Opportunity Overview
The North Carolina Competency-Based Education Innovation Grant Program is a multi-year NCDPI opportunity supporting schools that are ready to redesign teaching, learning, assessment, and student progression around demonstrated mastery rather than seat time. Applications opened August 19, 2026 and are due October 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM. NCDPI’s controlling public page does not state a time zone, so Atlas does not infer one.
Funding and Scale
NCDPI will select 10 North Carolina schools to receive $330,000 each, for a total program investment of $3.3 million. The initiative runs through June 30, 2030, with 2026-2027 focused on planning and preparation, implementation beginning in 2027-2028, and continued implementation, evaluation, and refinement through 2030.
Who Can Apply
All North Carolina public school units may apply on behalf of schools. NCDPI is looking for schools that can demonstrate strong commitment to competency-based education, readiness for sustained instructional transformation, and the leadership capacity to carry a multi-year change effort through implementation and evaluation.
What the Program Supports
Selected schools will participate in professional learning, technical assistance, collaborative learning, monitoring, evaluation, and quarterly progress reporting. The program is designed around personalized learning pathways, flexible demonstrations of mastery, rigorous learning experiences aligned with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, and a deliberate shift away from time-based progression as the primary measure of learning.
Atlas Strategic Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100. This is a meaningful school-transformation opportunity because the award is large enough to support a multi-year instructional model rather than a one-time purchase. The strongest applicants will connect leadership, instructional design, assessment systems, educator development, student supports, and implementation capacity into one coherent plan.
N9+ Fit Score: 3/100. This is fundamentally an instructional-transformation grant, not a school-health, telehealth, connected-diagnostics, or remote physical examination procurement. N9+ should not be forced into the opportunity.
Recommended Next Action
Review the NCDPI CBE Initiative Guidance & Planning Document and application materials, identify the specific school or schools that are organizationally ready for a four-year transformation effort, document leadership commitment and current instructional constraints, and build a phased plan covering planning, launch, evaluation, and sustainability. Submit the complete application through the designated NCDPI process by October 18 at 5:00 PM. Because NCDPI does not state a time zone on its controlling public page, applicants should confirm the portal cutoff directly rather than assume Eastern Time.
Verified source: North Carolina Department of Public Instruction – Office of Teaching and Learning.