Today, the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 competition for the Career Pathways Exploration (CPE) and Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Programs.
Career Pathways Exploration is a new competitive program, leveraging Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds, that represents a further step in the Trump Administration’s efforts to integrate career exploration into statewide career pathways and workforce readiness programs. This competition will use Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Priority to support grantees who will promote career pathways and workforce readiness to prepare students for success in life.
The Teacher Quality Partnership competition will improve support for educators by leveraging Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Priorities on career pathways and workforce readiness, promoting evidence-based literacy, and meaningful learning. This is a marked departure from the previous Administration’s TQP competitions which prioritized divisive ideology and racial preferencing. The Trump administration is focused on ensuring that this program provides support that educators find meaningful and relevant to their work.
“Together with the Department of Labor, we must bolster our teacher pipeline and provide K-12 students with opportunities to develop not only academic skills, but also career-ready credentials and hands-on experience that align with the evolving demands of today’s workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Kirsten Baesler. “These grants will encourage greater integration of career pathways into education and enhance the recruitment of our next generation of teachers, enabling states to better prepare students for the path that suits them best.”
“The purpose of education in our system of government is twofold: to cultivate virtuous citizens and a skilled workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Dr. Henry Mack. “Both of these grant competitions aim at equipping K-12 districts and schools with the resources to grow their own talent and help guarantee that education for democratic citizenship and the reindustrialization agenda of the administration remain a priority for years to come.”
This announcement builds on the partnership between ED and DOL to align workforce and education programs and streamline efficiency in administering grant programs. These competitions mark the sixth and seventh grant competitions announced through the Elementary and Secondary Education partnership. Amid declining academic outcomes, the Trump Administration is committed to revitalizing American education to prepare every student for success in school, work, and life.
Background:
To date, ED has announced 10 Interagency Agreements (IAAs) with five agencies to break up the Federal education bureaucracy, ensure efficient delivery of funded programs, and pursue the President’s promise to return education to the states. Learn more about the efforts to return education to the states here .
This grant program will run through the ED-DOL partnership, formalized through an IAA, a tool routinely utilized by government agencies to procure services from each other. Under this partnership, and in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1535, DOL will help manage grant funds, provide technical assistance, and integrate ED’s programs that promote career pathways, workforce readiness, and teacher preparation with the suite of programs that DOL already administers.
ED and DOL will continue to provide grantees with additional guidance as these efforts are implemented.