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Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2027: Building Early Childhood Partnerships: A Preschool Itinerant Team Initiative Continuation Grant

Fund Code: 0612

Purpose:

The purpose of this continuation grant program is to support the 14 Massachusetts district teams who received the FC0612 grant in FY 2026 to implement all or part of their implementation plan for supporting preschool students to receive their Individualized Education Program (IEP) services in Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) licensed community-based settings1, including Head Start, child care and family child care. Support for participation in this initiative includes professional development, coaching, and resources.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE's), in collaboration with the Office of Special Education Planning and Policy and the MA Department of Early Education and Care, will host the Building Early Childhood Partnerships: A Preschool Itinerant Team Initiative Continuation Grant during the 2026-2027 school year. The continuation grant is designed to continue support for the district teams consisting of public school early childhood and special education administrators as well as preschool educators; community-based preschool administrators and educators; Early Intervention director; and families to come together to deliver IEP services in community preschool settings, including but not limited to:

  • Continued partnership development between the public school district and community partners;
  • Creation, including hiring, of preschool itinerant team staff;
  • Delivery of IEP services in community-based settings1;
  • Professional development;
  • Family engagement; and
  • Sustainability and financial planning/cost analysis.

The initiative will include in-person professional development for the awarded teams (anticipated to begin in late fall), including 5 coaching sessions for the community team that will range in time from 60–90 minutes. The initiative will also include virtual and/or in-person networking opportunities with communities that have implemented or are currently implementing the itinerant team model. The costs of the delivery of the professional development and coaching will be paid for by DESE.

Priorities:

The main priority of this continuation grant program is to support the 14 FY26 FC0612 grantees to implement all or part of their plan for a local itinerant team model to ensure that preschool children with IEPs have access to inclusive settings with their peers.

Eligibility:

The FY26 FC0612 grantees are eligible to apply.

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 Type:

Federal CFDA: 84.173A

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 $740,000 is available. FY26 FC0612 grantees that also receive the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) grant are eligible to apply for up to $40,000. FY26 FC0612 grantees that do not receive the CPPI grant are eligible to apply for up to $85,000. These eligibility amounts are based on the continued participation of FY26 approved partners. DESE may reduce the grant award to a lesser amount if fewer partners will be involved in FY27 implementation activities.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Applicants should propose a budget that includes (where needed) expenses related to:

  • Salaries of itinerant team staff members and/or supervision of itinerant team members;
  • Substitutes and/or stipends for coaching sessions and debriefs as well as site visits, continued planning, consultation with mentors, virtual networking opportunities sponsored by DESE and/or a DESE approved vendor;
  • Other professional development beyond what DESE will provide that the team may want to offer related to supporting the special education needs of children in community-based programs;
  • Travel for site visits for partnership development and/or for itinerant team staff; and
  • Resource development, including but not limited to development of family engagement materials and outreach materials.

Please note that the 5 coaching sessions will be provided to the awarded grantees by DESE at no additional cost to the district. Any professional development and coaching beyond what DESE will provide should be included in the district's budget.

The coaching will be delivered by AnLar. Dates for the coaching sessions will be scheduled between the team and AnLar. All team members are required to attend.

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:

Funds may be used to support participation of team members in the:

  • in-person/virtual coaching sessions, mentor meetings, and other professional development;
  • support for partnership development, including site visits, between public schools and community-based preschool partners2;
  • implementation of all or part of the action plan created in FY2026 related to the development of a Preschool Itinerant Team; and
  • development of resources that may be needed related to the implementation of a Preschool Itinerant Team model, including but not limited to outreach materials and training materials.

Fund use can include coordinator time, travel to in-person professional development and coaching sessions; other professional development needs; site visits to communities currently implementing a preschool itinerant team model; site visits to community partners; stipends, substitutes and resource development.

Funds cannot be used for equipment, building/construction projects and/or purchase of curricular programs.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval* – 9/30/2027

Pending appropriation and the meeting of grant requirements, FY27 awarded grantees may be eligible for continuation grant(s) in Fiscal Year 2028 (Upon Approval (Anticipated 10/1/2027) – 9/30/2028).

* The grant start date is the date on which DESE receives a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to the submission of a substantially approvable application. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

Program Unit:

Office of Instruction and Multilingual Education

Contact:

Donna Traynham , Early Learning Lead

Date Due:

Friday, October 16, 2026*

Proposals must be received at the Department by 12:00 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

Additional Information:

For the purposes of this continuation grant application, an itinerant team includes but is not limited to a preschool special education teacher, a speech/language therapist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist and a behavior specialist. Additional itinerant team members may also include an inclusion coach.

Applications for this continuation grant must demonstrate a 20% match in local funds supporting the Preschool Itinerant Team model.

For districts applying for this continuation grant that also receive funds from the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) to implement a preschool Itinerant team model as part of the Commonwealth Partnership Initiative (CPPI), funds must be used to strengthen and/or enhance the existing preschool itinerant team model to improve access for preschoolers with IEPs to receive their special education services in community-based settings.

Awarded districts are not expected to implement their full itinerant team model as developed in the 2026-2027 school year; this continuation grant opportunity is designed to support districts to continue planning, as needed, and to implement a part of the plan minimally.

Administrative members of the team from both public schools and community-based partners, including Early Intervention, are required to sign off on the Assurance Statement to confirm their full participation in the initiative.

LEAs participating in this grant/program are asked to share with DESE their student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools in grades K-3 during this program or grant award period. DESE will support LEAs to submit the required data by June 30 of each program year. DESE will analyze the statewide data collected for research purposes. All reporting will meet state and federal confidentiality laws. Identifying information of LEAs and schools will not be reported without express consent.

Use of Multiple Funding Sources and Fiscal Accountability:

Applicants may propose to use multiple funding sources, including federal, state, local, private, and in-kind contributions, to support the activities outlined in this RFP. If multiple funding streams are proposed, the Proposer must demonstrate a clear and robust fiscal management plan that complies with all relevant federal, state, and local regulations. All federal funds must be managed in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200).

Braided Funding: Separate Accounting Required

For all braided funding models, the applicant must maintain a separate accounting of each funding source. While the funds may be used to support a single initiative, each funding stream must retain its unique identity and be tracked independently.

The applicant shall:

  • Establish and maintain separate accounts or sub-accounts within its accounting system for each individual funding stream.
  • Develop a cost allocation plan that details how shared program costs (e.g., personnel, supplies, overhead) will be distributed equitably and consistently among the different funding sources.
  • Demonstrate the ability to report on each funding source separately, detailing expenditures and programmatic outcomes specific to that source.
  • Ensure that all compliance requirements, including eligibility criteria and reporting deadlines, are met for each respective funding stream, regardless of how they are used in coordination with others.
GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FY27 0612 Building Early Childhood Partnerships: A Preschool Itinerant Team Initiative Continuation Grant must be submitted in GEM$. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.

Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)

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.

1 For the purposes of this initiative, a community-based preschool program is one that is licensed by the MA Department of Early Education and Care, serves children who are 2.9 years of age to kindergarten age-eligibility and does not operate in conjunction with or as part of private elementary or secondary schools.

2 For the purposes of this initiative, a community-based preschool program is one that is licensed by the MA Department of Early Education and Care, serves children who are 2.9 years of age to kindergarten age-eligibility and does not operate in conjunction with or as part of private elementary or secondary schools.

Last Updated: September 11, 2026

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