U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor Announce Additional Grant Competitions Under Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership

Today, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 competitions for the Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant Program and the Charter Schools Program Grants to State Entities. These competitions represent the next step in the Trump Administration's efforts to expand education choice and support educators' development across the continuum of their careers.

This announcement continues ED and DOL's rollout of new grant competitions, with additional competitions to follow later this spring and summer. As the two agencies deepen their partnership to better coordinate elementary and secondary education programs, awards for these competitions will be issued through DOL's GrantSolutions, a grants management platform.

"These grant competitions mark our continued efforts to support our nation's teachers and empower families with education choice," said Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Kirsten Baesler. "By investing in effective educator development programs and high-quality charter school models, we are elevating innovative solutions that directly shape student academic outcomes. Together with the Department of Labor, we are investing in support systems closest to students - families and educators."

"As the Departments of Education and Labor partner to release targeted funding for educators and the expansion of charter schools, the value of joining education with work becomes clearer," said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training Dr. Henry Mack. "We are looking to cultivate not just competent professionals but individuals of reason, character, and skills, equipped to meaningfully contribute to the reindustrialization of America."

Under the previous Administration, these competitions prioritized grantees who focused on promoting race- and identity-based programs and imposed onerous requirements on charter schools that stifled innovation. Now, the Trump Administration is using Secretary McMahon's Supplemental Priorities to prioritize grantees who will return education back to the states and focus on expanding the pipeline of high-quality teachers through evidence-based professional development and Registered Apprenticeship programs as well as increasing families' access to innovative school models, such as public laboratory schools and regional academies.

Background:

To date, ED has announced 10 Interagency Agreements (IAAs) with five agencies to break up the Federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, and move closer to fulfilling the President's promise to return education to the states. Learn more about the efforts to return education to the states here.

The ED-DOL partnership was formalized through an IAA, a tool routinely utilized by government agencies to procure services, share resources, and ensure efficient service delivery. Under this partnership, and in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1535, DOL will help manage grant funds, provide technical assistance, and integrate ED's teacher workforce programs with the suite of programs that DOL already administers.

ED and DOL will continue to provide grantees with additional guidance as these efforts are implemented.

Last year, the Trump Administration invested a record $500 million in the Charter Schools Program. The Department then ran all six Charter Schools Program competitions. Compared to the last round of competitions, applications for these programs doubled, showing the strong support for creating, expanding, and replicating high-quality charter schools. These competitions prioritized charter schools focused on civics education; career and technical education; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, among other innovative charter school models.

For more information on these grant competitions, please visit each grant notice on grants.gov:

• Supporting Effective Educator Development Grant Program (SEED) - The purpose of the SEED program is to increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that prepare, develop, or enhance the skills of educators.

• Charter Schools Program Grants to State Entities (CSP-SE) - CSP-SE funds will be used for new grantees to open new charter schools or to replicate and expand high-quality charter schools nationwide.