Opportunity Overview
The Connecticut State Department of Education has opened RFP 868, the 2026-27 High-Dosage Tutoring Competitive Grant, to help Connecticut schools accelerate mathematics learning for students in Grades 6 through 10. Public Act 26-68 provides $2 million statewide for evidence-based tutoring programs that either create a new high-dosage tutoring model or expand and improve an existing one.
Funding and Deadline
Applications are due September 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT. Successful applicants may receive up to $50,000, estimated at approximately $2,500 per student served, subject to the biennial budget allocation. Funding is reimbursement-based. CSDE expects awards by September 25, 2026, funded programs must be ready to launch no later than October 23, 2026, and grant funds must be expended by June 30, 2027.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants include Connecticut public schools serving K-12 students, Regional Education Services Centers, governing authorities for state charter schools, state technical high schools, incorporated endowed high schools or academies, and nonpublic or private schools. The funded tutoring itself is focused on Grades 6-10 mathematics.
Priority Students
CSDE directs applicants to prioritize students with the strongest demonstrated need. The RFP specifically identifies students performing below proficiency; students classified as high need, including students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, English Learners, and students with IEPs; students experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and students who were chronically absent during the 2024-25 or 2025-26 school year.
Required Program Model
The strongest applications will build a structured tutoring model rather than generic homework help. CSDE expects consistent trained tutors, small-group or individual instruction, curriculum alignment, frequent tutor-teacher communication, standards-aligned materials, and measurable student progress. At minimum, schools should offer tutoring three times per week for at least 30 minutes per session.
External Tutor Vendor Control
LEAs using external tutoring organizations must procure trained tutors from CSDE’s eligible-vendor list. The RFP states that tutors obtained from external organizations not approved by CSDE will not be permitted. Applicants using a third-party tutoring model should therefore verify vendor status before locking the program design or budget.
Allowable Costs
Eligible spending can include tutor hiring or contracts, stipends or incentives for qualified tutoring personnel, district or school program-management staff, tutor training and coaching, curriculum and assessments, instructional materials, and hardware and software that directly facilitate tutoring. Rent for additional tutoring space may also qualify. Student cash benefits, construction, and technology or utility costs that do not directly support an eligible tutoring activity are not allowable.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 88/100. This is a useful Connecticut school-funding opportunity because the statewide pool is verified, the applicant universe is broad, and the RFP provides unusually clear implementation controls. The strongest proposals will quantify student need first, then connect tutoring design, staffing, dosage, curriculum, assessment and sustainability directly to that need.
N9+ Direct Vendor Fit: low. Although hardware and software can be eligible, this is a mathematics tutoring grant, not a school-health or clinical-technology opportunity. Atlas should not position N9+ as an eligible purchase unless a school can demonstrate a direct, program-specific instructional use that satisfies RFP 868 and CSDE confirms the expense.
Next Action
Confirm applicant eligibility, identify the Grades 6-10 mathematics population to be served, complete the required need and student data tables, select the tutoring delivery model, verify any external tutoring provider is on CSDE’s approved list, build a reimbursement-ready budget, define progress measures and a post-grant sustainability plan, and submit the complete application by September 11, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT.
Official source: Connecticut State Department of Education — RFP 868 High-Dosage Tutoring Competitive Grant.