Important Grant Application Update – Partnership Submissions

Please be advised that there have been updates to the application process for submissions made in partnership with any external civic organizations, community partners, or other districts. If you are submitting in a partnership, please email [email protected] upon submittal of the application and indicate the entities involved in the partnership. Additional information about the partner(s) will be collected later.

Overview

The Public School Districts’ Opioid Recovery Trust (“the Trust”) aims to help public school districts recover from the opioid epidemic and develop responses to enhance educating students harmed by the opioid epidemic. By students harmed by the opioid epidemic we primarily mean students born with neonatal opioid withdrawal symptoms, many of whom require special education supports, but we also mean students who have suffered traumatic family loss and educational interruptions because of the opioid epidemic.

Funding from the trust will go where it will have the greatest help, whether classroom services, school-based behavioral and mental health supports, instructional innovations, or other district and school-based supports that directly affect students harmed by the opioid epidemic.

The grants will be awarded to independent public school districts who demonstrate a clear need for opioid recovery and support services and a plan to integrate these services into their existing support frameworks. The grants cannot supplant funding for legally mandated or existing services. The Trust will consider grant applications from districts applying in partnerships with external civic and community partners or with partner districts but in all cases grant funds will be awarded directly to the districts.

Types of Grants

Districts can apply for funding for up to three types of grants, each with a maximum grant value of $500,000, which must be drawn down and used over a period of three fiscal years after the grant has been distributed. For more information about the types of grants, please refer to the Request for Proposal (RFP) and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Grant Type

Description

District Improvement Grants

(maximum grant value of $500,000)

Intended to help districts of all sizes respond to system-wide challenges triggered by the opioid epidemic. In applying for these grants, districts should consider how they coordinate and align their resources with complementary resources in their wider communities in support of services for students harmed by the opioid crisis. These grants might include efforts to improve:

• The identification of these students in need, as well as the processes and structures that channel these students into available services, especially special education services,
• The types of school programs and modifications available for these students given their needs,
• The capacity of adults in districts to support these students,
• The tools with which districts assess the progress of these students and respond accordingly to their needs, and
• The bridges between the district and its schools, and among the district and surrounding civic and community resources to maximize opportunities for these students and augment the capacity of the district to serve them.

We encourage districts to partner with external agencies and organizations in applying for this type of grant. We also encourage small and/or rural districts to partner with each other to leverage resources and achieve economies of scale.

Model Programs and Best Practices Grants

(maximum grant value of $500,000)

These grants will help districts build or adopt model programs, based on evidence, to support students harmed by the opioid crisis, including programs and best practices in areas such as teaching approaches, curricular modifications, extended learning opportunities, mental health supports and restorative practices, forms of acceleration and enrichment, and using technology to foster student engagement and increase student learning, etc.

Districts can apply for these grants with external civic and community partners or with partner districts. We are primarily interested in improving special education programs serving these students, but we are also interested in the development and improvement of programs that address the needs of these harmed students before classification or in cases when these students have not been classified.

Innovation Grants

(maximum grant value of $500,000)

These grants will enhance the ability of districts to introduce and test new, innovative approaches to support students impacted by the opioid crisis. These approaches can be at the level of the student, the class, the school and/or the district in relation to the family and community and include areas such as teaching approaches, curricular modifications, extended learning opportunities, mental health supports and restorative practices, forms of acceleration and enrichment, and using technology to foster student engagement and increase learning, etc.

Districts can apply for these grants with external civic and community partners or with partner districts. We are primarily interested in improving special education programs serving these students, but we are also interested in the development and improvement of programs that address the needs of these harmed students before classification or in cases when these students have not been classified.

Dates and Deadlines

Notices of Intent to Apply can be submitted immediately. Applications must be submitted electronically no later than 5 P.M. EST on Sunday, December 15, 2024. All costs incurred in preparing an application, responding to the RFP, and/or participating in any interview process will be the responsibility of the applicant. Costs of applying will not be reimbursed.

Grant Application Opens

July 15, 2024

Grant Application Deadline

December 15, 2024

Grant Announcement

April 15, 2025