The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has opened the FY2027-FY2028 Critical National Security Languages (CNSL) competitive grant program for Virginia public school divisions.
Opportunity
The program supports public school divisions that provide one or more courses in critical foreign languages identified by the National Security Language Initiative for Youth. For the current cycle, eligible languages are Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, and Russian.
Funding
Virginia appropriated $250,000 for FY2027 and $250,000 for FY2028 statewide. Individual awards are limited to an annual amount sufficient to support one or more full-time-equivalent teaching positions for eligible critical-language courses. VDOE does not publish a simple per-applicant dollar ceiling on the public program page.
Deadline
September 15, 2026. The application period opened August 13, 2026. VDOE expects status notifications by October 15, 2026.
Eligible applicants
Virginia public school divisions providing one or more qualifying critical-language courses.
Allowable use and match
Funds may support salary and benefits for eligible FTE teaching positions in qualifying languages. No local match is required. Grant funding may not supplant funding already committed to the project.
Atlas assessment
This is a verified open K-12 education opportunity and is included in Atlas for complete school-funding coverage. Direct Dr. Miltie N9+ relevance is low because the controlling use is teacher salary and benefits rather than healthcare delivery, school health, telehealth, or technology procurement. Atlas therefore does not recommend N9+ applicant outreach unless a future amendment materially broadens allowable uses.