Secretary McMahon's Grant Priorities: Shaping the Future of American Education

Amidst a landscape of evolving educational needs and declining academic outcomes, the Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary Linda McMahon, is actively working to revitalize American education. Secretary McMahon has released five supplemental priorities to guide the Department’s grantmaking. These priorities are designed to prepare every student for success in school, work, and life. A key strategy in achieving this vision is the strategic allocation of discretionary grants, focusing on areas such as Meaningful Learning, Career Pathways, and Workforce Readiness. These Secretarial priorities will be used in grant competitions across the Department to promote instructional models that strengthen core instruction, foster deep conceptual understanding, and offer personalized and meaningful learning opportunities, as well as to support career and technical education and work-based learning opportunities integrated into K-12 systems and higher education.

Meaningful Learning: Fostering Deep Understanding and Personalized Education

The Meaningful Learning initiative is designed to strengthen core instruction in key areas such as mathematics. It aims to expand access to high-quality instructional materials, ensuring that educators have the resources they need to deliver effective lessons. Furthermore, it promotes the implementation of effective interventions and supports to address individual student needs.

This initiative seeks to create competency-based instructional models, allowing students to progress at their own pace and master concepts before moving on. Strategic staffing models, implementation of new school day schedules, and expanded access to high-impact tutoring are also key components, designed to optimize the learning environment and provide personalized support to students. Meaningful Learning also supports career-connected learning, bridging the gap between classroom instruction and real-world applications, and advances innovative assessment models to measure student progress more effectively.

Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness: Aligning Education with Industry Needs

Recognizing the importance of preparing students for the workforce, the Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness initiative focuses on aligning workforce development programs with state priorities. It encourages state efforts to identify industry-recognized credentials, ensuring that students gain skills and qualifications that are valued by employers.

This initiative also aims to build the skilled trades, promoting careers in high-demand sectors, and foster industry-led sector partnerships to ensure that education and training programs are aligned with industry needs. Increasing work-based learning opportunities, expanding pre-apprenticeships, and fostering the development of talent marketplaces are additional strategies to provide students with practical experience and connect them with potential employers.

Aligning Grantmaking with Priorities

The Secretarial Supplemental Priorities are tools that allow the Administration to align discretionary grant competitions with its priorities. To date, Secretary McMahon has released five supplemental priorities to guide the Department’s grantmaking: Evidence-Based Literacy promotes proven methods of literacy instruction, such as the science of reading, to bolster student performance; Expanding Education Choice expands access to education choice across all applicable discretionary grant competitions; Returning Education to the States enables the Department to prioritize state applicants in competitions where they qualify as eligible entities or applicants can endorse other types of entities; Advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education encourages the responsible use of AI technologies to enhance classroom efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and improve teacher training and evaluation; and Prioritizing Patriotic Education promotes civic education that teaches American history and America’s founding principles in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring.

Evidence-Based Literacy: Promoting the Science of Reading

Recognizing the critical importance of literacy, the Department of Education is committed to promoting evidence-based literacy instruction. This priority focuses on proven methods of literacy instruction, such as the science of reading, to bolster student performance. By ensuring that educators are equipped with the knowledge and tools to implement effective literacy strategies, the Department aims to improve reading outcomes for all students. According to the announcement, the Education Department will promote literacy instruction based on evidence to ensure that strategies using the science of reading will be used in K12 schools.

Expanding Education Choice: Empowering Parents and Students

The Department of Education is committed to expanding access to education choice across all applicable discretionary grant competitions. This priority includes a “menu” of options depending on a grant program’s purpose and goals. It will also have the broadest applicability across grant programs, the Education Department wrote. Parents who choose private school - the department notes they “are still Federal taxpayers” - may benefit from additional guidance McMahon recently provided on the services public school districts provide, or contract with third-parties to provide, for eligible children.

Returning Education to the States: Empowering Local Control

The Department of Education prioritizes state applicants in competitions where they qualify as eligible entities or applicants can endorse other types of entities. This emphasis on state control allows for greater flexibility and responsiveness to local needs, empowering states to tailor education programs and initiatives to meet the unique challenges and opportunities within their communities.

Advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education: Enhancing Learning and Efficiency

Recognizing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence, the Department of Education encourages the responsible use of AI technologies to enhance classroom efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and improve teacher training and evaluation. By leveraging AI, educators can personalize learning experiences, streamline administrative tasks, and gain valuable insights into student progress.

Prioritizing Patriotic Education: Cultivating Civic Engagement

The Department of Education promotes civic education that teaches American history and America’s founding principles in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring. By fostering a deeper understanding of American history and civics, the Department aims to cultivate informed and engaged citizens who are prepared to participate in our democracy.

Charter Schools Program: Investing in Innovation and Choice

In May 2025, during National Charter Schools Week, McMahon announced that the department would increase the Charter Schools Program (CSP) funding by $60 million this year (FY 2025), raising the program’s total budget to a historic $500 million.

Charter Management Organization Grants

The department will award $263 million over the next five years to 22 new grantees, the highest amount in the history of the grant program.

Developer Grants

The department will award $10.7 million over the next five years for seven new grants, three times as much as last year.

Credit Enhancement Grants

The department will award five new grants awards totaling $95.4 million, the highest awarded amount in the last ten years of the grant program.

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This week, the N.C. NC GROW Charter Schools - which stands for NC Growing Results-Oriented Wins with Charter Schools - will operate for five years from 2025-30, and it will be led by the association. “We are excited about the impact this will have on the future of education in our state as we partner with stakeholders and communities,” said Rhonda Dillingham, executive director of the association.

Public Input and Rulemaking Process

The Department of Education values public input and is committed to a transparent rulemaking process. The Notice of Proposed Priority (NPP) for Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Priorities has been published in the Federal Register for a 30-day public comment period, see Meaningful Learning notice here and Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness here. The Department will complete the rulemaking process by publishing a Notice of Final Priorities (NFP) that it will utilize to shape future discretionary grant competitions.

A Contrast with Previous Priorities

It's worth noting that previous administrations may have had different priorities. For instance, four out of six of the Biden Administration’s supplemental grant priorities advanced diversity, equity and inclusion ideology, according to the announcement. These contrasting priorities highlight the shifting focus of education policy under different leadership.

A Fast Start

According to the Education Department’s announcement, this is the fastest an education secretary has released proposed grant priorities in the first year of an administration. McMahon’s supplemental grant priorities are tools that allow the Trump Administration to align discretionary grant competitions with its priorities.

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