District Of Columbia Public Schools

District of Columbia Public Schools, a U.S. local government entity and public school district headquartered in Washington, DC, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient and sub-recipient to support K-12 education, early childhood programs, student health initiatives, and nutrition services across the District's 51,000+ pre-K through 12th grade students. The organization does not hold prime federal contracts or contract vehicles; its federal footprint is grants-only, with 145 prime grant awards (70% of total) and 61 sub-awards (30%), primarily from the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

DCPS operates as a government entity without SBA designations. Recent prime grant work includes a $17.5 million DC Opportunity Scholarship Program award from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (CFDA 84.370, awarded October 1, 2025, completion September 30, 2028) that funds scholarship administration, student academic instruction, professional development, special education services, after-school programming, and student nutrition initiatives with sub-awards to local educational organizations and public charter schools; a $2,526,728 Head Start Program award from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (CFDA 93.600, awarded July 1, 2026, completion June 30, 2031) for early learning and family services; and a $360,000 Cooperative Agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (awarded August 1, 2024, completion July 31, 2029) to implement school-based HIV prevention, youth risk behavior surveillance, and mental health initiatives with a focus on reducing disparities among LGBTQ+ and at-risk adolescents. DCPS also holds a National Science Foundation grant for collaborative research on computational modeling curricula across high school science subjects (awarded August 1, 2022, completion July 31, 2026).

Customer concentration heavily favors federal education and nutrition programs. The Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education leads with 61 awards, and the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services accounts for 64 awards across Medicaid and child nutrition programs. Together these two customer agencies represent 83% of recent awards, with the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Head Start, and the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services comprising the remainder of active relationships. DCPS receives most federal funding as sub-awards passed through the Government of the District of Columbia; the source documents 61 sub-awards dating from 2022 forward, routed through the District as prime grantee and covering Title I-A, Title II-A, Title III-A, Title IV-A, IDEA Parts 611 and 619, Perkins Career and Technical Education, National School Lunch, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and school-based mental health workforce development (ARROW) initiatives.

Activity has grown sharply in recent years — from 6 awards in 2022 to 26 in 2024 and 22 in 2026 — reflecting increased federal support for District schools and student services. Only one award (combined potential value not specified) faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating limited near-term recompete risk. Combined obligated dollars across all awards total $1.84 billion, though the source notes an accounting anomaly in potential-value reporting. DCPS does not compete on federal contracts or contract vehicles and sits outside the federal contractor ecosystem; its role is exclusively as an educational institution receiving direct federal grant support and sub-grant distributions from the District of Columbia government.