year 2028. Continuation grants will be funded by the federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant.
Office of Instruction and Multilingual Education, Teaching and Learning Unit
Allison Pickens
781-338-6240
Friday, September 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time 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.
Curriculum Data (K–8) must be submitted and up to date on Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE District Profiles for K–8 English Language Arts 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: Local Educational Agencies LEAs receiving this award for English Language Arts 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. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE will request that data be submitted by June 30 of each year awarded. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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. Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts 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.
The FY27 0594 Partnership for Reading Success – Massachusetts PRISM III Continuation Grant will be submitted in our new Grants for Education Management System GEM$ system. Grants for Education Management 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$)
Continuation grant applications are considered submitted when the Superintendent/Chief Executive approves the grant application in Grants for Education Management System GEM$. In order to be considered for continuation funding, applicants must submit a grant application by the due date listed in the Request for Proposal 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 Local Educational Agency LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant Writer for the specific fund code, Local Educational Agency 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 Grants for Education Management System GEM$, maintained at the Local Educational Agency LEA level or sent in to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Request for Proposal RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the Grants for Education Management System GEM$ homepage under Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.
Last Updated: August 25, 2026