Education Sets Priorities for Meaningful Learning Grant Programs
Published Date: 2/12/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Education just set new rules to make sure learning opportunities are meaningful and effective in grant programs starting March 16, 2026. Schools, nonprofits, and other groups applying for education grants will need to follow these updated priorities and definitions. This move helps focus funding on programs that truly boost learning and prepare students for the future.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Grants Prioritize Specific Instructional Strategies
When used in competitions, the priority directs grant funding toward projects that advance meaningful learning opportunities, including high-quality instructional materials, strategic staffing, high-impact tutoring, competency-based education, career-connected learning, and innovative assessment models (with a noted emphasis on mathematics). Applicants may propose projects addressing these areas if authorized under the program statute.
Funded Projects Must Follow Accessibility Law
Projects funded under this priority must adhere to existing accessibility and civil rights laws where applicable, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Department declined to add separate accessibility requirements to this priority because those protections already exist in law.
New Grant Priority Starts March 16
The Department of Education's final supplemental priority and definitions take effect March 16, 2026. Schools, nonprofits, and other groups applying for discretionary education grants may see this priority used in grant competitions and should plan for it when preparing applications.
Paraprofessionals and Leaders Included
The Department amended the priority and definitions to clarify that professional development and strategic staffing may include paraprofessionals and other licensed educators, and to include support for principals and other school leaders. This change means these staff roles can be included in project activities where the program authorizing statute allows.
Applying Is Voluntary; Costs De Minimis
Participation in grant competitions using this priority is voluntary. The Department states that any extra work to prepare an application is expected to be de minimis and that the priority is not economically significant under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Paperwork Reduction Act analysis.
Flexibility To Propose AI, Afterschool, Evidence Work
The Department clarifies that applicants may propose activities that leverage artificial intelligence, provide services outside the regular school day (including afterschool and summer programs), or build evidence through evaluation, but such activities are allowed only if they are within the statute authorizing the specific grant program. The Department declined to issue prescriptive guidance in this notice.
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Key Dates
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