Rural Education (84.358)
Rural Education (Assistance Listing 84.358) is run by the Department of Education. It awarded $1.0 billion in 20,850 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $48,497 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $23,349. Half of the 20,850 awards fell between $14,277 and $33,222, and they ranged from $48 to $12.4 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$1.0 billion
- Grant awards20,850
- Typical award$23,349
- Awarded in FY 2025$209 million
- Size rank254 of 1,823
- Type of assistanceFormula grants
Key findings
- Annual funding rose from $185 million in fiscal 2021 to $209 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 254th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 44% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 49 states and territories.
What the program funds
To provide financial assistance to rural districts to carry out activities to help improve the quality of teaching and learning in their schools.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
For SRSA, eligible recipients are local educational agencies (LEAs) in which (1) the total number of students in average daily attendance at all of the schools served by the LEA is less than 600 or where each school in the LEA is located in a county with a total population density of less than 10 persons per square mile; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are designated as rural by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) using the NCES school locale methodology in place at the time of enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) or the LEA is located in an area of the State defined as rural by a State governmental agency. For RLIS, eligible recipients are State educational agencies (SEAs). SEAs then must distribute funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) on a formula or competitive basis. An LEA is eligible to receive a grant under RLIS only if (1) at least 20 percent of the school children ages 5-17 in the LEA come from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (2) all of the schools served by the LEA are designated with a school locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43 under the NCES school locale methodology in place at the time of ESSA’s enactment. If an SEA chooses not to participate in the program, the Secretary uses the State's allocation to make direct grants to eligible LEAs in the State. If an LEA is eligible for both SRSA and RLIS, the LEA may choose in which program to participate.
What the money can and cannot pay for
The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) consists of the Small, Rural School Achievement program (SRSA) and the Rural and Low-Income School program (RLIS). Under SRSA, LEAs may use program funds to carry out activities authorized under: (1) Part A of Title I (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies); (2) Part A of Title II (Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants); (3) Title III (English Language Acquisition State Grants); (4) Part A of Title IV (Student Support and Academic Enrichment State Grants); and (5) Part B of Title IV (21st Century Community Learning Centers). Eligible LEAs also may (under the Alternative Fund Use Authority) consolidate funds they receive from these sources (except for Title I, Part A) to carry out effective activities under any of the authorized programs, including Title I, Part A. Under RLIS, LEAs may use program funds for: (1) Part A of Title I (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies); (2) Part A of Title II (Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants); (3) Title III (English Language Acquisition State Grants); (4) Part A of Title IV (Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants); and (5) parental involvement activities.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
FY 23: Range of new awards for SRSA: $96 - $79,168; Average new award for SRSA: $25,638. Range of new awards for RLIS: $43,003 - $11,645,570; Average new award for RLIS: $2,2753,648. FY 24: Range of new awards for SRSA: $269 - $81,880; Average new award for SRSA: $26,328. Range of new awards for RLIS: $37,934 - $11,270,153; Average new award for RLIS: $2,420,000. FY 25: Range of new awards for SRSA: $263 - $80,019; Average new award for SRSA: $25,730. Range of new awards for RLIS: $37,049 - $11,008,677; Average new award for RLIS: $2,365,000.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Rural Education (84.358) awarded $1.0 billion across 20,850 grant awards, an average of $48,497 per award.
Who usually wins
State and local governments received 96% of the money, colleges and universities 2.8% and nonprofits 0.3%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| State and local governments | 20,520 | $974 million | 96% |
| Colleges and universities | 28 | $28.6 million | 2.8% |
| Other | 166 | $3.7 million | 0.4% |
| Nonprofits | 89 | $2.5 million | 0.3% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 18 | $1.5 million | 0.1% |
| Businesses | 22 | $795,790 | less than 0.1% |
| Small businesses | 7 | $220,509 | less than 0.1% |
By state
47 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,920 | $103 million |
| California | 1,512 | $64.8 million |
| Oklahoma | 1,545 | $60.2 million |
| Georgia | 37 | $43.0 million |
| Missouri | 1,212 | $39.5 million |
| Illinois | 1,164 | $37.0 million |
| North Carolina | 149 | $35.6 million |
| Arizona | 709 | $33.0 million |
| Kentucky | 36 | $31.7 million |
| Mississippi | 9 | $31.4 million |
| Michigan | 824 | $27.1 million |
| Ohio | 329 | $25.9 million |
| New York | 646 | $25.7 million |
| Arkansas | 251 | $25.4 million |
| Alabama | 8 | $25.1 million |
| Minnesota | 805 | $24.7 million |
| Nebraska | 860 | $24.6 million |
| Iowa | 629 | $23.2 million |
| Wisconsin | 661 | $23.0 million |
| Montana | 1,335 | $22.4 million |
| Tennessee | 36 | $21.2 million |
| Kansas | 802 | $20.8 million |
| South Carolina | 5 | $20.2 million |
| Louisiana | 15 | $18.2 million |
| Florida | 8 | $17.4 million |
| Washington | 563 | $15.7 million |
| New Mexico | 218 | $15.1 million |
| Virginia | 25 | $14.1 million |
| Colorado | 473 | $14.0 million |
| Oregon | 408 | $13.1 million |
| New Jersey | 371 | $11.8 million |
| West Virginia | 5 | $11.4 million |
| Maine | 393 | $10.4 million |
| Idaho | 374 | $10.0 million |
| South Dakota | 435 | $9.7 million |
| North Dakota | 521 | $9.4 million |
| Pennsylvania | 156 | $8.6 million |
| New Hampshire | 367 | $7.9 million |
| Indiana | 96 | $7.3 million |
| Massachusetts | 232 | $6.8 million |
| Connecticut | 217 | $6.2 million |
| Utah | 144 | $6.1 million |
| Alaska | 198 | $3.9 million |
| Nevada | 44 | $2.2 million |
| Delaware | 10 | $988,189 |
| Maryland | 5 | $671,151 |
| Rhode Island | 35 | $667,331 |
| Wyoming | 24 | $627,877 |
| District of Columbia | 1 | $550,000 |