TRUE Pathways Design and Planning Grant 2026-2027

Intent

The goal of the Texas Reskilling and Upskilling through Education (TRUE) Grant Program is to support public higher education institutions to create, redesign and expand short-term workforce education and training programs in high-demand occupations.

The TRUE Pathways Design and Planning Grant provides funding for public two-year community and technical colleges to design and plan a selected career and technical education (CTE) pathway consisting of one or more closely related occupations and associated credentials of value in a high demand field.

Eligibility

• Texas public junior colleges, public state colleges and public technical institutes

How to Apply

Accepting Applications

To apply for the TRUE PDP Grant 2026-2027, organizations and organization representatives new to the THECB Online Grants Management System are required to create a new user account before initiating a grant application. All submittals must be complete (inclusive of required signatures, acknowledgments, required attachments, etc.) and received by the posted due date. Incomplete and late submittals will not be considered for award.

Application Information

Contingent upon the amount of funding available, award sizes will be based on submitted budget requests for between $150,000 and $200,000. THECB estimates four to five grants will be awarded.  The grant period will be approximately fifteen (15) months in duration.

Applicants may submit a single application. Funding for TRUE Pathways Design and Planning Grant 2026-27 will be awarded to applicants on a competitive basis.

Awards will be made based on rank order of reviewed applications until the allocated annual funding is exhausted.  Other award considerations are the size of the institution and its location.  THECB intends to select at least one applicant in each institutional size category as determined by THECB’s Texas Public Higher Education Almanac. The categories are small, medium, large and extra- large institutions.  Applications will be considered with applications from the same size-classified institutions. THECB will also consider the regional location of each applicant in the selection process and intends to issue awards across regions.

All inquiries should be emailed through TRUE@highered.texas.gov. Applications must be submitted via the THECB Grants Management System (GMS).

Important Dates

Rules and Regulations

The Texas Legislature established TRUE during the 87th Texas Legislature Regular Session, as codified in Texas Education Code §§61.881-.886. The program is administered by the THECB under 19 Texas Administrative Code §§ 13.400-.408.

The Texas Legislature provided appropriations to provide grants to institutions to add capacity and meet regional workforce needs during the Regular Session of the 88th Texas Legislature.

Additional Notes

Please register in GMS to apply for the TRUE Pathways Design and Planning Grant 2026-2027.

TRUE Pathways Design and Planning Grant 2026 materials:

• TRUE PDP 2026 Request for Application
• TRUE PDP 2026 Informational Webinar Slide Deck (5/7/2026)
• TRUE PDP 2026 Informational Webinar Recording (5/7/2026)