Career Pathways Exploration Grant Program

The Career Pathways Exploration Grant Program is a new U.S. Department of Education competition under the joint ED/DOL Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership. It gives states money to build capacity for career exploration inside statewide career pathways and workforce-readiness programs for K-12 students. This is a state-government tool, not a local or nonprofit one, and the application structure reflects that: one application per state, submitted either by the governor or by a governor-designated state agency or consortium. The FY2026 competition makes $44 million available for six to fifteen awards, with a ceiling of $9 million per grant and a deadline of June 9, 2026. Eligible applicants are limited to state-level entities: governors, state educational agencies, state workforce development agencies, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, or state consortia designated by the governor. No local districts, universities, nonprofits, or private companies are eligible to lead. Applicants that do well here will be the ones that can connect career exploration to an existing statewide system rather than treating it as a stand-alone pilot. The program favors cross-agency coordination, state-level implementation capacity, and a route to reach students across a whole state. It is a substantial competition, but its audience is narrow, so it is mainly relevant to state teams with authority over K-12 and workforce programming.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.