Dear Institutions of Higher Education, County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, Non-Profit Educational Services Providers, and Interested Parties:

REQUEST FOR APPLICATION
21st Century California School Leadership Academy, Cohort 3

The California Department of Education (CDE) Professional Learning and Support Division, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) and the State Board of Education (SBE) are pleased to announce the availability of the Request for Application (RFA) for the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) Program, Cohort 3, to provide in-depth support for administrators and other school leaders. The 21CSLA Cohort 3 RFA can be found at the CDE 21CSLA web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/21cslagrantprocess.asp.

The CDE, CCEE, and SBE will select one awardee to serve as the 21CSLA Center and up to seven awardees to serve as 21CSLA Regional Academies. Please note that the Center application is a renewal. Only the current 21CSLA Center may apply. Awardees, supported by the CDE, CCEE, and SBE, will work collaboratively within the Statewide System of Support (SOS) to build the capacity of educational leaders statewide through professional learning aligned to the California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL) and the Quality Professional Learning Standards (QPLS). A goal of this program is to have a Regional Academy located in each of the seven Geographic Lead Agency boundaries. A statewide map of the Geographic Lead Agency boundaries can be found on the CDE Geographic Lead Agency web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/sw/t1/crss.asp.

The 21CSLA Center will be awarded a minimum of $2 million per year and each 21CSLA Regional Academy will be awarded a minimum of $1 million per year for a three-year period. Additional funding may be available based on regional needs. Regional Academy applicants shall develop a budget that reflects the coverage of their region. Final selection of awardees is subject to approval by the Executive Director of the SBE.

The 21CSLA Program was established by Senate Bill 75, Section 26 Statutes of 2019 (see Appendix A). Article 5 (commencing with Section 44690) was added to Chapter 3.1 of part 25 of Division 3 of Title II of the California Education Code, see https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/ca21cslasb75.asp. The law specifies that the professional learning provided through 21CSLA will be made free of charge to LEAs that receive federal Title II funds and include the following:

• Training and coaching for principals and other school leaders in critical areas identified by the CDE and CCEE, in consultation with the Executive Director of the SBE.
• Training mentors for novice principals and teachers.
• Training coaches to support leaders in high-need settings.
• Training for central office leaders, principals, and other school leaders, including teacher leaders, involved in school improvement efforts.

Application for 21st Century California School Leadership Academy

Lead applicants must be institutions of higher education (IHEs), nonprofit educational services providers, and local educational agencies (LEAs) with expertise in providing professional learning, coaching, and mentoring to principals and other school leaders in public schools serving transitional kindergarten and grades one to twelve, inclusive, to organize and offer high-quality professional learning, coaching, and mentoring for central office leaders, principals, and other schools leaders, including teacher leaders, involved in school improvement efforts.

Interested applicants are required to submit an Intent to Submit an Application Online Form by 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2026. Submitting this form does not require an organization to submit an application; however, an application will not be accepted unless the form was submitted and received by the CDE on time.

All applicants must submit a separate complete online application for the 21CSLA Center or for the 21CSLA Regional Academy, including all required components, by 5:00 p.m. on June 24, 2026. Incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted applications will not be scored or considered for approval. Please use the link on the 21CSLA RFA web page to submit an online application.

Technical Assistance Webinar

A technical assistance webinar for the 21CSLA Cohort 3 RFA is scheduled to provide an overview of the 21CSLA program including project requirements, application requirements, and a timeline. The webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, 2026, from 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. For additional information, please see https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/21cslagrantprocess.asp.

If you have any questions regarding this RFA or the technical assistance webinar, please contact Jeffrey Franey or Alexis Clift, Education Programs Consultants, Teacher and Leader Policy Office, by phone at 916-445-7331 or by email at 21CSLA@cde.ca.gov.

Thank you,

Teacher and Leader Policy Office
Professional Learning Support Division
California Department of Education