Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 051126 001
The U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), is offering a discretionary grant under the Comprehensive Centers (CC) Program to fund a single national content center focused on literacy for students with disabilities. This competition is titled "National Comprehensive Center on Improving Literacy for Students with Disabilities (NCIL)" and is listed under Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.283D. The core aim of the Comprehensive Centers program is capacity building: helping state educational agencies (SEAs), regional educational agencies (REAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools strengthen their ability to improve educational opportunities and outcomes, close achievement gaps, and raise the overall quality of instruction, with an emphasis on groups of students with the greatest need.
This particular center (NCIL) is designed to focus specifically on improving literacy outcomes for children from early childhood education programs through high school who are at risk of not developing full literacy skills because of a disability. The opportunity explicitly includes students with dyslexia that affects reading or writing, as well as students with developmental delays that may affect reading, writing, language processing, comprehension, or executive functioning. In practical terms, the funded center is expected to serve as a national hub of expertise that helps education agencies and schools build the systems, instructional practices, and support structures needed to improve literacy instruction and outcomes for these learners across the full span of early learning through secondary education.
The award will be made as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals an active partnership relationship with the Department of Education during the project period (as opposed to a more hands-off formula grant). The funding opportunity lists an award ceiling of $1,500,000 and anticipates making one award, meaning this is a single-center national initiative rather than a multi-award competition. The funding opportunity number is ED GRANTS 051126 001, the opportunity category is discretionary, and the activity category is education. The posting indicates a creation date of May 11, 2026, and an original application closing date of June 30, 2026.
Eligibility is broad but capability-driven. Eligible applicants include research organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), partnerships among those entities, or individuals, as long as they can demonstrate the ability and capacity to carry out the activities described in the notice. The eligibility language also references certain regional entities with prior lineage to earlier federal education R&D and dissemination structures (from statutes predating the current program). Applicants may apply as a consortium, but they must follow the federal consortium application requirements in 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, which typically cover how partners formalize roles, responsibilities, and governance for the application and project.
Applications must be prepared in accordance with the Department of Education's 2025 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42234). Those instructions set the baseline expectations for discretionary grant applications (for example, standard formatting, submission requirements, and common elements that appear across ED competitions). The notice also points new applicants to the Department's "Getting Started with Discretionary Grant Applications" resource, which is meant to help organizations unfamiliar with ED grantmaking navigate the process and avoid common compliance mistakes.
Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a national capacity-building effort to help education systems improve literacy instruction and supports for students with disabilities, including dyslexia and developmental delays that affect language and literacy-related skills. With only one expected award and a relatively high ceiling for a single center, the Department appears to be seeking one lead organization (or consortium) that can operate at national scale, provide credible expertise grounded in evidence and practice, and translate that expertise into usable support for SEAs, REAs, LEAs, and schools working to improve literacy outcomes for students with disabilities.Apply for ED GRANTS 051126 001
- The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Comprehensive Centers Program: National Comprehensive Center on Improving Literacy for Students with Disabilities; ALN 84.283D" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.283.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2026-05-11.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-06-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this grant competition?
The competition is titled National Comprehensive Center on Improving Literacy for Students with Disabilities (NCIL) under the Comprehensive Centers (CC) Program.
Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?
This opportunity is offered by the U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE).
What is the Assistance Listing Number (ALN) for this grant?
The Assistance Listing Number (ALN) is 84.283D.
What is the core purpose of the Comprehensive Centers (CC) Program?
The CC Program is primarily a capacity-building program. It is intended to help state educational agencies (SEAs), regional educational agencies (REAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools strengthen their ability to improve educational opportunities and outcomes, close achievement gaps, and raise the overall quality of instruction, with an emphasis on student groups with the greatest need.
What is the specific focus of the NCIL center?
NCIL is designed as a national content center focused on improving literacy outcomes for students with disabilities, from early childhood education programs through high school. The center is expected to help education agencies and schools build systems, instructional practices, and support structures that improve literacy instruction and outcomes for these learners.
Which student populations are explicitly included in the focus?
The opportunity explicitly includes:
- Students with dyslexia that affects reading or writing
- Students with developmental delays that may affect reading, writing, language processing, comprehension, or executive functioning
What age/grade span is covered by this grant's intended impact?
The center is intended to support literacy outcomes for children from early childhood education programs through high school.
Who is the intended audience or set of beneficiaries for the center's work?
The work is intended to build the capacity of SEAs, REAs, LEAs, and schools to improve literacy instruction and outcomes for students with disabilities.
What type of award is this?
The award will be made as a cooperative agreement, which generally indicates an active partnership relationship with the U.S. Department of Education during the project period.
Is this a formula grant or a discretionary grant?
This is a discretionary grant opportunity.
How many awards does the Department expect to make?
The notice anticipates making one award, meaning this is a single national center initiative.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The listed award ceiling is $1,500,000.
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is ED GRANTS 051126 001.
What is the opportunity category and activity category?
The opportunity category is Discretionary and the activity category is Education.
When was the opportunity posted (creation date)?
The posting indicates a creation date of May 11, 2026.
What is the original application closing date?
The original application closing date is June 30, 2026.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include research organizations, institutions, agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), partnerships among those entities, or individuals, as long as they can demonstrate the ability and capacity to carry out the activities described in the notice.
Does the eligibility language mention any specific types of regional entities?
Yes. The eligibility language also references certain regional entities with prior lineage to earlier federal education research and development and dissemination structures from statutes that predate the current program.
Can applicants apply as a consortium or partnership?
Yes. Applicants may apply as a consortium, but they must follow federal consortium application requirements in 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, which typically address how partners formalize roles, responsibilities, and governance for the application and project.
What application instructions must applicants follow?
Applications must be prepared in accordance with the Department of Education's 2025 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42234).
Is there a resource for organizations new to Department of Education discretionary grants?
Yes. The notice points new applicants to the Department's "Getting Started with Discretionary Grant Applications" resource to help organizations unfamiliar with ED grantmaking navigate the process and avoid common compliance mistakes.
What is the overall intent of this center as described in the opportunity?
The opportunity describes NCIL as a national hub of expertise intended to operate at national scale, provide credible expertise grounded in evidence and practice, and translate that expertise into usable support for SEAs, REAs, LEAs, and schools working to improve literacy outcomes for students with disabilities.
Is this opportunity focused on improving instruction, systems, or both?
Based on the description, the center is expected to support both: building systems and support structures, and improving instructional practices related to literacy for students with disabilities.
Does this opportunity emphasize closing achievement gaps?
Yes. The broader Comprehensive Centers program explicitly emphasizes improving educational outcomes, closing achievement gaps, and raising the overall quality of instruction, with an emphasis on groups of students with the greatest need.
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