FY27 Strengthening English as a Second Language/ESL Programming and Services

FY27 Strengthening English as a Second Language/ESL Programming and Services is sponsored by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. A competitive state grant program to strengthen English as a Second Language (ESL) programming and services.

FY2027 Fund Code 0182: Strengthening ESL Programming and Services - 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 FY2027: Strengthening English as a Second Language ESL Programming and Services This competitive grant program, aligned with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Educational Vision , is one of the multiple ways Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE is supporting districts that have English learners.

The purpose of this grant is to support districts in providing English Learners with high quality English as a Second Language ESL curriculum and increasing the number of English as a Second Language ESL teachers. There are two goals for the grant. Districts may apply for either goal or for both.

Goal 1: Adopt, Develop, or Implement High-Quality English as a Second Language ESL Curriculum The purpose of this goal is to support districts in providing high quality English as a Second Language ESL curriculum to English learners ( ELs ).

Depending on the current state of the district's English as a Second Language ESL curriculum applicants should apply for one of these three paths: 1c: Implement and Monitor Goal 2: Create (and cultivate) a "grow your own" English as a Second Language ESL Teacher hub that would improve the English as a Second Language ESL educator pipeline and will provide training alongside a mentor teacher and concurrent coursework in the area of English as a Second Language ESL licensure.

Priority will be given to districts and schools in the strategic transformation region, and/or to Local Educational Agencies LEAs with at least one participating school in the bottom 25% of proficiency rates on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS . 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 General Laws G. L. c.

40A, § 3A, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Approximately $750,000 is available.

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. Grant funds may be used to: For Goal 1: Stipends, curricular materials, professional development and/or technical assistance in addition to that provided by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE .

For Goal 2: Contracts with Institutions of Higher Education IHEs , tuition, textbooks/materials for program participants, Professional Development PD that contributes directly to English as a Second Language ESL Licensure. Items that may not be funded with this grant: Food or any other costs associated with district/school events for staff, students, or family/other stakeholders.

For Goal 2, any professional development that does not directly contribute to English as a Second Language ESL Licensure SY: Upon Approval – 6/30/2027 Summer: 7/1/2027 – 8/31/2027 — Optional * *To allow access for summer FY28 spending, grantees must reduce their School Year grants in the spring of 2027 to free up funding which will be rolled into FY28. There will be a separate funding application to submit for the FY28 summer portion.

Office of Language Acquisition Friday, August 28, 2026** 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 " Local Educational Agency LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ .

In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the Local Educational Agency LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the Request for Proposal 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. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Competitive Grant Submission Policy An informational webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 5 th at 10:00 a.

m. You can register here . 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 .

Applicants awarded for 1a or 1b are required to participate in a Next Generation English as a Second Language NGESL Curriculum Design Facilitated Cohort, and applicants awarded for 1c are required to participate in technical assistance sessions to support their implementation plan. All applicants for Goal 1 and must submit the Affidavit of Understanding with their application.

All applicants awarded for Goal 1a, 1b, or 1c are required to submit artifacts created with this funding to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE by September 1, 2027 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 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE 's discretion.

Districts applying for Goal 2 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 FC TBD funds may be required to present their results of funding at an Office of Language Acquisition OLA Network Meeting.

Districts awarded for Goal 1 are also required to submit artifacts created with this funding to Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE 's discretion.

Universal screening data sharing Local Educational Agencies LEAs receiving this award 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 data collected for research purposes, including evaluation of this program. Analyses will comply with state and federal confidentiality laws. The FY27 0182 Strengthening English as a Second Language ESL Programming and Services grant will be submitted in our Grants for Education Management System GEM$ system.

Grants for Education Management System ( GEM$ ) New organizations that do not have an established Local Educational Agency LEA with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE skip to Step 3. Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time.

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 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. Step 2: Submit the grant through all Local Educational Agency LEA steps in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ .

There are three Local Educational Agency LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding: Local Educational Agency LEA Fiscal Representative Approved Local Educational Agency 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 " Local Educational Agency LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ .

In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the Local Educational Agency LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the Request for Proposal 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 Local Educational Agency LEA in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ .

Entities that do not have an organization established in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ must contact the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2. Failure to provide Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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.

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date. Last Updated: July 21, 2026 This link will take you to an external website which may or may not be accessible and WCAG 2. 1 compliant