Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, a civilian sub-agency within the Cabinet department that administers K-12 education policy and funding, operates as both a contracting and grant-making entity. OESE's primary role is to fund and oversee elementary and secondary education programs serving states, school districts, and students across the country, with substantial portfolios on both the contract and grant sides.

On the contract side, OESE has awarded 910 contracts totaling $1.41 billion in combined potential value since 1998, with $1.06 billion obligated. Recent contract volume has declined significantly: 24 awards in 2022, 29 in 2023, 34 in 2024, 6 in 2025, and 10 so far in 2026, reflecting a substantial pullback in contracting activity. The competitive landscape is fragmented; the top five primes by award count account for 37 percent of recent awards, but by potential value they capture only 13 percent, indicating that award volume does not correlate with deal size. The Manhattan Strategy Group LLC and Synergy Enterprises, Inc. lead by award count over the last five years (10 and 11 awards respectively), while The Manhattan Strategy Group LLC and Synergy Enterprises rank first and second by combined potential value ($57.1 million and $33.7 million). The contractor base spans 412 distinct primes across the portfolio. The set-aside mix is dominated by open market awards: 82 percent of contracts carry no set-aside, while 7 percent are 8(a) sole source and 7 percent total small business. The remaining 4 percent are split between competitive 8(a), HUBZone, and HUBZone sole source.

On the grant side, OESE has distributed 204,855 grants obligating $690.28 billion in federal dollars since 1985, with total combined federal and non-federal share reaching $727.42 billion. Recent grant volume has declined from 8,808 awards in 2023 to 7,291 in 2024, recovered slightly to 7,445 in 2025, then fell to 4,971 in 2026, with 1 award recorded for 2027. The grant recipient base is highly fragmented; the top five recipients by award count hold only 1 percent of recent awards, and the top five by federal dollars hold 2 percent. State education agencies dominate: Illinois State Board of Education, Ohio Department of Education, and Michigan Department of Education lead by federal dollars obligated over the last five years, collectively accounting for over $11.6 billion. The 11,936 distinct recipients reflect a highly distributed portfolio. Grant assistance is predominantly formula-based: 65 percent of awards are Formula Grants and 35 percent are Project Grants, with Cooperative Agreements and Block Grants constituting less than 1 percent combined.

No recent contract opportunities are recorded in current solicitation data. No recent grant opportunities are recorded in current solicitation data.

A part of the Department of Education, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education works to bolster the achievement of students in preschool through secondary school. The office also works to ensure equal education opportunities for all, and to provide assistance to state and local schools.