The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is administering the FY2027 Special Support Earmarks, Fund Codes 0005 / 0006 / 7061 / 9611. This is a state-funded legislative-earmark vehicle for Massachusetts public school districts specifically named in the FY27 state budget. It is not an open competitive grant for organizations that are not named recipients.
Funding and deadline
DESE states that approximately $300,000 is available across the four fund codes, subject to availability and the recipient-specific enacted earmarks. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but must be submitted no later than Friday, October 23, 2026. The governing DESE page does not publish a clock time or time zone, so Atlas does not infer one.
Eligibility and fund use
Eligibility is limited to public school districts listed in the FY27 state budget. DESE identifies the fund use as educational improvement earmarks. Each named recipient must use its award for the purpose established by the applicable legislative earmark and approved application. The public RFP page does not establish a universal per-applicant cap or a universal non-Federal match requirement; recipient-specific amounts and purposes must be verified against the controlling allocation schedule and enacted budget language before organization-level package work, procurement analysis, or outreach.
The project period is July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Funds cannot be drawn before DESE receives a substantially approvable application, and funds cannot extend beyond the project period unless the applicable budget language provides otherwise.
Submission
Applications must be submitted in GEM$. At the LEA level, DESE requires established roles for the grant writer for the applicable fund code, LEA fiscal review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign-off. Forms must be uploaded, maintained, or sent as directed in GEM$ and by the individual forms.
Atlas assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 82/100. School/Education Funding Score: 95/100. N9+ Fit: 0/100 pending recipient-specific earmark review. QC Healthcare Fit: 5/100 pending recipient-specific earmark review. These conservative scores do not mean that no health-related earmark exists; they mean the umbrella RFP alone does not establish a specific healthcare, clinical-equipment, or procurement pathway. Any such fit must be verified from the named recipient’s enacted purpose before it is scored or discussed. Dr. Miltie direct-applicant fit: 0/100 because Dr. Miltie is not a named public-school recipient.
Official source: Massachusetts DESE — FY2027 Special Support Earmarks, Fund Codes 0005 / 0006 / 7061 / 9611.