Federal grant programs / Department of Education

Indian Education National Activities (State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) and Native American Language (NAL) (84.415)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$34.4 million
• Grant awards44
• Typical award$734,682
• Awarded in FY 2025$9.5 million
• Size rank1,144 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $4.1 million in fiscal 2021 to $9.5 million in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 1144th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 73% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 17 states and territories.

What the program funds

The objectives of the State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) program (CFDA 84.415A) are to (a) promote Tribal self-determination in education; (b) improve the academic achievement of Indian children and youth; and (c) promote the coordination and collaboration of Tribal educational agencies (TEAs) with State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of Indian students. The objectives of the Native American Language (NAL) program (CFDA 84.415B) are to (a) to establish a grant program to support schools that use Native American and Alaska Native languages as the primary language of instruction; (b) to maintain, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans and Alaska Natives to use, practice, maintain, and revitalize their languages, as envisioned in the Native American Languages Act (25 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.); and (c) to support the Nation’s First Peoples’ efforts to maintain and revitalize their languages and cultures, and to improve educational opportunities and student outcomes within Native American and Alaska Native communities. National Activities funds also support, through contracts, the National Indian Education Study, technical assistance to grantees, peer review of new grant awards, and logistical support activities, including tribal consultations and listening sessions. The objective of the Native American Language Resource Centers program (CFDA 84.415C) is to support establishing, strengthening, and operating one or more Native American language resource centers.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

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

STEP: Tribal Educational Agencies (TEAs), including a consortium of TEAs. An Indian Tribe that receives funds from the BIE under section 1140 of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2020) is not eligible to receive funds under this program. NAL: The following entities, either alone or in a consortium, that have a plan to develop and maintain, or to improve and expand, programs that support the entity’s use of a Native American or Alaska Native language as the primary language of instruction in one or more elementary or secondary schools (or both) are eligible under this program: (a) An Indian Tribe. (b) A Tribal College or University (TCU). (c) A Tribal education agency. (d) An LEA, including a public charter school that is an LEA under State law. (e) A school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). (f) An Alaska Native Regional Corporation (as described in section 3(g) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(g))). (g) A private, Tribal, or Alaska Native nonprofit organization. (h) A non-Tribal for-profit organization.

What the money can and cannot pay for

STEP: The Secretary may award grants to enable the eligible applicants to (1) promote tribal self-determination in education; (2) improve the academic achievement of Indian children and youth; and (3) promote the coordination and collaboration of tribal educational agencies with State educational agencies and local educational agencies to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of Indian students. NAL: Funds may be used to develop, maintain, expand, or improve Native American Language programs.

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.

Deadlines

Oct 01, 2026 to Sep 30, 2027

Award range and average, in the agency's words

The average STEP award is $400,000. The average NAL award is $350,000. The average NALRC award is $324,000.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

Tribal governments and organizations received 51% of the money, state and local governments 19% and colleges and universities 18%.

By state

12 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.