Federal grant programs / Department of Homeland Security

Cybersecurity Education and Training (97.127)

Also known as Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program (CETAP)

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$31.4 million
• Grant awards6
• Typical award$1.5 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$0
• Size rank1172 of 1824
• Type of assistanceProject grants

Key findings

• It is the 1172nd largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 5 largest recipients received 100% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 4 states and territories.

What the program funds

Section 2220 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (codified as amended at 6 U.S.C. § 665f0) establishes the CETAP within CISA. The statutory purpose of CETAP is to support CISA’s efforts in building and strengthening a national cybersecurity workforce pipeline capacity through enabling elementary and secondary cybersecurity education. This includes providing foundational cybersecurity awareness and literacy, encouraging cybersecurity career exploration, and supporting the teaching of cybersecurity skills at the elementary and secondary education levels. To fund such cybersecurity and infrastructure security education and training programs and initiatives, Section 2220 authorizes CISA to provide financial assistance to eligible federal entities to carry out the statutory CETAP purposes and enhance CETAP to address the national shortfall of cybersecurity professionals. CISA awards financial assistance under the CETAP through cooperative agreements with non-profit organizations to develop cybersecurity curriculum and professional development opportunities for K-12 students, educators, administrators, and student caregivers and conduct outreach to increase cybersecurity awareness within that K-12 community. The objectives of CETAP financial assistance are to: (1) create cyber training pathways for K-12 students and educators by providing an adaptable cybersecurity curricular model; (2) promote awareness of national cybersecurity education opportunities; (3) develop partnerships and increase stakeholder engagement to maximize outreach efforts and the impact of cybersecurity education across the K-12 community; and (4) increase awareness of all CETAP tools and resources.

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

Nonprofit organizations, other than institutions of higher education Nonprofit organizations are eligible applicants under the CETAP. A “nonprofit organization” means any organization that: (1) is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; (2) is not organized primarily for profit; (3) uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the organization’s operations; and (4) is not an institution of higher education as defined at 20 U.S.C. § 1001. A nonprofit organization may or may not have an effective ruling letter from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service granting tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

What the money can and cannot pay for

Education; Elementary and Secondary The CETAP provides financial assistance for a non-profit organization to develop cybersecurity curriculum and professional development opportunities for K-12 students and their educators, administrators, and caregivers and engage in outreach to increase cybersecurity education awareness within that K-12 community. The eligible work under a cooperative agreement may include: drafting and implementing a written engagement and retention strategy specifying how the applicant will achieve all program objectives; creating and maintaining K-12 cybersecurity curriculum; developing marketing and outreach efforts to increase awareness of cybersecurity in the K-12 community; and creating professional development opportunities. The allowable direct costs to pursue eligible work may include: salaries and fringe benefits of a recipient’s employees; travel costs of a recipient’s employees; costs to purchase necessary equipment and supplies; contract costs; and management and administrative costs. Indirect costs are also allowable. Unallowable costs include pre-award costs, subawards , construction and renovation of buildings or other physical facilities, and acquisition of land or physical facilities. The Notice of Funding Opportunity will detail the eligible work, allowable costs, and restrictions on the use of federal funds.;

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

Deadlines The Notice of Funding Opportunity will detail the open application period and deadline for applying for a cooperative agreement under the CETAP. For planning purposes, the open application period for the CETAP is generally 61 days and extends from on or about May 1 to July 2. As it relates to requesting funding for additional budget periods, CISA will notify an incumbent recipient as to the availability of continuation funding for an additional budget period on or around May 1 and, if making such funding available, provide the recipient with 60 days to submit its continuation funding request

Award range and average, in the agency's words

CISA awarded a competitive cooperative agreement to a single non-profit organization in FY 2023 with a 5-year period of performance comprised of five 1-year budget periods. The funding awarded for the initial 1-year budget period was $6.8 million and the projected continuation funding to be awarded for the second 1-year budget period is $6.8 million. Therefore, $6.8 million is both the range and average of financial assistance.

Examples of funded projects

Fiscal Year2025: The recipient will continue expanding cybersecurity education by developing five universally accessible, cyber-integrated K–12 courses and delivering 250 cybersecurity professional development sessions nationwide, demonstrating continued program growth and expanded national reach. Through these efforts, the recipient will train 6,500 education professionals, including educators serving Title I school communities, while maintaining at least 85% of participants demonstrating increased knowledge based on exit survey results aligned to session learning objectives. The recipient will also establish 14 new stakeholder partnerships to further expand program impact and strengthen pathways connecting education to cybersecurity workforce opportunities.

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

Almost all of the money went to nonprofits.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

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