U.S. Department of Education logo
Funder · Federal agency

U.S. Department of Education

Funds education research, innovation programs, and student support through schools and institutions.

United Stateswww.ed.gov
Key stats
Annual funding—
Programs5
Active grants0
Total grants5
About

The U.S. Department of Education funds education research, innovation programs, and targeted student-support grants through its principal offices — OESE, OPE, OSERS, OCTAE, and IES. It runs roughly 31 currently-open competitive discretionary grant programs in FY2026 covering K-12 schools, higher education, special education, workforce readiness, and education-technology small businesses.

The Department administers the SBIR program through IES (Institute of Education Sciences), making it the main federal entry point for edtech founders. The Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program funds evidence-based K-12 innovations at early, mid, and expansion phase. Federal TRIO programs (including Educational Opportunity Centers) support first-generation and low-income students through institutional grants.

The current (2025-2026) administration has directed the Secretary to 'facilitate the closure' of the Department, but statutory programs operating under ESEA, IDEA, HEA, and Perkins continue with FY26 appropriated funds. Grantmaking emphasis has shifted toward state-led delivery (only SEAs eligible for Career Pathways Exploration; EIR FY25 saw record state-agency awardee share). Applications flow through Grants.gov; ed.gov program pages link out.

Programs & grants under this funder
Career Pathways Exploration Grant Program

Helps Career Pathways Exploration Grant Program for State-level grants to build career exploration and workforce-readiness pathways for K- students.

1 grant
Career Pathways Exploration Grant Program
Opens 2027
$44M pool
Education Innovation and Research (EIR)

Helps Education Innovation and Research for Evidence-based K- innovations for high-need students.

ED/IES Small Business Innovation Research Program

Funds small businesses developing and evaluating education technology through SBIR phases.

2 grants
ED/IES SBIR Phase I
Scheduled
— pool
ED/IES SBIR Phase II
Scheduled
— pool
TRIO — Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC)

Helps TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers for help adults for innovation and strategic advancement.

1 grant
TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers
Opens 2027
$52.6M pool
Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program (TSL)

Helps Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program for educators in high-need schools.

1 grant
Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program
Opens 2027
$60M pool
Last verified: 26 May 2026Source: www.ed.gov