Title I

What is the Purpose of Title 1 Funding?

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the purpose of Title 1 funding, “is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.”The basic principles of Title 1 state that schools with large concentrations of low-income students will receive supplemental funds to assist in meeting student’s educational goals. Low-income students are determined by the number of students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. For an entire school to qualify for Title 1 funds, at least 40% of students must enroll in the free and reduced lunch program.

 

How are Title 1 Funds Used?

How to use Title 1 funds rests with each school. Title 1 funds can be used to improve curriculum, instructional activities, counseling, parental involvement, increase staff and program improvement. The funding should assist schools in meeting the educational goals of low-income students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title 1 funds typically support supplemental instruction in reading and math. Annually, this program reaches over six million students, primarily in the elementary grades.

Types of students that might be served by Title 1 funds include migrant students, students with limited English proficiency, homeless students, students with disabilities, neglected students, delinquent students, at-risk students or any student in need. Students can be classified as at-risk for numerous reasons. A few reasons they might be classified as at-risk students include: low academic performance, being held back a grade for one or more years, or being homeless. There are other criteria that may place students in an at-risk category as well.

Title I Funded Schools Commitment To Parents Of EL Students?

Schools using Title I funds to provide a language instruction educational program must provide the following information to a parent or parents of limited English proficient children identified for participation or participating in such a program: 
  • The reasons for the identification of their child as limited English proficient and in need of placement in a language instruction educational program;
  • The child’s level of English proficiency, how that level was assessed, and the status of the child’s academic achievement;
  • The methods of instruction used in the program in which their child is, or will be participating, and the methods of instruction used in other available programs, including how those programs differ in content, instructional goals, and the use of English and a native language in instruction;
  • How the program in which their child is or will be participating will meet the educational strengths and needs of their child;
  • How the program will specifically help their child learn English, and meet age-appropriate academic achievement standards for grade promotion and graduation;
  • The specific exit requirements of the program, including the expected rate of transition from the program into classrooms that are not tailored for limited English proficient children, and the expected rate of graduation from secondary school for the program if Title I funds are used for children in secondary schools;
  • In the case of a child with a disability, how the program meets the objectives of the child’s individualized education program (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the child’s individualized services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
  • Information pertaining to parental rights, including written guidance—
    • Detailing the option that parents have a right to decline enrollment in a language instructional program and to choose another program or method of instruction if available,
    • Detailing the right that parents have to remove their child immediately from the program upon the parents’ request, and
    • Assisting parents in selecting among various programs and methods of instruction, if more than one program or method is offered by the eligible entity.
  • The notice and information provided must be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can understand.
 

Schools must provide the above information to parents not later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year for those children identified before the beginning of the school year as limited English proficient. For children identified after the beginning of the school year as limited English proficient, schools must provide the above information to parents within the first 2 weeks of the child being placed in a language instruction educational program.