Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (State Grants) CFDA Number 84.334S

    For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on February 13, 2019 (84 FR 3768),or at www.govinfo.gov/​content/​pkg/​FR-2019-02-13/​pdf/​2019-02206.pdf.

Purpose of Program: The GEAR UP program is a discretionary grant program that encourages eligible entities to provide support, and maintain a commitment to eligible low-income students, including students with disabilities, to assist the students in obtaining a secondary school diploma (or its recognized equivalent)and to prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education.  Under the GEAR UP program, the Department awards grants to two types of entities: (1) States and (2) eligible partnerships.

In this notice, the Department invites applications for State grants only.  Required services under the GEAR UP program are specified in sections 404D(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1070a-24(a)), and permissible services under the GEARUP program are specified in section 404D(b) and (c) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.1070a-24(b) and (c)).  Grantee activities must include providing financial aid information for postsecondary education,encouraging enrollment in rigorous and challenging coursework in order to reduce the need for remediation at the postsecondary level, implementing activities to improve the number of participating students who obtain a secondary school diploma and who complete applications for and enroll in a program of postsecondary education, and providing scholarships as specified in section 404E of the HEA.  Additional permissible activities for State grantees are specified in sections 404D(b) and(c) of the HEA. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)number 84.334S.