21st Century Community Learning Centers Enhanced Programs for Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)

21st Century Community Learning Centers Enhanced Programs for Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) is a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that funds existing 21st Century Community Learning Centers in Massachusetts to enhance out-of-school time programming for students with IEPs.

This federally funded targeted grant program was developed in collaboration with the Office of Special Education Policy and Planning to expand the capacity of funded centers to serve students with individualized education needs during after-school and summer hours. Award amounts vary based on program scope.

FY2026 Fund Code 0245: Massachusetts 21st Century Community Learning Centers Enhanced Programs for Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) - Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs Educational Collaboratives Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Budget Inter-District School Choice School Finance Regulations Chapter 74 Nonresident Tuition FY2026: Massachusetts 21 st Century Community Learning Centers Enhanced Programs for Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) In collaboration with the Office of Special Education Policy and Planning the purpose of this federally funded targeted grant program is to enhance the capacity of funded 21 st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) out-of-school time (OST) programs to provide the supports needed to ensure students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) have meaningful access and are fully included in all aspects of programming.

Meaningfully engage students with IEPs into academically enriching programming that contributes to closing the opportunity and achievement gaps between students with disabilities and their age-appropriate non-disabled peers. Increase effective and efficient collaboration between general educators, special educators, related service providers, families, and students.

Support teachers to know how to respond to the needs of students with disabilities and use that knowledge to proactively work with students during our of school time. Support families of students with disabilities to understand how their student learns and interacts with the life of the school.

Support the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (Department's or DESE's) Educational Vision to advance equitable learning opportunities and re-envision learning experiences for students across the Commonwealth. Priority will be given to districts and schools in the strategic transformation region.

School districts/organizations that are recipients of a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Fund Code (FC) 0645 21 st CCLC Continuation Grant and/or FC 0646 Exemplary Programs Grant and have met compliance and program requirements. Applicants may apply to support a maximum of 3 schools/sites.

Federal grant funds must adhere to: 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. A total of approximately $425,000 is available for these grants.

The maximum grant award per site is: Up to $10,000 for school year and summer programming Up to $8,000 for school year only Up to $5,000 for summer only 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. Funds must be used solely to support the full inclusion of students with IEPs into currently funded 21 st CCLC OST programs during the school year and/or summer. Please note this does not include students on a 504 plan.

Allowable expenses include: Special Education instructional and related services staff; Stipends for health care, mental health, special education instructional assistants and/or other qualified support staff; Stipends for additional planning time as it relates to inclusion efforts; Professional development, technical assistance and/or consultation services (e.g., proper use of adaptive equipment, language instruction for students with IEPs, creating an inclusive environment, etc.); and Program or adaptive materials.

These materials must be specific to the efforts to fully include students with IEPs. Funds for materials and supplies, which are limited to 10% of the total budget, may only be budgeted if you are able to demonstrate they are related to supporting students with IEPs. A justification for the expense must be included.

These funds cannot be used to transport students with IEPs to or from the 21 st CCLC OST program during the school year. These funds may be used to provide specialized transportation for the purpose of including students with IEPs served by these grant funds on field trips. Indirect costs are not allowed under this grant.

School Year (FY2026) : Upon Approval* – 6/30/2026 Summer** (FY 2027): 7/1/2026 – 8/31/2026 *Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

**Funds for summer, if applicable, will be budgeted separately and entered into GEM$ separately as an FY 2027 portion of this grant. Applicants awarded a school year, and summer grant will have the ability to move unspent school year funds to summer. Grantees must reduce their School Year grants in the spring of 2026 to free up funding which will be rolled into FY2027.

Student and Family Support Friday, January 9, 2026, at 5:00 p. m. Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.

m. Eastern on the date due. For this grant to be considered submitted it must be moved through the LEA Fiscal Representative Approval step prior to the due date/time.

GEM$ Submission Instructions: The FY2026 school year and FY2027 Summer 0245 Massachusetts 21 st Century Community Learning Centers Enhanced Programs for Students with IEPs 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.

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