Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) Program

The Assistance for Arts Education (AAE) program, administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, supports initiatives that promote arts education for students, with a focus on disadvantaged students and students with disabilities. The program is authorized under section 4642 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and emphasizes activities such as professional development for arts educators, teachers, and principals; the creation and dissemination of accessible instructional materials and arts-based programming across multiple disciplines; and community and national outreach efforts that expand partnerships among schools, local educational agencies, communities, and centers for the arts. Projects must coordinate, where feasible, with relevant public or private cultural agencies and organizations, such as museums, arts associations, libraries, and theaters. For fiscal year 2025, approximately $13 million is available, with estimated awards ranging from $750,000 to $1,000,000 per year and an average award size of $850,000 per year. The Department anticipates making three to four awards for project periods of up to 60 months, with no award exceeding $1,000,000 in a single 12-month budget period. Awards are discretionary grants, contingent on the availability of funds and the quality of applications. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement, but funds must supplement and not supplant non-federal funds that would otherwise be used for similar activities. Indirect costs are subject to a restricted indirect cost rate. Eligible applicants include local educational agencies (LEAs) where at least 20 percent of students are from families with incomes below the federal poverty line, consortia of such LEAs, state educational agencies, institutions of higher education, museums or cultural institutions, the Bureau of Indian Education, eligible national nonprofit organizations, and other private agencies or organizations. LEA applicants must provide U.S. Census data verifying eligibility. Charter schools without census data must have state educational agency confirmation of eligibility based on Title I allocation criteria. Nonprofit applicants must document nonprofit status as specified in federal regulations. Faith-based organizations are eligible on the same basis as other private organizations. Applications open on August 11, 2025, and must be submitted by August 25, 2025. Applications must follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs and include evidence of meeting eligibility requirements. The Department will post a pre-application presentation on the AAE program webpage to assist prospective applicants. Applications should address the program requirements, align with statutory priorities, and adhere to the selection criteria, which include the quality of the project design (35 points), management plan (30 points), and adequacy of resources (35 points). A competitive preference priority is given to eligible national nonprofit organizations, and an invitational priority encourages projects aligned with patriotic education themes. Successful grantees must submit annual performance reports that track program performance measures, including numbers of participating students, educators receiving professional development, and instructional materials developed. Deliverables created with grant funds must be openly licensed to the public unless an exception applies. The Department reserves the right to consider applicants’ past performance in federal awards and may impose specific conditions on high-risk applicants. All projects must comply with applicable federal civil rights laws and nondiscrimination requirements. For more information, applicants may contact Asheley McBride at (202) 453-6398 or Sharon Burton at (202) 987-1762, or email AssistanceforArtsEducation@ed.gov. The program’s regulations and guidance are available on the Department of Education’s website, and the official notice can be accessed through the Federal Register.