FY2024: Civics Teaching and Learning

Fund Code: 589

Purpose:

The purpose of this competitive grant program is to support civics teaching and learning, including but not limited to implementation of student-led, non-partisan civics projects. As stated in Chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018, "In all public schools, history of the United States of America and social science, including civics, shall be taught as required subjects to promote civic service and a greater knowledge thereof and to prepare students, morally and intellectually, for the duties of citizenship." This grant supports LEAs to strengthen civics teaching and learning in any grade level; in addition, this grant supports implementation of grade 8 and high school civics projects which are required by law, as well as schools' and districts' participation in the annual statewide Massachusetts Civics Project Showcase.

For details about the Civics Projects and other civics instructional information please visit History, Social Science, and Civics.

Priorities:

DESE seeks to fund civics teaching and learning initiatives that exemplify:

• Equity. As a foundational step towards the long-term goal of culturally and linguistically sustaining learning environments, in 2023-2025, DESE will focus on promoting culturally responsive learning environments that are also linguistically sustaining. Civics learning experiences should create environments where students' cultures, identities, and linguistic backgrounds are viewed as assets and valuable resources. These learning experiences should further students' academic achievement, cultural competence, and sociopolitical awareness; they should also leverage explicit language instruction to provide all students access to rigorous content.
• Deeper learning. Grant-funded projects should help students master civic knowledge, skills and dispositions, appropriate to grade-level standards, through creative agency and opportunities to actively "do civics." Civic action should be student-led and meaningful to students as individuals, with relevance to their identities and lived experiences. Civic learning should be an integrated part of the larger curriculum, not isolated experiences, lessons, or units.
• Sustainability. Grant-funded projects should take steps towards long-term enhancements to civics teaching and learning. Investments such as professional development for educators or acquisition of needed instructional materials can provide benefits long past the period of this grant, as opposed to "one-off" activities.

Competitive Priorities

• Competitive priority in the scoring process will be given to LEAs with at least one school identified as requiring assistance according to the state accountability system.
• Additional competitive priority will be given to LEAs with a student population in which greater than 40% are designated as low-income.
• LEA partnerships are encouraged to facilitate local collaboration and capacity-building. A group of LEAs applying together will be given competitive priority. One LEA or collaborative should apply as the fiscal agent for the group.

Eligibility:

All Massachusetts Local Education Agencies (districts, charter schools, and Collaboratives) are eligible to apply.

Funding Type:

Trust

Funding:

Approximately $900,000 is available through this grant. Total amount of awards will be determined based on quality of proposals received.

Maximum award is determined by the total student enrollment of the applying LEA (or group of LEAs applying as a partnership).

Size Tier 1: LEAs or LEA groups enrolling up to 1,000 students (total)
May apply for up to $20,000

Size Tier 2: LEAs or LEA groups enrolling 1,001-6,000 students (total)
May apply for up to $40,000

Size Tier 3: LEAs or LEA groups enrolling 6,001 or more students (total)
May apply for up to $60,000

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. Funds will be awarded based upon the number of high-quality proposals received.

Fund Use:

This grant may fund projects within one or more of the following categories.

1. Purchase of curriculum intended to further students' civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions at any grade level. All curricular materials should be thoughtfully integrated if supplementing pre-existing curriculum; applicants are strongly encouraged to build upon existing quality curricular resources.
2. Professional development and/or collaborative planning for teachers and/or administrators focused on instruction of civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions in any grade level. This may include professional development on new curricular materials.
3. Implementation of civics projects, as required by Chapter 296 of the Acts of 2018 and described in the Civics Project Guidebook, in grade 8 and/or high school.
4. Civics learning experiences for students, including participation in local, regional, or the Spring 2024 state civics project showcase*, that are designed to enrich core curricular learning, in any grade level.

DESE will be hosting statewide civics project showcases in Spring 2024 and 2025. We anticipate that each showcase will be open to 8-10 students per district and are tentatively planning to host them in Central Massachusetts; we encourage LEAs to host local or regional civics project showcases to select the students who will attend the statewide showcase. If there are significant changes to the location and/or capacity of the 2024 or 2025 showcase that have implications for the cost to LEAs, LEAs who incorporated participation in the civics project showcase in their grant activities will have the opportunity to amend their grant as necessary by reassigning money between categories.

Fund use may include, but is not limited to:

• Stipends for teachers and administrators to participate in professional development or planning
• Purchasing curriculum/instructional materials. Note: If curriculum is being purchased, districts should also purchase associated professional development to support implementation.
• Contracting with external partners, including non-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, and professional development providers
• Student transportation and/or costs associated with special events or experiential learning opportunities, including local, regional, and the Spring 2024 state civics project showcase.

Funding restrictions:

• No funds may be dedicated toward salaries
• No funds may be used to purchase technology (e.g., Smart Boards, iPads)
• No greater than 5% of funds may be dedicated toward administrative costs associated with the grant
• If funds are being used to support Grades K–5 or Grade 8 curriculum implementation, curricular materials must:
  • Have been newly published or meaningfully revised since June 2021; if using materials which fall under this, please include a document from the curriculum vendor that clearly states the materials' copyright date.

Note: LEAs may submit proposals in response to both this grant and the Investigating History Implementation Grant (FC 653). However, in that case, FC 589 grant activities should focus on different grades from those in which the LEA is seeking to adopt the Investigating History curriculum through the FC 653 grant.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (no earlier than July 1, 2023) – June 30, 2024*

*The trust funded awardees (FC: 589) will have the option to extend their fund use in FY2025 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025). Once selected, grant recipients will be contacted with further information on the multi-year option.

Program Unit:

Office of Literacy and Humanities
Center for Instructional Support

Contact:

Kathryn Gabriele

Phone:

781-338-6241

Date Due:

Friday, May 12, 2023*
Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the date due.

*All responses must be received by the due date listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not received on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.

Required Forms:

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• Part II — Budget Details

• Part III — Signature Page

• Vendor Scope of Work — If the proposal includes contracting with an external organization, please submit a scope of work that includes that organization's planned activities and costs, on that organization's letterhead. Those costs should correspond to the budget submitted (Part II).

Additional Information:

Please refer to resources provided by the Mass Civics Learning Coalition for information about the civics law, civics teaching and learning materials, and partners.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be evaluating the impact of this grant. Grant recipients may be required to share a description of the outcomes of the grant and/or to submit grant-funded products; recipients may also be required to provide an external evaluator access to observe or attend grant activities. Educators in recipient districts may be asked to complete surveys or respond to questions regarding their work with the grant funds.

Submission Instructions:

Please email the required forms as listed above, attached to a single email, to instructionalsupport@mass.gov . Please use the subject line:

Civics Teaching and Learning Grant - Fund Code 589 - [Entity Name]

Please use the provided filetypes (word and excel). Please do not send jpgs or other filetypes. Signature pages may be sent as pdf documents.

Applicants will receive a confirmation when the materials are received. Early submission is strongly encouraged to ensure the complete application is received and confirmed by 5pm on the due date. Late and/or incomplete applications cannot be accepted.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget in EdGrants and upload required documents. Once selected, grant recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget in the Grants Management System and upload required documents. Once selected, grant recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Last Updated: June 27, 2024