Title I, Part A - Improving Basic Programs Operated by LEAs

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Under ESSA, Title I, Part A provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) – Public School Districts, Charter Schools, and Special Act Districts – for the purpose of providing all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps among groups of students. Funds are allocated through four statutory formulas that are based primarily on census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each state.

An LEA’s Title I allocation is the sum of the amount that the LEA receives under each formula. LEAs target the Title I funds they receive to schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families. If a Title I school is operating a targeted assistance program, the school provides Title I services to children who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet challenging State academic standards. Schools in which children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of enrollment are eligible to use Title I funds to operate schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school in order to raise the achievement of the lowest-achieving students. LEAs also must use Title I funds to provide Title I services to eligible children enrolled in private schools.