For teachers, principals, librarians & PTOs
Whether you are funding one classroom or a whole school, these are the programs that pay for reading tools like Bookroo — what each one covers, how Bookroo fits, who controls it, and where to read the official rules.
What you are funding
Two things we offer directly. Check these before you write a request anywhere else.
free first year
If your school is new to Bookroo, the first three teachers to create a classroom get Classroom Plus free for a year once 60% of their students have marked a book read and unlocked a reward. For a teacher who just wants to start, this is the funding source.
raise it
A Bookroo book fair puts new books in students' hands and returns funds to the classroom or library that hosts it. Schools run them in place of, or alongside, a traditional fair. A single fair typically raises more than a Classroom Plus subscription costs.
Every public school district receives these under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. They are already in the district's budget; the question is who directs them.
public schools
The largest federal K-12 program, aimed at schools with high concentrations of low-income students. A schoolwide Title I campus can spend it on any strategy in its schoolwide plan; a targeted assistance campus spends it on supplemental services for identified students. Districts receiving more than $500,000 must also reserve at least 1% for parent and family engagement and pass at least 90% of that reserve to schools.
Student Support and Academic Enrichment
A flexible block grant every district receives. Its "well-rounded education" strand names English, reading, and language arts among the subjects it exists to support. A separate "effective use of technology" strand also applies, but it carries a 15% cap on technology infrastructure spending, so request under well-rounded education instead.
afterschool and summer programs
Funds afterschool, before-school, and summer programs, mostly at high-poverty schools, with academic enrichment as a core purpose. Grants go to the program, not the school, so the person to talk to runs the site.
small rural districts
Small, rural districts get a separate flexible grant (Small, Rural School Achievement) that may be spent on any activity allowed under Title I, Part A or Title IV, Part A. It is often the least-claimed money in a small district.
Most states send districts money specifically for instructional materials or literacy. The names and rules vary; these are the two kinds to ask about.
about half the states
Roughly half the states give districts a dedicated per-student pot for instructional materials, and most of those allow supplemental and digital materials alongside adopted textbooks. The money is already in the district's account; a supplement only needs to be an allowed use.
varies by state
Since 2019 most states have passed reading laws, and many attach funding for supplemental materials, intervention, or family literacy. Several states also subgrant federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development money to districts through their literacy plans.
Every Texas district holds an Instructional Materials and Technology Allotment (IMTA) of $174.69 per student for the 2026–27 biennium, and TEA's allowable-use list names "supplemental instructional materials" and "software or the portion of a system that analyzes the use and effectiveness of instructional materials" outright. Three things to get right on the request:
1
Ask for a disbursement, not a requisition.
Requisitions in EMAT only buy state-adopted and SBOE-approved materials. Disbursements cover non-adopted materials too: TEA sends the funds to the district within seven to ten business days of approval, and the district pays the vendor directly.
2
Do not plan around the $40 and $20 entitlements.
The HB 1605 entitlements are restricted to SBOE-approved materials and Bluebonnet Learning resources. TEA states that SBOE actions under IMRA do not affect the allowable uses of the traditional IMTA, which is the larger pot.
3
Never call the dashboard a gradebook.
Online gradebooks are on TEA's non-allowable list. Bookroo's teacher dashboard is reading-volume and comprehension analytics; describe it that way.
Sources: TEA letter on the 2026–27 allotment, allowable and non-allowable uses, disbursements in EMAT, HB 1605 FAQs. Your district's instructional materials coordinator can see the IMTA balance in EMAT.
Line items that exist in nearly every school and are often the fastest approval, because no outside program is involved.
Most principals control a general fund for instructional supplies and programs, and a classroom-sized purchase is typically within their authority to approve without a district process.
School librarians hold budgets for books, digital resources, and reading promotion, and many run the school's reading challenges already.
District curriculum departments hold supplemental-materials lines, and technology departments hold software licensing budgets. For a school-wide plan one of these is usually the recurring home.
Local money with local decision-makers. For a single classroom this is often the quickest yes, and it can cover a school.
Parent organizations are already the buyer of record for classroom technology in most elementary schools, and a request for a reading program is squarely what they fund. Bring the quote and a one-paragraph description of what students get.
Most districts have a nonprofit foundation that runs teacher mini-grants, commonly a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, on a fall or spring cycle.
Many employers match employee donations to schools and school foundations. A parent's matching-gift form can double whatever the PTO or foundation puts in.
$250–$5,000 from Walmart alone
Walmart and Sam's Club stores award Spark Good local grants of $250 to $5,000 to K-12 schools in their service area, on a rolling basis. Credit unions, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, and local banks run similar small-grant programs for schools.
Programs a teacher applies to directly, with no district involvement.
The fastest path when there is no budget at all. Teachers post a project, donors fund it, and DonorsChoose reports that projects under $200 are funded about 90% of the time. Digital resources can be requested through its vendor list or a special request; check its current eligibility rules before posting.
Youth Literacy grants up to $4,000
Awards up to $4,000 to schools, libraries, and nonprofits serving K-12 students reading below grade level, within about 15 miles of a Dollar General store. Allowed uses include books, materials, software, and technology for literacy programs. Applications open in early spring.
up to $5,000, NEA members
Grants of up to $5,000 to active NEA members for classroom projects, with several application deadlines a year.
Three funds people reasonably expect to use, and cannot.
ESAs, vouchers, and school-choice scholarships
Every one of these requires the student to be enrolled outside the public system or restricts spending to a parent-directed account. A school, teacher, or PTO cannot bill them for a classroom license. Families using those funds for a home subscription are a different story — see our family funds pages.
Federal pandemic relief (ESSER)
The final late-liquidation deadline passed in March 2026 and there is no successor program. Materials that still list ESSER as a source are out of date.
E-rate
E-rate pays for internet access and internal connections. Content, software, and online subscriptions are explicitly ineligible.
Business offices approve requests that name a fund, attach a quote, and use the fund's own allowable-use language. Here is each piece.
Email schools@bookroo.com with your school and district names, how many classrooms or students, and the fund you plan to use. We send an itemized quote your business office can attach to a purchase order, and a W-9 on request.
A single classroom usually gets bought in August and September, when campus and Title I money unlocks. A school-wide plan gets added between February and June, when districts build next year's budget. Grant deadlines are on each program's page above.
Reviewers match your wording against an allowable-use list. Copy the one that matches your fund into the justification field.
Title I, Part A · schoolwide campus
A supplemental reading program identified through our comprehensive needs assessment to increase independent reading volume and comprehension, included in the schoolwide plan.
Title I · parent and family engagement reserve
A family-facing reading log and reading program that gives parents visibility into their child's reading, provided as a parent and family engagement activity.
Title IV, Part A · well-rounded education
A well-rounded educational opportunity in reading and language arts under ESEA Section 4107, identified through our comprehensive needs assessment.
State instructional materials allotment
Supplemental instructional materials, together with software that analyzes the use and effectiveness of instructional materials.
PTO, foundation, or grant request
A one-year Bookroo Classroom subscription giving students reading logs, book quizzes, and reading rewards, with a teacher dashboard that reports what each student has read and how well they understood it.
Not sure which fund fits your school?
Tell us about your school and we will point you at the likeliest two or three.
This page is a starting point, not official guidance. State agencies, the U.S. Department of Education, districts, and grantmakers set the rules and change them, so confirm allowable uses with your business office or the program before committing funds. Last reviewed September 2026.