Funding

Applying for TUPE Funding

Please visit the "Tobacco-Use Prevention Education Funding" page on the TUPE Office website to:

View and download current Requests for Applications (RFAs)
Review funding profiles, deadlines, and eligibility criteria
Review funding results for awarded TUPE grants

Who is eligible to apply for TUPE grants?

TUPE grants are available to school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education that serve students in grades 6-12.

Specific eligibility criteria vary by grant type and can be found in the associated Request for Applications (RFA) document.

Regardless of grant type, all TUPE-funded LEAs and COEs must maintain their Tobacco-Free School District Certification and must not accept funding or materials from the tobacco industry.

What kinds of activities are supported by TUPE grants?

The bulk of TUPE funding is allocated to services that directly engage students, their families and communities, and school staff to promote tobacco-free living.

Typical services include:

Prevention services to help students acquire the skills and knowledge to avoid initiating tobacco use (e.g., vaping prevention curricula and outreach campaigns)
Intervention services to engage students caught with tobacco or marijuana or who self-identify as needing support (e.g., referrals to YVAPE or Brief Intervention)
Cessation services to help students who regularly use tobacco or marijuana to quit (e.g., counseling by a school health provider or referrals to Kick It California)
Youth development services to involve students in the struggle against pro-tobacco influences and help change norms around youth tobacco use (e.g., youth advocacy projects and peer-to-peer education efforts)
Family and community engagement services to elicit social and environmental support for tobacco-free living from important people in students' lives (e.g., parent and caregiver information nights)
Staff professional development services to increase the skills, knowledge, and ability of school staff to support students in making healthy decisions (e.g., trainings on tobacco prevention and intervention)

How do I apply for a TUPE grant?

1. Visit the TUPE Funding Page to view any current Requests for Application (RFAs).

2. Use the instructions within the RFA to access TUPE GEMS, the system in which all TUPE grant applications are managed.

3. If you are applying on behalf of a school district or charter school, you will need to contact your County TUPE Coordinator for support with your application.

4. Follow the guidance within the RFA and the associated TUPE GEMS resources to complete and submit your application.

TUPE Grant Programs

Tier 1

Three-year grants offered annually to LEAs, direct-funded charter schools, and consortia representing multiple districts to help them get started in youth tobacco prevention.

Tier 2

Three-year grants offered every third year to LEAs, direct-funded charter schools, and consortia to help them implement comprehensive TUPE programs. A health disparities component is required in all Tier 2 grants.

County Technical Assistance (CTA)

One-year recurring grants to help COEs assist schools and districts in their counties with program development, staff development, and technical assistance.

American Indian Education Center (AIEC)

Five-year grants offered every five years for prevention, intervention, cessation, and youth development services to reduce commercial tobacco use among American Indian youth.

Currently Funded TUPE Programs

TUPE Grant Profile GIS Map

The CDE TUPE Office funds over 150 programs across all 58 counties, supporting youth tobacco prevention efforts in more than 600 school districts. To learn more about the TUPE program’s reach, visit the site below to explore an interactive GIS map that displays student enrollment (grades 6–12), funding levels, and grantee contacts by state, region, county, and individual grantee.

The map features data from 2023–25; contact Dr. Chunxia Wang at cwang@cde.ca.gov for more information.

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Background

Proposition 99

In 1988, California voters approved Proposition 99, the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act. This initiative increased the state tax on packs of cigarettes by 25 cents. A portion of the revenue was earmarked for tobacco prevention and control, with various state and local agencies playing key roles.

For its part, the CDE established the statewide TUPE Program, which in turn supports local programs to provide students in grades six through twelve with tobacco-use prevention education.

TEROC

Proposition 99 also established the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC) to advise the CDE and other agencies with respect to the development, implementation, and evaluation of anti-tobacco programming.

TEROC develops and regularly updates an overarching plan for this purpose. A key objective of this plan is to prevent tobacco use among young people and empower them as advocates of tobacco prevention and control.

Proposition 56

In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 56, the California Healthcare Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act.

Proposition 56 increased the cigarette tax by $2 per pack and placed equivalent taxes on other tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

The law was designed to help prevent youth tobacco use, reduce tobacco-related health care costs, and accelerate the rate of decline in tobacco-related disparities.

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In This Section

The California Department of Education funds Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to implement comprehensive programs that utilize evidence-informed tobacco-use prevention, youth development, intervention, reinforcement activities for tobacco-free school environments, and cessation programs.