The US Department of Education has announced $256 million in new Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants to improve literacy nationwide. These grants are the first awards made using three of Education Secretary McMahon’s grant-making priorities: strengthening evidence-based literacy instruction, expanding education choice, and returning education to the states.
As a result of the secretary’s policy of “returning education to the states,” ten of the 24 new awards went to state education agencies—marking the largest number of state-led literacy awards in any EIR competition and a significant increase over previous years.
“As we return education to the states, my top priority is strengthening literacy outcomes in schools across America,” said US secretary of education Linda McMahon. “Every dollar from this year’s EIR awards will support the use and expansion of evidence-based literacy instruction, expand education choice, and empower grant recipients to build and sustain high-quality literacy support systems for students. This is a huge opportunity for states to lead, and they are rising to the occasion.”
Over 65% of these awards, totaling more than $167 million, will support projects in the rural US. This exceeds the program’s requirement to dedicate at least 25% of EIR funds to projects supporting majority-rural communities.
Of the 24 grantees, 18 are new to the EIR program. The program’s multitiered evidence structure is intended to ensure that federal funds support both promising ideas and the large-scale expansion of evidence-backed interventions. The three tiers—early-phase, mid-phase, and expansion—align funding levels to the quality and rigor of the evidence supporting a proposed project. This year’s competition sought applications for mid-phase and expansion tiers. These grants “allow the Department to support proven approaches and accelerate the adoption of evidence-based literacy practices that deliver meaningful improvements in student outcomes.”
Historically, the department has awarded fewer than one EIR grant to a state education agency per competition, on average. In total, only seven states have received EIR awards since 2017.
The Louisiana Department of Education announced that it was awarded $15 million to lead a five-year study to expand the impact of high-dosage literacy tutoring for students in grades 1–2 who are below grade level in reading.
Other grants include:
- Arkansas: Nearly $25 million to scale literacy instruction and tutoring, leveraging the state’s LEARNS Act.
- Indiana: About $10 million to expand high-impact tutoring and training in reading, partnering with universities like Notre Dame.
- Massachusetts: $10 million for early literacy tutoring as part of broader state initiatives like Literacy Launch.
Eligible entities include state education agencies, local education agencies, universities, nonprofits, cities, and charter school operators.
The EIR program funds the creation, development, implementation, replication, or scaling of innovative, evidence-based approaches to improve student achievement. Projects must be rigorously evaluated, with findings shared publicly.
More information is available here.