Dear County and District Superintendents, and Charter School Administrators:

Request for Applications: California Serves Grant Program

The California Department of Education (CDE), Professional Learning Support Division (PLSD) is pleased to announce that the Request for Applications (RFA) California Serves Grant Program is now available.

The Budget Act of 2022 appropriated $5 million to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) to award grants to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) for the purpose of promoting access to effective service-learning for students in grade twelve, with the goal of expanding access for high school graduates in obtaining a State Seal of Civic Engagement. Eligible LEAs may apply for grants of up to $500,000. The SSPI is seeking grant applications in order to select eligible LEAs for this grant program.

Eligible grant activities include:

• Paid planning time for teachers to increase the use of service-learning in instruction.
• Professional development on service-learning for administrators and teachers.
• Purchase of instructional materials to help integrate service-learning in instruction.
• Participation costs, including materials or travel expenses related to service-learning activities.
• Personnel costs for coordinating service-learning at the LEA or a school site.
• Participation costs associated with grant program evaluation.

All applicants must submit a Notice of Intent to Apply by Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 4 p.m. Instructions on submitting this Notice of Intent to Apply are included in the RFA. All applicants must submit a complete application, including all required components, to the PLSD by 4 p.m. on Monday, October 5, 2026. Incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted applications will not be scored or considered for approval.

A technical assistance webinar to review all parts of the RFA will take place on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, from 1–2:30 p.m. Register in advance for this webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XaV6uDNVTI-F-V2fn21DRA.

For additional information and a link to the application, please visit the CDE California Serves web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/californiaserves.asp.

If you have questions regarding this subject, please contact Sarah Smith, Education Programs Consultant, Professional Learning Support Division, by email at SSCE@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Ingrid Roberson, Chief Deputy Superintendent

Office of the Chief Deputy Superintendent

IR:ss