Fast Facts: Title I (158)

Title I

Question:
What is Title I and how are these funds distributed to different types of schools?

Response:

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. Title I allocations to state education agencies and local education agencies (LEAs) are based primarily on annually updated LEA poverty estimates produced by the U.S. 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. These rules also mean that Title I per-pupil allocations for schools vary across schools within LEAs, across LEAs within a state, and across states.¹

In school year 2021–22, about 63 percent of traditional public schools and 62 percent of public charter schools were Title I eligible.² A Title I-eligible school could have a schoolwide program,³ 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. 4 percent).

The table below shows total appropriations for Title I programs in fiscal years (FY)⁴ 2021 and 2022. See the full table (available in the SOURCE note) for Title I appropriations by state and jurisdiction.

Appropriations for Title I and selected other programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, by program: Fiscal years 2021 and 2022
[In thousands of current dollars]
State or jurisdiction	Title I total, 2021¹	Title I, 2022				State Assessments, 2022	Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, 2022
		Total¹	Grants to local education agencies²	State agency programs
		Total¹	Grants to local education agencies²	Neglected and Delinquent	Migrant
Total, 50 states and D.C.³	$16,348,369	$17,278,668	$16,866,206	$46,836	$365,626	$360,736	$2,091,335
Total, 50 states, D.C., other activities, and other jurisdictions	16,960,667	17,960,667	17,536,802	48,239	375,626	390,000	2,170,080

¹ 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. For fiscal years prior to FY 2017, School Improvement State Grants had been funded under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
² Includes Basic, Concentration, Targeted, and Education Finance Incentive Grants.
³ Total excludes other activities and other jurisdictions.
NOTE: Data for FY 2021 are revised from previously published figures. Estimates for FY 2022 are preliminary. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

In FY 2022, current expenditures from FY 2021⁵ federal Title I grants for economically disadvantaged students (including carryover expenditures⁶) accounted for $15.6 billion, or 2.0 percent of current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education. Title I expenditures per pupil⁷ were $316 on a national level and ranged from $126 in Utah to $547 in Mississippi.

¹ 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. For more information, see https://oese.ed.gov/files/2022/02/Within-district-allocations-FINAL.pdf.
² Title I data for school year 2021–22 are missing for 11 percent of traditional public schools and 18 percent of public charter schools.
³ Schools enrolling at least 40 percent of students from low-income families are eligible to use Title I funds for schoolwide programs designed to upgrade the entire school’s education program to improve achievement for all students, particularly the lowest achieving students. 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. For more information, see https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2019/2019016.pdf.
⁴ The fiscal year used by most state education agencies (SEAs) begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. A fiscal year corresponds to the school year as the latter year of the school year range. For example, FY 22 corresponds to school year 2021–22.
⁵ FY 2021 (for primary use in school year 2021–22) State educational agency (SEA) and local educational agency (LEA) allocations for Title I, Part A (Basic, Concentration, Targeted, and Education Finance Incentive Grants), Title I, Part B (State Assessment), Title I, Part C (Education of Migratory Children, and Prevention), and Title I, Part D (Intervention Programs for Children and Youths Who are Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk: SEA Programs).
⁶ Title I expenditures are reported by states on the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) as either current year or carryover expenditures. Federal law permits states to retain Title I allocations for up to 27 months in order to allow entities to spend the money at a later date.
⁷ Title I expenditures per pupil are calculated as current and carry-over expenditures divided by total membership, which includes both Title I eligible students and noneligible students.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Characteristics of Elementary and Secondary Schools. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cla.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2021–22 (Fiscal Year 2022). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2024/2024301.pdf.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Table 401.70. Appropriations for Title I and selected other programs under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, by program and state or jurisdiction: Fiscal years 2021 and 2022 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_401.70.asp.

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