U.S. Department of Education Awards Unprecedented Number of Education Innovation and Research Grants to Improve Literacy

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced $256 million in new Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants to improve literacy nationwide. These grants are the first awards made using three of Secretary McMahon's grantmaking priorities: strengthening evidence-based literacy instruction, expanding education choice, and returning education to the states.

Notably, as a direct result of the Secretary's returning education to the states priority, 10 of the 24 new awards went to state education agencies-marking the largest number of state-led literacy awards in any EIR competition and a significant increase over previous years.

"As we return education to the states, my top priority is strengthening literacy outcomes in schools across America," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "Every dollar from this year's EIR awards will support the use and expansion of evidence-based literacy instruction, expand education choice, and empower grant recipients to build and sustain high-quality literacy support systems for students. This is a huge opportunity for states to lead, and they are rising to the occasion."

Over 65% of these awards, totaling more than $167 million, will support projects in rural America. This far exceeds the program's requirement to dedicate at least 25% of EIR funds to projects supporting majority-rural communities.

Of the 24 grantees, 18 are new to the EIR program-highlighting the Department's success in attracting innovative, evidence-based approaches from a broader group of applicants and strengthening the national pipeline of literacy solutions.

Background:

The EIR program's multi-tiered evidence structure ensures that federal funds support both promising ideas and the large-scale expansion of evidence-backed interventions. The three tiers-Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion-align funding levels to the quality and rigor of the evidence supporting a proposed project. This year's competition sought applications for Mid-phase and Expansion tiers. These grants allow the Department to support proven approaches and accelerate the adoption of evidence-based literacy practices that deliver meaningful improvements in student outcomes.

This year, 10 of the 24 new EIR awards are being granted to state education agencies. Historically, the Department has awarded fewer than one EIR grant to a state education agency per competition, on average. In total, only seven states have received EIR awards since 2017.

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