Pursuant to S.P. 182, L.D. 396, Resolve 2025, Chapter 110, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) is now accepting applications for a competitive, one-time funding opportunity for Maine school administrative units (SAUs) that are interested in collaborating to change school start times so that secondary schools begin at 8:30 a.m. or later.
SAUs may access the Request for Applications (RFA) through the State of Maine’s Vendor Self-Service System (VSS). All applications and questions related to this RFA must be submitted through VSS. The Maine DOE strongly encourages SAUs to confirm that they can access VSS well in advance of the application deadline of March 30, 2026. (Please refer to this priority notice for additional information and training materials related to VSS.)
To learn more about this grant opportunity, potential applicants are encouraged to attend a virtual informational session on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, at 4 p.m. via Zoom. Registration is required to attend this session. Please register in advance here.
The anticipated timeline for this RFA is as follows:
- February 27, 2026 – RFA opens via VSS
- March 4, 2026 – informational session held via Zoom
- March 9, 2026 – deadline to submit questions in response to RFA (by 4 p.m.)
- March 30, 2026 – applications due via VSS (by 4 p.m.)
- March 31 to April 17, 2026 – formal review period
- April 27, 2026 – grant award notifications
- June 1, 2026 – grant award contract start date
- September 10, 2026 – grant award contract end date
- November 1, 2026 – reporting requirements due (by 4 p.m.)
Additional information about this grant can be found via VSS. Again, please submit all questions about this RFA through the VSS portal.
Maine DOE Newsroom 