Dear County and District Superintendents:

2025 Request for Applications Geo-Regional Experts for Multilingual Students Program

The California Department of Education (CDE) Multilingual Support Division, in partnership with the State Board of Education, is pleased to announce the release of the Request for Applications (RFA) for the Geo-Regional Experts for Multilingual Students (GEMS) Program. This competitive grant opportunity seeks to partner with county offices of education (COEs) to establish GEMS agencies.

California serves the largest population of multilingual learners in the nation: more than one million identified English learner (EL) students and an additional 1.2 million reclassified or initially fluent English proficient students. Together, these students represent nearly 40 percent of the state’s transitional kindergarten through grade 12 student population.

The GEMS program, funded by the Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill, Assembly Bill 121 (Chapter 8, Statutes of 2025) Section 50, is designed to strengthen regional capacity to provide California's local educational agencies with sustained, high-quality technical assistance, support, and professional learning to best serve EL and long-term EL students.

This initiative is a targeted investment within California’s Statewide System of Support, designed to elevate regional capacity to improve outcomes for EL students. As part of this System of Support, GEMS will serve as regional leads with expertise in comprehensive English language development, improvement science, and coaching to advance the implementation of the California English Learner Roadmap Policy throughout the state.

The Education Omnibus Budget Trailer Bill of 2025 (Assembly Bill 121, Section 50) appropriates $2 million annually to fund between five and seven COEs serving as GEMS agencies. The CDE will award allocations for an initial three-year term, with the possibility of a one-year extension, beginning July 1, 2026. Each award will total at a minimum $250,000 annually from fiscal year 2026–27 through fiscal year 2029–30. Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to implement high-impact support activities aligned with program goals.

All applicants must submit their applications online at https://surveys3.cde.ca.gov/go/gemsapplication.asp. The complete online application, along with all required forms and supporting documents, must be submitted by January 14, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. (PST). Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

A webinar for prospective applicants will be hosted on December 9, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (PST). Please refer to the CDE GEMS RFA web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r28/gems26rfa.asp for registration details.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact the Multilingual Support Division at GEMS@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/

William McGee
Deputy Superintendent
Building Educational Success Together Branch

WMG:ei