Title I Education Grants: Empowering Equitable Education Opportunities

Title I funding plays a vital role in supporting schools that serve a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students. This federal initiative aims to provide equitable educational opportunities and close achievement gaps. Established under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, Title I funding is designed to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

The Foundation: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law back in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Title 1 (Title One) is a provision of the ESEA. Funding under Title 1 targets schools and school districts where a high percentage of students are from low-income families.

Understanding Title I Funding

Title I is a federally funded program for schools to assist economically disadvantaged children. Since a high incidence of poverty in a school has a direct correlation with low academic student achievement, Title I funds are used to provide instruction to raise the achievement of students who are failing or are at-risk of failing to meet the challenging state standards. The purpose of Title I is to support school efforts to ensure that all children meet challenging academic standards and have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts for children from low-income families. Its purpose is to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps by allocating federal funds for education programs and services.

Eligibility Criteria

Schools qualify based on demonstrating that the K-12, ages 5-17, membership has a sufficiently high percentage of economically disadvantaged students. An SEA is a state-level Board of Education or other entity responsible for the supervision of public schools. A school is eligible for Title 1 funding if at least 40 percent of students are from low-income families, based on the US Census definition of low-income.

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Census Bureau. Then, within-LEA allocations to schools are based on school poverty rates, for which a common measure used by LEAs is the number of public school children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL). However, not all Title I-eligible schools participate in Title I programs, due to rules governing within-LEA allocations and state and district flexibility for allocating Title I funds.

In school year 2021-22, about 63 percent of traditional public schools and 62 percent of public charter schools were Title I eligible. A Title I-eligible school could have a schoolwide program, a targeted assistance program, or no Title I program. A lower percentage of traditional public schools participated in schoolwide Title I programs compared with public charter schools (42 vs. 50 percent). Nine percent each of traditional public and public charter schools operated targeted assistance programs. A higher percentage of traditional public schools had no Title I program (although they were eligible), compared with public charter schools (12 vs.

Allocation of Funds

Once a school qualifies, funds are then allocated in the spring based on a formula developed at the district office that projects the number of qualifying children at the school for the following year.

Under federal law, Title I funds can be used for a variety of initiatives, provided they improve student achievement. Funds are allocated to local education agencies (LEAs) based on poverty levels within school attendance areas. Schools with at least 40% of students from low-income families can operate school-wide programs, utilizing Title I funds to benefit all students.

Types of Title I Grants

Assistance is dispersed through grants, allocations, and reallocations. Requesting a Title 1 grant involves an application process.

Basic Grants: Basic Grants make up the biggest piece of the Title 1 pie. In 2015, $6.4 billion Basic Grant funds were allocated.
Concentration Grants: Concentration Grants made up $1.3 billion in funding in 2015. These grants provide additional funds for districts with large low-income and disadvantaged student populations.
Targeted Grants: Targeted Grants accounted for nearly $3.3 billion in Title 1 funds in 2015. These grants use the same criteria style as Basic Grants and Concentration Grants, but provide weighting of data. Data weights allow for more funds to flow towards schools with higher formula-eligible student counts. Based on weighted data, favoring LEAs with higher numbers or percentages of formula children.
Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG): Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG) made up approximately $3.3 billion in grant allocations in 2015. These grants are distributed in two phases. Funds are first distributed at the state level, then the state allocates to the district level. States receive funds based on statewide income data.

Financial Overview

The table below shows total appropriations for Title I programs in fiscal years (FY) 2021 and 2022. This table does not include funding for School Improvement State Grants because the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 did not authorize funding for these grants. NOTE: Data for FY 2021 are revised from previously published figures. Estimates for FY 2022 are preliminary.

In FY 2022, current expenditures from FY 2021 federal Title I grants for economically disadvantaged students (including carryover expenditures) accounted for $15.6 billion, or 2.0 percent of current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education.

Title I expenditures are reported by states on the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) as either current year or carryover expenditures.

Utilizing Title I Funds Effectively

While Title I funding provides essential support, understanding its allowable uses and leveraging it effectively are critical to maximizing its impact. Schools can align funding with innovative programs, especially in technology and community engagement, to create equitable and inclusive learning environments. By staying informed of both federal and state guidelines, administrators can ensure these funds meet their intended purpose-closing the achievement gap and empowering all students to succeed.

Allowable Uses

Under federal law, Title I funds can be used for a variety of initiatives, provided they improve student achievement.

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Technology Integration

Many districts use Title I to purchase laptops, tablets, or software subscriptions, often bundling multi-year plans to maximize value. Progress Learning is used effectively by Title I students across the country to achieve standards mastery and improve educational outcomes for students who need it most.

Program Implementation

Unless a participating school is operating a schoolwide program, the school must focus Title I services on students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet state academic standards.

State and Local Policies

While federal guidelines set the framework, each state may have additional policies for applying for and distributing Title I funds. Schools' eligibility for Title I funds and within-LEA allocations are determined by the Within-District Allocations Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Alternative Funding Sources

Title 1 funding is an enormously important federal-level funding resource for schools throughout the US. However, it’s not the only way that schools receive financial assistance. State-level funding options change frequently based on budgets and other factors. While it’s difficult to maintain an updated list of state-level funding opportunities, Positive Action highlights important opportunities when they arise. Finally, private funding may come through for your district when all else fails.

Positive Action does not provide grant writing services, but we have prepared a set of materials to assist our customers with their grant writing processes. Funding is an unavoidable challenge for educators. While educational funding on many levels can seem elusive or shrinking, Federal Title 1 funding remains substantial.

Positive Action's Role

At Positive Action, we understand the funding challenges that educators face. Fortunately, our range of evidence-based programs for educators and families qualify for various funding opportunities. Positive Action meets the requirements for Title 1 funding use.

“Positive Action curriculum has been a great addition to the programming offered at the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Missouri. Staff have focused on the environment that the kids work in. Our Learning Center staff has had great success in dimming the lights and having members sit on rugs in a laid back environment where they feel comfortable opening up and sharing with each other. Staff say members have enjoyed the activities and look forward to programming. Members have worked hard to bring a positive environment to the club as a whole. One member has struggled with her self image and battled suicidal thoughts. Our programs work within this Thoughts-Actions-Feelings circle to improve the self-concepts of students.

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