Michigan Department of Education Grant: Section 33

Michigan Department of Education
2025-2026 Section 33 K-5 Visual Arts and Music Programs

Section 33 of the 2025-26 School Aid Bill provides $3,190,196 from the state school aid fund for music or visual arts for districts that enroll students in grades K-5. Note: There is a current proposal to update the boilerplate language to allow a portion of these funds to support the data collection requirement mandated in Section 33. Eligible schools will fall into the following categories of priority:

K-5 schools that do not currently offer music or visual arts education.
K-5 schools that offer music or visual arts education and will commit to making advancements to their programming based on the criteria outlined in the Michigan Blueprint for a Quality Arts Program.

Grant funding is based on the requirements in Section 33 of the 2025-26 School Aid Bill. The Michigan Department of Education is soliciting proposals that include the requirements. Allocation amounts will be determined based on the number of approved applications that meet all the requirements, and their proposed budgets.

MDE Section 33 Request for Proposals (RFP)
Applications are due on October 30, 2025.We encourage you to prepare your materials prior to October 6 for expediency in uploading your application to NexSys for consideration. Please follow these steps to prepare for your application:

Review the RFP and grant guidelines.
Review the application template and the budget template.
Review the FAQ document and slide deck.
Attend a technical assistance session to ask clarifying questions.

Technical Assistance Webinars (optional)
Informational webinars will be hosted by MDE for interested applicants.
Monday, October 6 at 9 am
Wednesday, October 14 at 3 pm
Tuesday, October 21 at 1 pm
Tuesday, October 28 at 10 am

REGISTER for a webinar

To view resources to support your application process, scroll down.

For questions related to the grant, the application, or the process of application, please contact Mary Head, Office of Educational Supports, Michigan Department of Education at HeadM1@michigan.gov.