English Learner Education Support

English Learner Education Support is sponsored by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Supports districts in developing and implementing alternative bilingual education programs and establishing bilingual education hubs to enhance the educator pipeline.

FY2026 Fund Code 0181: English Learner Education Support - 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: English Learner Education Support This competitive grant program, aligned with the DESE Educational Vision , is one of the multiple ways DESE is supporting districts that have English learners and wish to implement new and innovative ELE programs and supports for innovative ELE programs, while also providing districts with an opportunity to create a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce.

There are four goals for the grant. Districts may apply for up to two goals, if one of the goals is Goal 2 or Goal 3. This means that districts may apply for either Goal 1 or Goal 4, but not both.

Goal 1: Develop and/or implement an alternative bilingual ELE program for English learners.

Goal 2: Create (and cultivate) or continue a "grow your own" bilingual education hub that would support and encourage statewide initiative and collaboration, improve the Bilingual Education educator pipeline, share knowledge to accelerate the adoption of proven and recognized programmatic models for English learners, and develop successful models that can be replicated for years to come.

Goal 3: Create (and cultivate) a "grow your own" ESL Teacher hub that would improve the ESL educator pipeline and will provide training alongside a mentor teacher and concurrent coursework in the area of ESL licensure.

Goal 4: Develop high quality ESL and/or dual language curriculum or enrich the existing ESL and/or dual language curriculum, or align purchased curricular materials to WIDA Standards / MA Frameworks that prioritize deeper learning and the linguistic and academic needs of multilingual learners. Priority will be given to districts and schools in the strategic transformation region.

This competitive grant program is designed for districts, charter schools, regional schools and collaboratives. 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.

Approximately $2,000,000 is available. 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 must be consistent with the priorities described above and the requirements associated with DESE's Educational Vision .

SY: Upon Approval (No Earlier than 9/1/2025) – 6/30/2026 Summer: 7/1/2026 – 8/31/2026 To allow access for Summer FY27 spending, grantees must reduce their School Year grants in the spring of 2026 to free up funding which will be rolled into FY27. There will be a separate funding application to submit for the FY27 summer portion. Center for School and District Partnership Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.

m. Eastern on the date due. 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 the 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. An informational webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 21 st at 10:00 am.

You can register at: OLA FY26 Competitive Grants Webinar . The presentation and a Questions and Answers document will be posted to Headlines on the English Learner Education page. Please submit questions to diana.

gentile@mass. gov . New This Year — Districts may apply for up to two goals, if one of the goals is Goal 2 or Goal 3.

This means that districts may apply for either Goal 1 or Goal 4, but not both. Districts applying for Goal 2 or Goal 3 funding will submit one application on behalf of the hub. The district submitting the application will act as fiscal manager for the hub.

Other participating districts will provide an Affidavit of District Participation to be included in the application. If a previous awardee, please note any districts that are new to the bilingual hub this year.?? All applicants awarded FC181 funds are required to present their results of funding at an OLA Network Meeting.

Districts awarded for Goal 4 are also required to submit artifacts created with this funding to DESE and to record classroom video of the artifacts in use upon request, with the understanding that these artifacts and videos may be shared with other districts or organizations at DESE's discretion. Please submit questions to diana. gentile@mass.

gov . Questions and answers will be posted to Headlines on the English Learner Education page. The FY26 0181 English learner Education Support should be submitted in GEM$.

GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that DESE utilizes to administer grant funds. Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) COMP grants not submitted through these 3 LEA steps cannot be considered or reviewed. 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: 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$. Entities that do not have an organization in GEM$ 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: May 8, 2025 This link will take you to an external website which may or may not be accessible and WCAG 2.

1 compliant