State Funding Washington State

STATE FUNDING:

Washington State Supports Education & World Languages

ThefollowinginformationhighlightshowWashingtonchampionsK-12 educationandbeyondaswellaspotentialfundingsourcestosupport worldlanguageinitiatives.

AmericaRescuePlan(ARP)ESSER:

Depending on the State and whether its Department of Education formally requested an extension from the U.S. Department of Education, school districts may extend the spending timelines to April 2026 to complete a project. However, funds still must be allocated by September 30, 2024. Because ARP ESSER may fund any activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), it can fund world language programs. Washington received some $1.8 billion in ARP ESSER funds.

Reach out to The Washington State Board of Education to find out more.

WorldLanguageAdvancementand ReadinessProgram(WLARP):

As part of the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), discretionary grants are awarded to establish, improve, or expand elementary and secondary school world language offerings. Grant funding is typically awarded for five years. The amount of funding can vary but ranges from a minimum of $500,000 to a maximum of $2 million. According to the DoDEA, local public-school districts across the United States that have at least one school with a 10% military-connected student population, are eligible to apply for the competitive DoDEA Grant Program. Note that Clover Park School District and Steilacoom Historical School District are both current grant recipients.

For more information to help plan for the next funding cycle, use this link to Grants.gov.

FoundationGrants:

Although world languages may not be explicitly included in a foundation’s listed funding goals, it is important to note that funding opportunities can still exist through engagement with individual donors associated with the organization. Washington State has 24 community foundations. For the full list, visit The Grantsmanship Center page here.

Community Foundation of North Central Washington: “The Community Foundation of NCW is a tax- exempt philanthropic organization that helps individuals, families, businesses, and agencies support charitable causes throughout Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties.”

To learn more about the Foundation’s Community Grants Program use this link.

Ellison Education Grants: “… created to empower and support Washington State’s most effective, innovative, and inspirational K- 12 public school teachers. This is done by providing support to educators who design academic enrichment curricula for students and or professional learning experiences for their current practice. The Ellison Foundation acknowledges a classroom teacher’s expertise in understanding their own professional learning needs and the needs of their students.” The Foundation awards multiple grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000.

For more information use this link.

The Grantsmanship Center: Publishes a list of prescreened foundations and corporations with active giving programs in your state.

See Washington State’s list of foundations here and the corporate giving programs list here.

Exclusivetohighereducation:

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office administers programs that strengthen foreign language instruction, area/international studies teaching and research, professional development for educators, and curriculum development at the K-12, graduate, and postsecondary levels.

Title VI programs offer domestic grants to institutions of higher education to develop and maintain capacity and performance in area/international studies and world languages.

Fulbright-Hays programs provide overseas funding to current and prospective U.S. educators to participate in advanced overseas study and research.

Learn more about these higher education programs here.