The U.S. Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, is inviting applications for the fiscal year 2025 under the Indian Education Discretionary Grants Programs, specifically the Professional Development Program—Native American Teacher Retention Initiative (NATRI). This initiative aims to address the persistent shortage of Native American educators by supporting projects that promote the retention of qualified Indian educators in schools serving high proportions of Native students. It reflects the federal commitment to improving educational outcomes for Indian children and honoring the unique trust relationship between the federal government and Tribal communities.

This funding opportunity is designed to retain educators by fostering teacher leadership roles, which offer professional growth and additional compensation without requiring educators to leave the classroom. Applicants must propose projects that aim to retain educators in local educational agencies (LEAs) with high proportions of Indian students. Projects should build leadership models to support Indian educators and promote educational environments that incorporate Native American knowledge, language, and culture.

Applications for this program will be accepted beginning January 17, 2025. A notice of intent to apply is requested by February 18, 2025, and a pre-application webinar will be held on February 11, 2025. The final deadline for application submission is April 28, 2025, and the intergovernmental review deadline is June 26, 2025. Successful applicants may be awarded grants for up to 36 months with a potential renewal period of 24 additional months. Estimated individual award amounts range from $400,000 to $500,000, with a total of approximately $13 million anticipated for this competition.

Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, Tribal colleges or universities (TCUs), State and local educational agencies in consortium with IHEs or TCUs, Indian tribes or organizations in consortium with IHEs or TCUs, and BIE-funded schools in partnership with at least one TCU. The program does not require cost sharing or matching, and it applies a training indirect cost rate, capped at the lesser of the negotiated rate or 8% of modified total direct costs, with exemptions for Indian Tribal government agencies.

Applications must address one absolute priority—Indian educator retention—and may respond to one of three competitive preference priorities: Tribal applicants (5 points), consortium applicants with a non-Tribal lead (3 points), or SEA/LEA/BIE school applicants in consortium with an IHE (3 points). Projects will be evaluated based on need, quality of design and services, personnel qualifications, adequacy of resources, management plans, and evaluation strategies. Key performance measures include the retention and advancement of Indian educators. Contact Linda Brake at linda.brake@ed.gov or (202) 987–0796 for further information.