The U.S. Department of Education has announced the allocation of $256 million in new Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants aimed at improving literacy across the country. This marks the first time that three specific priorities set by Secretary Linda McMahon—strengthening evidence-based literacy instruction, expanding education choice, and returning education to the states—have guided EIR grantmaking.
A significant development this year is that 10 out of 24 new awards have been given to state education agencies. According to the Department, this represents the largest number of state-led literacy awards in any EIR competition and is a notable increase compared to previous years.
“As we return education to the states, my top priority is strengthening literacy outcomes in schools across America,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Every dollar from this year’s EIR awards will support the use and expansion of evidence-based literacy instruction, expand education choice, and empower grant recipients to build and sustain high-quality literacy support systems for students. This is a huge opportunity for states to lead, and they are rising to the occasion.”
More than 65% of these funds—over $167 million—will be directed toward projects serving rural communities. This exceeds the program’s requirement that at least 25% of EIR funds go to majority-rural areas.
Of the organizations receiving funding, 18 are first-time grantees under the EIR program. The Department says this demonstrates success in attracting innovative approaches based on evidence from a wider pool of applicants.
The EIR program uses a multi-tiered evidence structure designed to ensure federal dollars support both promising ideas and proven interventions on a larger scale. Funding levels are matched with project quality through Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion tiers; this year’s competition focused on Mid-phase and Expansion grants. These efforts aim to speed up adoption of effective literacy practices with measurable improvements for students.
Historically, fewer than one state agency per competition has received an EIR grant on average since 2017; only seven states have been awarded such grants over that period.
