The Michigan Department of Education Section 61b(8) Planning Grant for Career and Technical Education Early Middle College (CTE EMC) Programs provides competitive, non-formula planning funding to Michigan intermediate school districts (ISDs) or consortia of ISDs to open or expand state-approved CTE Early Middle College programs. The anticipated maximum grant is $50,000, subject to legislative authorization.
The current MDE application page and 2026-27 application checklist require the four completed application documents to be emailed to MDE-OCTE-Submissions@michigan.gov by September 18, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MDE does not publish a time zone for the cutoff, so Atlas does not infer one. Required documents are the Planning Grant Application, Planning Grant Partners Worksheet, Goals and Activities Worksheet, and CTE EMC Program Details Worksheet. An older May 20, 2026 technical-assistance presentation still contains NexSys submission language; the live application page and current checklist instead direct applicants to email the four documents, so Atlas treats those newer instructions as controlling.
Eligibility is limited to Michigan ISDs or consortia of ISDs. Proposed programs must fall within one of the most current top-five Career Clusters identified by at least one relevant Workforce Development Board service area and be approved by the Career Education Advisory Council. Applications proposing CIP codes outside the qualifying top-five framework are disqualified. MDE’s statewide eligible Section 61b list includes Health Science CIP areas such as biomedical sciences, health sciences/allied health, health information/medical records technology, and clinical/medical laboratory science, but an applicant must still verify its regional top-five alignment and CEAC approval.
The grant requires local matching funds equal to the grant received, a 1:1 mandatory match. No waiver is identified in the controlling materials. Administrative costs may not exceed 5%. Allowable planning examples include new equipment, supplies, textbooks, computers, software, laboratory supplies, promotion and recruitment materials, program-of-study development, postsecondary expenses, student supports, staffing, and contracted services such as technology services. The budget must identify the source of funds for each item, and non-61b matching funds must equal or exceed the 61b funds requested.
The scoring materials favor applicants that have not received a planning grant in the last three years, seek to open a new CTE EMC, use SMART goals, and align the budget clearly to proposed activities. Missing components, late or incomplete prior reports, poorly aligned activities, or insufficiently identified local match reduce scoring. Late, incomplete, or inaccurate applications are not accepted and there is no resubmission opportunity. Estimated award letters are expected in October 2026; funds must be expended by September 30, 2027, with the final outcome report due October 29, 2027 and final expenditure report due November 30, 2027. Questions go to MDE-OCTE-General@michigan.gov.
Atlas Opportunity Score: 86/100. N9+ Fit: 35/100, conditional and applicant-led. A legitimate N9+ pathway exists only where an eligible ISD’s region has qualifying Health Science alignment, CEAC approval is established, and Nonagon N9+ is legitimately budgeted as educational equipment/software supporting the approved CTE EMC program. This is not a clinical-care grant and N9+ should not be forced. QC Healthcare or other Dr. Miltie service fit is low and conditional. Dr. Miltie, LLC is not an eligible prime applicant, and no direct vendor solicitation or separate bidder-registration pathway is published. Because the opportunity requires a mandatory 1:1 local match, Atlas will not advance an applicant submission without Marc approval or a verified applicable waiver.