Why It Matters
Applicants for federal education grants and the state and local agencies that run them would see four sets of grant priorities rewritten, under changes the Education Department proposes.
The priorities and definitions apply in the department's federal grant competitions, so the changes would reach applicants for its discretionary grants, state and local education agencies, and the learners those programs serve. They would amend four notices already issued as final, dated September 9, 2025, February 12, 2026 and April 13, 2026 (two).
The department says it has announced partnerships with six agencies: Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, State, Justice and Treasury. It attributes the proposed additions on workforce skills to Labor, on student-parent supports, foster and kinship care and student attendance to Health and Human Services, and on Tribal workforce priorities and dual-enrollment partnerships to Interior.
The proposal would replace every use of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI" in the four notices with "Super Intelligence" and "SI." The department says this implements Executive Order 14434, issued September 29, which directed agencies to make that change in official and other non-statutory documents. It also cites Executive Order 14344, "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence," as the source of the proposed definition.
The education choice priority would gain a subpart encouraging projects that give families technical assistance on services available through Education Freedom Tax Credit scholarships. It would also gain subparts on childcare and other supports for student-parents, on talent marketplaces and pre-apprenticeships, and on children and youth in foster or kinship care.
The proposal would add Tribal statutes, regulations and homeschooling requirements, Tribal education agencies and the highest-ranking elected official of an Indian Tribe to provisions across the four notices.
The meaningful learning priority would add parts on workplace math skills, training for school board members and superintendents, student attendance and engagement, and local governance centered on student outcomes.
The career pathways priority would add a requirement that applicants describe how their activities are integrated across the full career pathway continuum. It would also add support for workforce-readiness activities and Registered Apprenticeship programs for instructional assistants, paraprofessionals and substitute teachers.
The Bottom Line
The department says it will respond to comments within the scope of the notice, including those on new or changed parts. The document appeared in the Federal Register on November 5 under docket ED-2026-OS-3169. Comments are due December 7 through the federal eRulemaking portal, and the department will not accept comments by fax or email.
Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.
Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article
