Find information on current finding competitions, when future Requests for Applications will be released, and which programs have been awarded funding in recent competitions.
2025-2029 AEFLA Request for Applications
The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED), Adult Education Division (AED), announces a Request for Applications (RFA) for grant awards to support the operation of Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) programs, Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) programs, and programs for Corrections Education and Other Institutionalized Individuals in New Mexico. Providers will deliver services in collaboration with WIOA Titles I, III, and IV partners.
Grants will be funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II, and by the New Mexico State Legislature. Grant applications cover a four-year funding cycle.
Initial grant awards are for fiscal year 2026, dates July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026. Grants may then be renewed for up to three additional years, depending upon availability of funding and performance of programs applying for grant renewals.
These three grant applications are for:
1. WIOA Section 231 – Adult Education and Family Literacy Act;
2. WIOA Section 243 – Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education; and/or
3. WIOA Section 225 – Programs for Corrections Education and Other Institutionalized Individuals.
The purpose of these three grant applications are to fund programs that, per Federal Code of Regulations Title 34 Subtitle B Chapter IV Part 463—Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) Subpart A—Adult Education General Provisions (§ 463.1, 34 CFR 463.1, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/section-463.1),
(a) Assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and economic self-sufficiency;
(b) Assist adults who are parents or family members to obtain the education and skills that—
(1) Are necessary to become full partners in the educational development of their children; and
(2) Lead to sustainable improvements in the economic opportunities for their family;
(c) Assist adults in attaining a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent and in the transition to postsecondary education and training, through career pathways; and
(d) Assist immigrants and other individuals who are English language learners in—
(1) Improving their—
(i) Reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension skills in English; and
(ii) Mathematics skills; and
(2) Acquiring an understanding of the American system of Government, individual freedom, and the responsibilities of citizenship.
(Authority: 29 U.S.C. 3271)
Beginning January 6th, 2025, a copy of the RFA may be obtained at https://hed.nm.gov/students-parents/adult_education/funding-opportunities-and-past-competitions/2025-2029-aefla-request-for-applications-rfa
Past Funding Opportunities
2021-2025 AEFLA Request for Applications
The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED), Adult Education Division, announced a Request for Applications (RFA) to receive grants to support the operation of Adult Education and Family Literacy programs and to support Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education programs in New Mexico. Grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II, and by the New Mexico State Legislature. Providers deliver services in collaboration with WIOA Titles I, III, and IV partners.
Grants are awarded for a four-year period: Fiscal years 2022-2025 (beginning on July 1, 2021, and ending on June 30, 2025). Continuation of funding through this four-year period is dependent upon availability of funds and adherence to grant requirements.
Adult Literacy Program Providers Grants
The New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) distributed up to a total of $708,795 (seven hundred eight thousand, seven hundred ninety-five dollars) in grants under this Request for Applications (RFA) for funding appropriated to NMHED in 2020 by the New Mexico State Legislature for an “adult literacy program.”
The purpose of this grant application is to support a NMHED adult literacy program that further promotes adult literacy in New Mexico through direct programming and partnerships among literacy programs and adult education programs throughout the state who focus on one-on-one and small group tutoring for low literacy adults. Low literacy adults are those with a reading level at or below grade 6 as measured by a standardized assessment such as TABE or CASAS, or other nationally recognized assessment of adult learning.