North Carolina Department Of Public Instruction

North Carolina Department Of Public Instruction, operating as the State Education Board through its Financial and Business Services Division, is a U.S. state government entity that receives and administers federal grants as a prime recipient across K-12 education, child nutrition, special education, and workforce development programs. The organization competes exclusively in full-and-open federal grant markets with no set-aside involvement; 99% of its 287 recent awards are prime grants, with a combined obligated value of $21.69 billion across the past five years.

The organization's grant portfolio centers on formula grants from the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education anchors the award count with 71 grants, including Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies ($213.9 million obligated in July 2026), English Language Acquisition State Grants ($21.7 million in July 2026), Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants ($39.3 million in July 2026), Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers ($37.8 million in July 2026), and Grants for State Assessments and Related Activities ($9.7 million in July 2026). The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service administers 55 formula grants for child nutrition programs, led by the National School Lunch Program ($624.8 million obligated in October 2025), State Administrative Expenses for Child Nutrition ($8.3 million in October 2025), and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program ($6.2 million in October 2025). The Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services funds 23 awards including Special Education Grants to States ($141.9 million in July 2026), Special Education Preschool Grants ($12.5 million in July 2026), and a supplemental IDEA grant ($2.8 million in July 2026). The Department of Education Office of Career Technical and Adult Education awards 22 formula grants for Career and Technical Education programs.

Beyond education formula grants, NC DPI holds a $1.97 million firm-fixed-price contract as NAEP State Coordinator with the Institute of Education Sciences (awarded April 2025, completion March 2035) to facilitate student participation in National Assessment of Educational Progress assessments and coordinate data collection. Project grants include an $8.68 million EPA Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program award (February 2025, completion January 2028) to replace 31 diesel school buses with electric alternatives across 13 school districts, an $8.67 million Education Innovation and Research grant for the PRISM project to improve mathematics achievement for high-need students (January 2024, completion December 2028), and a $3.99 million Competitive Grants for State Assessments award (October 2024, completion October 2027) to improve assessment quality and validity.

The top five customer agencies by award count—the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (71 awards), Food and Nutrition Service (55 awards), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (23 awards), Office of Career Technical and Adult Education (22 awards), and Institute of Education Sciences (11 awards with $4.4 million combined potential value)—account for 79% of recent awards. Activity has remained stable, ranging from 17 to 26 awards per year over the past five years, with 27 awards reaching completion within the next twenty-four months and thus facing recompete. The organization serves approximately 1.5 million students across 2,557 public schools and 203 charter schools and sub-awards portions of federal grants to local educational agencies, charter schools, universities, and community organizations to implement services at the local level while retaining state-level administration and oversight responsibility.