No Child Left Behind - The "Title I" Provisions
What is Title I?
Title I ("Title One") is a part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Pub.L. 89-10, 79 Stat. 27, 20 U.S.C. ch.70). Title I is a set of programs set up by the United States Department of Education to distribute funding to schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families.
Approximately 94% of school districts across the U.S. qualify for TItle I funds. Which schools are eligible to receive Title I funds?
- Any school that has at least 75% of its students from low-income
families must be served regardless of its grade span
- All other schools are then rank ordered by percent of students from low-income families (most districts use free and reduced lunch information) from highest to lowest and then the school district has the option of
serving:
- Any school that is at or above the school district’s percentage of
poverty, or - Any school that has at least 35% of its children from low-income
families, whichever is lower
- Any school that is at or above the school district’s percentage of
- The school district can rank schools as a whole or by grade span
groupings
Schools receiving Title I funding are regulated by federal legislation, including the No Child Left Behind Act.
Title I funds may be used for children from preschool through high school, but most of the students served (65 percent) are in grades 1 through 6; another 12 percent are in preschool and kindergarten programs.
Partial Source: Wikipedia
Title I Set-Asides
Current statute requires certain set asides at both the district and school levels.
District-required set asides (reservations):
- A minimum of 1% for parental involvement, of which at least 95% must be allocated to participating schools. However, this is not applicable to LEAs receiving less than $500,000 but these LEAs are still responsible for carrying out the requirements in section 1118 of the ESEA
- 10% for professional development for LEAs in improvement (can use funds schools in improvement set aside for professional development to count toward the 10%)
- 20% for public school choice transportation and supplemental education services
- An amount for services for children in private schools (instructional services, parent involvement, and professional development for teachers working with students receiving Title I services)
Optional set asides that have a district-wide impact:
- Pre-k programs
- Summer intervention programs
Required set aside for schools for schools in improvement (years 1 and 2 of improvement):
- 10% for professional development designed to address the reasons why the school did not make AYP
The Two Types of Title I Funding
Title I is a federal aide program that provides extra education services for children who are behind in school. Schools can apply for Title I funds based on the number of students who receive free and reduced school lunch. There are two types of Title I funding:
1) School-wide programs Schools which have over 40% of students with free and reduced school lunch can apply to be a school-wide Title I school. School-wide Title I funding is where all students in the school benefit from the monies.
2) Targeted Assistance program — Schools with less than 40% of students with free and reduced school lunch (and, optionally, some schools with over 40%) can choose to create a “targeted” program at the school to provide services only for students who are academically behind (as opposed to having the monies benefit all students).
Title I Calls for Parent Involvement in Education
The Title I law, Section 1118, also establishes strong guidelines for the relationship between schools and parents. In part, the law states that:
Local school districts receiving Title I funds must:- Develop a jointly agreed upon written policy which establishes the district’s expectations for parental involvement
- Ensure that each participating school develops a written policy that describes the means for carrying out the district’s policy
- Convene annual meeting
- Conduct annual evaluations of parental involvement policy
- Communicate a policy for promoting parental involvement in program implementation, school review, and development of improvement plans
- Local school districts must ensure that Title I schools:
- Reserve at least one percent of the district’s total Title I, Part A, allocation to carry out parental involvement activities for districts receiving $500,000 or more
- Set aside at least 95 percent of the reserved funds to be distributed to participating schools
- Schools receiving Title I funds are REQUIRED to:
- Jointly develop with, agree upon, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy.
- Notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, in a language that the parents can understand.
- Hold an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents shall be invited and encouraged to attend.
- Local school districts must ensure that Title I schools:
- Provide parents with information about the programs, a description and explanation of the curriculum, forms of academic assessment and, if requested, opportunities for regular meetings to discuss the education of their children
- Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement.
- Develop a written school-parent compact that outlines the responsibilities of each party for improved student academic achievement
Adapated from www.mde.k12.ms.us/innovative_support/presentations/Parental%20Involvement.pps
Additional Resources
Download full text of Title I, Section 1118 (PDF) or 
Read on the Internet
Parental Notification Rules Under NCLB
The Written Parent Involvement Policy
Main Title I Page at the NH Department of Education
