Opportunity Overview
The Public School Districts’ Opioid Recovery Trust is accepting Phase 2 proposals from independent public school districts nationwide, including eligible Idaho and Georgia districts, for direct services and innovative projects that help students harmed by the opioid epidemic. The Trust specifically identifies classroom services, school-based behavioral and mental health supports, instructional interventions, special-education supports, restorative practices, and other district or school-based services. Proposals focused on students with disabilities born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome receive special consideration.
Funding
Districts may apply across up to three grant types, District Improvement Grants, Model Programs and Best Practices Grants, and Innovation Grants, with a maximum grant value of $500,000 for each grant type. Funds must be drawn down and used within three fiscal years. Grant funds may not supplant legally mandated or existing services; they must extend or expand existing services or introduce new services. The controlling RFP reviewed does not state a mandatory match or cost-share requirement.
Eligibility
Any independent public school district is eligible; charter or private-school networks are not eligible. Applicants must demonstrate a clear opioid-recovery/support need and integrate proposed services into existing support frameworks. Districts may apply with external civic/community partners or partner districts, but grant funds are paid to the lead district. Multi-district proposals receive special consideration.
Deadline and Submission
Applications are due Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST and must be submitted electronically through the Trust’s application portal. A Notice of Intent is encouraged but not required. Questions must be submitted in writing to info@SchoolDistrictOpioidRecoveryGrants.com; contacting Trust employees outside the prescribed process may be grounds for disqualification.
Proposal Requirements
The full proposal includes an abstract/summary, applicant and project-lead information, executive summary, project narrative and needs assessment supported by data, goals/objectives, project design and implementation plan, evaluation plan, sustainability plan, budget and budget justification, and references. Budget categories expressly include personnel, fringe benefits, contractual services, consultants, equipment, travel, supplies, and other costs. Research activities are not eligible. Awardees are subject to financial and program reporting, record-retention, audit, and award-agreement requirements.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 96/100. This is a high-value, currently open school-focused opportunity with direct relevance to student mental health, special education, opioid/fentanyl prevention and recovery supports, family/community partnerships, and technology-enabled service delivery.
N9+ Fit Score: 52/100, conditional. The RFP expressly allows equipment and school-based behavioral/mental-health supports, creating a legitimate pathway for a remote physical-examination platform only where an applicant can show that telehealth-enabled clinical access directly benefits students harmed by the opioid epidemic. N9+ should not be inserted as a generic technology purchase or where the project is purely educational. QC Healthcare fit: 20/100, conditional unless a district’s verified project requires allowable healthcare services or supplies directly tied to the funded student-support model.
Maine Priority
Maine School Administrative District 27 (MSAD 27), which oversees the newly opened Upper St. John Valley Recovery High School in Fort Kent, is a high-priority Maine prospect. The recovery school directly serves secondary students recovering from substance-use disorders and has existing education, university, behavioral-health, and healthcare partnerships. A Phase 2 proposal would need to expand or extend services rather than supplant the existing Maine Recovery Council-funded program. A multi-district expansion, additional recovery-school capacity, or a new evidence-based student-support model could align particularly well with the Trust’s district-improvement, model-program, or innovation pathways.
MSAD 27 Atlas Organization Opportunity Score: 98/100. N9+ Fit Score: 68/100, conditional. The rural recovery-school model and existing healthcare partnerships create a legitimate potential role for the Nonagon N9+ remote physical examination platform if a new or expanded project uses guided examinations, vitals, and telehealth-enabled clinical encounters to improve access for students directly affected by the opioid epidemic. N9+ should not be included as a generic equipment purchase, and any proposed cost must be tied directly to the funded student-support model and confirmed allowable in the final district budget.
Idaho Priority
Idaho’s official opioid-overdose vulnerability assessment identifies Ada, Bannock, Bear Lake, Benewah, Boise, Clearwater, Kootenai, and Nez Perce counties in the highest vulnerability quintile. Independent public school districts serving those areas are priority Idaho prospects when they can document student-level opioid impacts and a compliant project. Joint School District 171 in Orofino is an initial high-fit candidate because it serves Clearwater County; St. Maries Joint School District 41 is another candidate in Benewah County. Applicant-specific evidence of student need remains required.
Georgia Priority
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System is a particularly strong Georgia prospect because it already operates an opioid/fentanyl-focused Positive Peer Influencer program across multiple middle and high schools with community partners, creating a credible platform for a model-program, district-improvement, or innovation proposal. Other Georgia independent public school districts remain eligible and should be prioritized using local opioid-impact data, underfunding, vulnerable-student need, implementation capacity, and partnership readiness.
Official controlling source: Public School Districts’ Opioid Recovery Trust — Phase 2 RFP. Atlas verified September 13, 2026.