North Dakota Department Of Public Instruction

North Dakota Department Of Public Instruction, a state education agency within the State of North Dakota, functions as a federal grant recipient in education and child nutrition programs, distributing formula and project grants to local educational agencies, school districts, and community organizations across North Dakota. The department operates exclusively as a prime recipient (100% of awards) with no subcontracting footprint; it receives federal grants and passes funding through sub-awards to local implementing entities.

The department's federal grant portfolio centers on K-12 education programs administered by the Department of Education and child nutrition programs administered by the Department of Agriculture. Education grants span special education, English language acquisition, teacher professional development, state assessments, Title I school improvement, migrant education, homeless youth services, rural education, adult literacy, and twenty-first century community learning centers. Child nutrition grants fund the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and state administrative expenses for child nutrition. The department also holds a $1.686 million definitive contract with the Institute of Education Sciences beginning April 2025 through March 2035 as the National Assessment of Educational Progress State Coordinator for North Dakota, managing the state's participation in national education assessments and supporting the National Center for Education Statistics State Partnership Cooperative System.

Recent major grants include a $21.293 million Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies formula grant (CFDA 84.010) from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for the July 2026–September 2027 period; a $13.507 million Special Education Grants to States formula grant (CFDA 84.027) awarded July 2026 supporting special education services for children ages 3–21; a $6.693 million Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants formula grant (CFDA 84.424) for school enrichment and technology integration; a $6.548 million Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers formula grant (CFDA 84.287) funding afterschool programming; and a $22.349 million National School Lunch Program formula grant (CFDA 10.555) from the Food and Nutrition Service supporting school meal operations. The department also holds an $11.228 million project grant (CFDA 84.411) from the Education Innovation and Research program awarded January 2026 through December 2030 for the Rural Education Achievement Through AI Coaching and High-Fidelity Supports initiative.

The department's customer base concentrates heavily within the Department of Education—the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education dominates with 240 awards—and the Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service with 263 awards combined across child nutrition, supplemental nutrition assistance, and food distribution divisions. The Institute of Education Sciences accounts for the only contract-based award in the recent portfolio. Over 659 total awards in the source data span a thirty-year history, with annual award counts in the 31–38 range across the past five years; 24 awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, presenting recompete and renewal activity. The department distributes sub-awards to more than 60 school districts, 28 special education units, tribal entities including Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Three Affiliated Tribes, and Trenton Indian Services Area Development Corporation, and nonprofit organizations including community action agencies, food banks, and educational cooperatives throughout North Dakota, positioning it as the primary state-level pass-through vehicle for federal education and nutrition funding flowing to local North Dakota institutions.