New Round of Grants for Digital Teaching and Learning Available for 2024-2025

Digital Teaching and Learning in North Carolina’s public schools will benefit from a new round of competitive grants that were approved December 7, 2023 by the State Board of Education.

Up to $1.25 million in grants funded by the General Assembly through the state’s Digital Learning Initiative will be available to school districts, charter schools, lab schools and regional schools during the 2024-2025 school year. Over the past seven years, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Digital Teaching and Learning Division has committed more than $10 million dollars in similar grants to help schools and districts develop and strengthen digital-age learning initiatives.

“This agency has had a long history of prioritizing and securing funding for Digital Teaching and Learning grants, and I’m excited to see us continue these efforts today,” State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said. “As our world continues to become more interconnected, technology embedded within North Carolina classrooms will better help our students prepare for the wide range of opportunities upon graduation. I look forward to the creative proposals that will be put forth by schools across the state and seeing how they will enhance teaching and learning for all students.”

These competitive grants are intended to support North Carolina districts and schools as they address challenges, harness opportunities and leverage resources for digital-age teaching and learning. As specified in the state’s Digital Learning Plan, this grant program is intended to support the development and dissemination of local innovative digital teaching and learning across North Carolina.

Following the board’s approval, NCDPI is now seeking proposals for grants in two categories: digital learning impact and emerging technologies. All North Carolina districts, charter schools and regional schools are eligible to apply.

The window for the request for proposals for the grants opened December 7, 2023 and will close with a March 4, 2024 deadline.

 The materials related to the Request for Proposals are available on the Digital Teaching and Learning website for detailed information about this grant opportunity and submission guidelines.

The Impact Grant:

The Digital Learning Impact Grant is a 3-year grant that is intended to provide the awarded Public School Units (PSUs) the ability to plan, implement and assess a digital learning initiative. Recipients of this grant will be provided with funding for three years. Request for Proposals for the Impact Grant.

• Up to $95,000 each year for traditional PSUs
• Up to $30,000 each year for charter, regional and lab schools

Emerging Technologies Grant:

The intention of this grant is to provide PSUs funding for emerging technologies that are not already a part of the PSUs purchase and refresh plan. Request for Proposals for the Emerging Technology Grant.

• PSUs can request:
  • Up to $50,000 for traditional public school units
  • Up to $25,000 for Charter, Regional, and Lab Schools

The deadline for all application submissions is March 4, 2023, at 5 p.m.

Below is a schedule of webinars that will be offered to support PSUs with their grant applications. Each webinar series will be recorded and available for review on the DLI Grants website.

We look forward to many of our North Carolina PSUs engaging in this competitive process as we continue to foster digital-age innovative teaching and  learning across our state. If you have questions, please contact Lindsey Sipe (Lindsey.Sipe@dpi.nc.gov).