On Wednesday, April 1, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced three grant opportunities to support local education agencies in literacy instruction. These grants continue the state’s efforts to strengthen foundational literacy skills among students following the passage of P.L.2024, c.52.

FOCUS grants support high-quality literacy screening assessments aligned to criteria in the New Jersey Literacy Framework, as well as related professional development and student supports. BRIDGE grants are competitive grants supporting the use of screening data to implement evidence-based literacy instruction in K-3 classrooms.

More information on the grant opportunities can be found below and on NJDOE’s website.

Building Responsive Instruction through Data-Guided Evaluation (BRIDGE) Cohort 2 – Competitive

Purpose: The Building Responsive Instruction through Data-Guided Evaluation (BRIDGE) Cohort 2 grant supports the implementation of evidence-based data protocols to inform tier one literacy instruction in grades kindergarten through grade three (K-3), in alignment with State law. Through this grant opportunity, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to seek innovative ways to use data protocols to inform literacy instruction at the tier one level. Although the primary focus for data is to inform decisions around literacy for all students, other considerations factor into a successful program:

  • Literacy instruction should be inclusive of all the components of sound and well-researched literacy instruction, including background, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, literacy knowledge, phonological awareness, decoding and sight recognition, for these to lead to increased comprehension and fluency.
  • LEAs and schools should create a way to monitor progress toward literacy goals using assessment data, high-quality instructional materials, curriculum, and effective tier-one instruction, and set goals that meet the needs of all students, as these are all essential to the success of this grant.
  • LEA leaders should identify and create a Leadership Team that includes administrators, teachers and others with access to data to make informed decisions about effective literacy goals for tier-one instruction. The team should learn to use data protocols to evaluate data, create innovative practices that foster growth and implement well-researched, high-quality instructional materials. The team should have structures in place to reflect on goals and make improvements to meet the needs of students during tier-one instruction.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has established a twelve (12) month grant program. This limited-competitive grant program is open to select New Jersey LEAs based on percentage of students who did not meet expectations on the 2024-2025 NJSLA-ELA Grade 3. Please refer to Appendix A of the NGO for a list of eligible LEAs. Applicants may apply for up to $71,183.

Based on the availability of FY25 state appropriations, this grant program will begin June 1, 2026, and will end on May 31, 2027.

Eligible Agencies: Local Education Agencies (LEAs)

Grant Type: Competitive

Number of Award(s) Anticipated: 20

Total Amount Available: $1,423,660

Application Due Date: 04/23/2026

Building Responsive Instruction through Data-Guided Evaluation (BRIDGE) Year 2 – Continuation

Purpose: The Building Responsive Instruction through Data-Guided Evaluation (BRIDGE) grant supports the implementation of evidence-based data protocols to inform tier-one literacy instruction in grades kindergarten through grade three (K-3), in alignment with State law. Through this grant opportunity, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) are encouraged to seek innovative ways to use data protocols to inform literacy instruction at the tier one level. Although the primary focus for data is to inform decisions around literacy for all students, other considerations factor into a successful program:

  • Literacy instruction should be inclusive of all the components of sound and well-researched literacy instruction, including background, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, literacy knowledge, phonological awareness, decoding and sight recognition for these to lead to increased comprehension and fluency.
  • LEAs and schools should create a way to monitor progress toward literacy goals using assessment data, high-quality instructional materials, curriculum, and effective tier-one instruction, and set goals that meet the needs of all students, as these are all essential to the success of this grant.
  • LEA leaders should identify and create a Leadership Team that includes administrators, teachers and others with access to data to make informed decisions about effective literacy goals for tier-one instruction. The team should learn to use data protocols to evaluate data, create innovative practices that foster growth and implement well-researched, high-quality instructional materials. The team should have structures in place to reflect on goals and make improvements to better meet students’ needs during tier-one instruction.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has established a twelve (12) month, year two continuation grant program. This year, two grant programs are open to New Jersey LEAs that received funding through a competitive process in year one. Please refer to Appendix A of the NGO for a list of eligible LEAs.

Based on the availability of FY26 state appropriations, this grant program will begin June 1, 2026, and will end on May 31, 2027.

Eligible Agencies: LEAs that received the BRIDGE grant in the 2025-2026 grant period

Grant Type: Continuation

Number of Award(s) Anticipated: 19

Total Amount Available: $570,000

Application Due Date: 04/30/2026

Funding for Optimal Comprehensive Universal Screeners (FOCUS 1) Continuation Year 2

Purpose: The Funding for Optimal Comprehensive Universal Screeners (FOCUS) grant aims to continue to support LEAs to adopt and implement high-quality universal literacy screeners that align with the Universal Literacy Screening Criteria as outlined in the guidance provided by the Department to meet the screening requirements in kindergarten through grade 3 (K-3) according to State law.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has established a twelve (12) month continuation year 2 grant program. This grant program is open to all New Jersey Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that serve grades K-3 and received funding in year one. Please refer to Appendix A of the NGO for a list of eligible LEAs and maximum award amounts.

Based on the availability of FY26 state appropriations, this grant program will begin June 1, 2026, and will end on May 31, 2027.

Eligible Agencies: All public LEAs that received FOCUS 1

Grant Type: Continuation

Number of Award(s) Anticipated: 277

Total Amount Available: $1,862,800

Application Due Date: 04/30/2026