Ohio Career Pathways Exploration Grant: What Districts Need to Know

October 23, 2026

Career readiness shouldn’t start with a job application or internship. It should start much earlier, when students have time to explore what interests them and map out what’s possible. Now, a new federal grant gives Ohio districts a chance to invest more in early career planning for their students.

Career Pathways Exploration Grant details at a glance

Awards from the $9 million Career Pathways Exploration Grant will be used to support the implementation of Ohio’s four-stage Career Connections Framework.

• Funding awards: Up to $850,000 per selected applicant
• Grant period: Three years, January 2027 through September 2029
• Application window: The RFA from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW) was released October 14, 2026, and the application window closes November 18, 2026
• Who can apply: Individual local education agencies (LEAs), Career-Technical Planning Districts (CTPDs), including Joint Vocational School Districts (JVSDs), and partnerships or consortia of LEAs
• Focus: Early career exploration and pathway planning across middle school, high school, and beyond

What the awards can be used for

The ODEW lists five types of allowable activities:

• Career awareness and exploration: Experiences, materials, transportation and technology that expose students to careers, employers, industries, and postsecondary options.
• Career advising and coaching: Tools, curriculum, professional learning, and supports that connect students’ interests and aptitudes to pathways.
• Pathway development: CTE, industry credentials, work-based learning, pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and career-focused dual enrollment.
• Technology and materials: Software, instructional resources, and equipment needed to expand career-connected learning.
• Capacity and engagement: Professional learning, plus engagement with employers, postsecondary institutions, workforce partners, families, and students.

How PowerSchool supports the Career Connections Framework

Career readiness works best as a continuous journey. When each stage builds on the last, an interest survey isn’t a one-time activity anymore; what students learn about themselves actually shapes the careers they explore and the plans they make.

Ohio’s Career Connections Framework

PowerSchool CCLR (Naviance) is a dedicated college and career planning software solution for self-discovery, action planning, and personalized support. It connects the framework’s four stages (Awareness, Exploration, Preparation, and Participation) within one platform. With Naviance, districts can:

• Personalize student exploration: Connect interests, strengths, and goals to career profiles, education options, and local/national labor-market information brought to life with Roadtrip Nation videos.
• Scale personalized support: Give counselors and educators structured planning tools, student insights, and a consistent way to guide next steps across grade levels.
• Connect students to experiences: Use WBL Opportunities to support discovery of internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing, volunteering, career fairs, and other work-based learning.
• Manage participation: Coordinate employers and opportunities, and track engagement, hours, documents and digital signatures. Reporting is aligned to program requirements.
• Turn evidence into pathway decisions: Use exploration and participation data to spot student demand, strengthen pathway planning, and show progress over time.

This last point speaks directly to the grant’s design: data from early exploration becomes the evidence districts need to invest in the right pathways later.

Key takeaways

• Awards from the $9 million Career Pathways Exploration Grant will be used to support the implementation of Ohio’s four-stage Career Connections Framework.
• Application due: November 18, 2026
• Award amount: Up to $850,000 per selected applicant
• PowerSchool CCLR (Naviance) is a dedicated college and career planning software solution that connects the four framework stages within one platform.

More resources for Career Connections Framework

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you implement or strengthen the Career Connections Framework over the next three years, please contact us to speak with an expert.