Grants / Department of Labor / Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

DOL-OESE-33831: Innovative Approaches to Literacy 84.215G

Closed Closed June 9, 2026 Opportunity DOL-OESE-33831 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Office of Elementary and Secondary Education notices from 2026.

• Total funding$16.8 million
• Expected awards25
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

To be considered for an award under this competition, an applicant must be one or more of the following: (a) An LEA in which 20 percent or more of the students served by the LEA are from families with an income below the poverty line (as defined in section 8101(41) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA)). (b) A consortium of such LEAs described in paragraph (1) above. (c) The Bureau of Indian Education. (d) An eligible national nonprofit organization that serves children and students within the attendance boundaries of one or more eligible LEAs.Note: Under the definition of "poverty line" in section 8101(41) of the ESEA, the determination of the percentage of students served by an LEA from families with an income below the poverty line is based on the U.S. Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) data. An entity that meets the definition of an LEA in section 8101(30) of the ESEA and that serves multiple LEAs, such as a county office of education, an education service agency, or regional service education agency, must provide the most recent SAIPE data for each of the individual LEAs it serves. To determine whether the entity meets the poverty threshold, ED will derive the entity's poverty rate by aggregating the number of students from families below the poverty line (as provided in SAIPE data) in each of the LEAs the entity serves and 4 dividing it by the total number of students (as provided in SAIPE data) in all of the LEAs the entity serves. An LEA for which SAIPE data are not available, such as a non-geographic charter school, must provide a determination by the SEA that 20 percent or more of the students aged 5-17 in the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line based on the same State[1]derived poverty data the State educational agency used to determine the LEA's allocation under part A of title I of the ESEA.Note: If you are a nonprofit organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you may demonstrate your nonprofit status by providing (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; 2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual; or (3)a certified copy of the applicant's certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Most of the program's money (31% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor), is soliciting applications in support of the administration of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade in high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools. IAL promotes innovative literacy programs that support the development of literacy skills in low-income communities, including programs that (1) develop and enhance effective school library programs, which may include providing professional development for school librarians, books, and up-to-date materials to high-need schools; (2) provide early literacy services, including pediatric literacy programs through which, during well-child visits, medical providers trained in research-based methods of early language and literacy promotion provide developmentally appropriate books and recommendations to parents to encourage them to read aloud to their children starting in infancy; and (3) provide high-quality books on a regular basis to children and adolescents from low-income communities to increase reading motivation, performance, and frequency. By expanding access to high‐quality books, strengthening school library programs, and promoting early language and literacy development in low‐income communities, the IAL program directly advances the goal of increasing reading proficiency. These strategies build strong foundational skills from birth through adolescence, ensuring that children and students—particularly those in high‐need LEAs—receive the targeted supports necessary to improve their reading motivation, performance, and long‐term literacy outcomes.

Category: Employment, Labor and Training.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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