Improving Student Health and Academic Achievement through Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Management of Chronic Conditions in Schools | CDC RFA DP18 1801

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA DP18 1801

The CDC funding opportunity CDC-RFA-DP18-1801, titled "Improving Student Health and Academic Achievement through Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Management of Chronic Conditions in Schools," is a five-year cooperative agreement designed to help state education systems strengthen school health in ways that support both student well-being and learning outcomes. It was offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the CDC (NCCDPHP) as a discretionary grant program, with an anticipated start date of June 30, 2018. Funding was structured in 12-month budget periods across a five-year period of performance, with roughly $7 million available each year across all awards. The application deadline listed for the original competition was January 26, 2018 (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time for electronic submissions).

Eligibility was narrowly focused on state governments, specifically State Education Agencies (SEAs) and their bona fide agents, reflecting the program's emphasis on statewide reach, policy alignment, and coordinated implementation through education leadership. The CDC anticipated making about 20 total awards, with an award ceiling of $500,000, and the program design split applicants into two connected priority areas that together aim to improve school nutrition environments, expand physical education and activity, and strengthen supports for students managing chronic health conditions.

The overall purpose of the project centers on three student-level outcomes. First, it aims to increase the number of students who consume nutritious foods and beverages, which typically involves improving access to healthier options and shaping school nutrition practices. Second, it seeks to increase the number of students who participate in daily physical education and physical activity, signaling a focus not just on formal PE classes but also on broader opportunities for movement throughout the school day. Third, it targets an increase in the number of students who can effectively manage chronic health conditions, recognizing that conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and severe allergies can interfere with attendance, concentration, and academic performance when schools lack strong management systems and trained staff.

Under Priority 1, which is the main implementation track, the CDC expected to fund approximately 19 SEAs. These recipients would be responsible for carrying out three core strategies over the five-year period using a comprehensive statewide approach. The first strategy, Infrastructure Development, points to building or strengthening the foundational systems that make school health work sustainable, such as coordinated leadership, policies, procedures, data use, partnerships, and cross-office collaboration. The second strategy, Professional Development and Training, emphasizes equipping school and district staff with the knowledge and skills needed to implement effective nutrition, physical activity, and chronic condition management practices consistently. The third strategy, Technical Assistance, reflects an expectation that SEAs will actively support and troubleshoot implementation with districts and schools, helping them adopt evidence-based practices and improve quality over time.

Although Priority 1 work is expected to be statewide, each funded SEA must also identify a set of 5 to 10 Local Education Agencies (LEAs) where it will focus more intensive effort. Within those selected LEAs, SEAs are expected to work with the majority of schools across elementary, middle, and high school levels, which signals a clear intent to drive meaningful change across a significant portion of each participating district rather than relying on isolated pilot schools. This structure is meant to balance broad reach (statewide systems and policy work) with depth (concentrated implementation support in a manageable number of districts).

Priority 2 is a separate but connected track focused on national professional development and training to improve student health, and only one SEA was expected to be funded for this role. The Priority 2 recipient would not primarily run local implementation in the way Priority 1 recipients do; instead, it would build the capacity of the Priority 1 SEAs by planning, developing, and delivering high-quality professional development and training offerings. In practice, that implies creating training content, convening learning opportunities, and sharing tools and approaches that help multiple states strengthen their programs. Importantly, any applicant seeking Priority 2 funding was required to also apply for Priority 1, reinforcing the idea that the national training provider should also be actively implementing the program at the state level and learning from real-world execution.

Overall, this NOFO is structured around the idea that student health and academic achievement are linked, and that durable improvements come from statewide infrastructure, consistent workforce training, and hands-on technical support to districts and schools. By combining broad state-level systems building with targeted district engagement, and by adding a national training component to raise implementation quality across states, the opportunity is designed to move beyond one-off initiatives and toward sustained, scalable improvements in school nutrition, physical activity, and chronic condition management.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - NCCDPHP in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving Student Health and Academic Achievement through Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Management of Chronic Conditions in Schools" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.981.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 09, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 26, 2018 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for CDC RFA DP18 1801

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