Federal Funding for AI Education: Your Guide to WIOA and Beyond

The Funding Landscape for AI Education

If you are an educator, administrator, or district leader who wants to bring AI literacy into your classrooms but thinks the budget simply is not there, there is good news: the federal government is backing AI education with real dollars. Over the past year, multiple agencies have issued guidance explicitly encouraging the use of existing workforce and education funding for AI skills development.

The challenge is not a lack of funding. It is that many schools and districts do not know these funding streams exist, or they assume the application process is too complex to be worthwhile. This guide breaks down the major federal funding mechanisms available right now, explains how they work, and gives you concrete steps to start accessing them.

From the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to Department of Education grants and Career and Technical Education (CTE) funding under Perkins V, there are multiple paths to funding AI education initiatives. Let us walk through each one.

WIOA Title I: Youth and Adult Programs

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is the primary federal legislation governing workforce development in the United States. Originally signed into law in 2014, WIOA authorizes billions of dollars annually for job training, education, and employment services. The law is administered at the federal level by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and implemented through a network of state workforce agencies and Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs).

In August 2025, the DOL issued Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 03-25, which explicitly encourages states and localities to use WIOA funds for AI skills development. This was a landmark moment: for the first time, the federal government formally signaled that AI literacy is a legitimate and encouraged use of workforce development dollars.

Under WIOA Title I, there are three primary funding streams relevant to AI education:

• Youth Programs: Serve individuals ages 14 to 24 with education and training activities, including occupational skills training that can now include AI literacy.
• Adult Programs: Provide training and employment services to adults, including career pathways that incorporate emerging technology skills.
• Dislocated Worker Programs: Support workers displaced by economic shifts, which increasingly includes workers whose roles are being transformed by AI.

To access WIOA funding, schools typically need to partner with their Local Workforce Development Board. Every state has multiple LWDBs that administer WIOA funds at the regional level. These boards are always looking for qualified training providers to deliver programs that serve their communities. If your school or district can articulate how an AI literacy program aligns with local workforce needs, you have a strong case for partnership.

Governor's Reserve Funds

One of the most underutilized funding mechanisms in WIOA is the Governor's Reserve. Under the law, governors can set aside up to 15% of their state's total WIOA Title I allotment for statewide workforce activities. These reserve funds are intended to support innovative and high-priority initiatives that go beyond what individual LWDBs can fund on their own.

TEGL 03-25 specifically encourages governors to direct reserve funds toward AI literacy programs. This is significant because Governor's Reserve funds are often more flexible than formula-allocated WIOA dollars. They can be used for statewide pilot programs, professional development for educators, curriculum development, and cross-regional partnerships.

To connect with Governor's Reserve funding opportunities:

• Contact your state workforce agency (often called the Department of Labor, Department of Workforce Development, or similar). They administer the Governor's Reserve and can tell you about current funding priorities.
• Reach out to the governor's policy office to understand whether AI education has been identified as a statewide workforce priority.
• Review your state's WIOA Combined State Plan, which is publicly available and outlines how WIOA funds will be used over the current planning cycle. Look for references to AI, emerging technologies, or digital skills.
• Propose a pilot program. Governor's Reserve funds are well-suited for innovative programs that can demonstrate outcomes and serve as models for broader implementation.

Department of Education Funding

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has also taken meaningful steps to encourage AI integration in education. In July 2025, ED issued a Dear Colleague Letter providing guidance on how existing federal education grant funds can be used for AI-related activities. This letter clarified that schools and districts do not need to wait for new, AI-specific grants to begin their work.

Key funding mechanisms from ED include:

• Title II, Part A (Supporting Effective Instruction): These funds support professional development for educators. Schools can use Title II-A dollars to train teachers on AI literacy, responsible AI use in the classroom, and integrating AI tools into instruction.
• Title IV, Part A (Student Support and Academic Enrichment): This flexible block grant supports well-rounded education, safe and healthy students, and effective use of technology. The technology component is a natural fit for AI literacy programs, digital citizenship curricula, and AI-integrated STEM instruction.
• Secretary's Supplemental Priority: ED has established a supplemental grantmaking priority on advancing AI in education. This means that competitive grant applications that address AI education may receive favorable consideration across multiple ED grant programs.

The practical implication is significant: districts that are already receiving Title II and Title IV-A funds can redirect a portion of those existing allocations toward AI professional development and program implementation. This does not require a new application or additional funding request. It requires a strategic decision to prioritize AI literacy within your existing spending plan.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) / Perkins V

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) is another major federal funding source that can support AI education. Perkins V provides approximately $1.4 billion annually to states for CTE programs that prepare students for high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand careers.

AI literacy fits naturally within CTE frameworks. Whether a student is pursuing a pathway in information technology, healthcare, manufacturing, or business, AI competencies are increasingly relevant. The DOL's Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 07-25, which outlined the AI Literacy Framework, was sent directly to state CTE directors as one of its target audiences, signaling that CTE programs should be integrating AI skills.

Under Perkins V, schools and districts are required to conduct a Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) every two years. This assessment should examine labor market data, student performance, and program quality. If your CLNA identifies AI skills as a gap area (and in most regions, it will), that creates a documented justification for directing Perkins V funds toward AI curriculum development, equipment purchases, and teacher training.

To leverage Perkins V funding for AI education:

• Include AI skills and AI-related occupations in your next CLNA.
• Work with your state CTE director to ensure AI literacy aligns with approved program-of-study frameworks.
• Integrate AI competencies into existing CTE pathways rather than creating stand-alone programs, which streamlines approval and funding.

Practical Steps to Secure Funding

Understanding the funding landscape is the first step. Here is how to move from awareness to action:

1. Contact your Local Workforce Development Board. Find your LWDB through the CareerOneStop Local Help finder. Introduce your school or district and express interest in partnering on AI skills training programs funded through WIOA.
2. Review your state's WIOA Combined Plan. Search for mentions of AI, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and digital literacy. This tells you whether your state is already prioritizing these areas, which strengthens your case for funding.
3. Partner with community colleges. Community colleges are often direct WIOA grantees and Perkins V recipients. They have established relationships with workforce boards and can serve as a bridge between K-12 schools and funding sources. Joint proposals carry more weight.
4. Apply for competitive grants through ED. Monitor Grants.gov and the Department of Education's grant forecast for upcoming opportunities. Prioritize applications that align with the Secretary's supplemental priority on AI in education.
5. Redirect existing Title II and Title IV-A funds. Work with your district's federal programs coordinator to allocate a portion of these funds toward AI professional development in your next spending plan.
6. Leverage the Evolve AI Institute Grant Search Tool. Our free tool at /grants/ helps you find federal, state, and foundation funding opportunities specific to AI education. Use it to identify grants that match your program goals and timeline.

Free Resources While You Build Funding

Securing federal funding takes time. Grant cycles, partnership development, and administrative processes all require patience. But that does not mean you need to wait to start building AI literacy at your school or in your community.

Evolve AI Institute provides a range of free resources that you can use right now to begin laying the groundwork for AI education:

• Lesson Repository: A library of ready-to-use, standards-aligned AI literacy lessons for K-12 educators. Each lesson includes teacher guides, student materials, and assessment tools.
• Webinars: Live and recorded sessions covering AI policy updates, classroom implementation strategies, and leadership guidance for administrators.
• Family Guide to AI: A downloadable resource designed to help parents understand AI and support their children's AI learning at home.
• Task Force Toolkit: A comprehensive guide for schools and districts ready to establish an AI task force, including templates, timelines, and stakeholder engagement strategies.

These resources serve a dual purpose. They help you get started immediately, and they also help you build the track record and organizational capacity that strengthens future grant applications. Funders want to see that you have already begun the work and have a clear vision for how additional dollars will scale your impact.

The Bottom Line

Federal funding for AI education is not a future possibility; it is a present reality. Between WIOA, Governor's Reserve funds, Department of Education grants, and Perkins V, there are multiple pathways to securing the dollars you need to bring AI literacy to your students. The schools and districts that act now will be the ones that are best positioned when the next round of competitive grants opens, when their state workforce plans are updated, and when their communities look to them for leadership on preparing students for an AI-powered economy.

Start with one step. Contact your Local Workforce Development Board. Review your state plan. Search for grants. The funding is there. The guidance is clear. The time to act is now.