Title I, Part A Overview

Title I, Part A Overview

July 17, 2023 | Grants Management

Title I is the largest program under ESSA, and understanding how it works can be a challenge, especially if you are new. Do you want to hear about Title I in a nutshell? Having a Title I program can provide many benefits for your school, so it pays to be “in the know” about how this federal grant funding is obtained and where to go for information once you have the basics down. The Title I Overview webinar will provide a big-picture overview of the basics of Title I, and then you will have the foundation to grow your knowledge of federal grants from there!

CSS can help you go beyond the basics of Title I! Our team has deep knowledge to assist our clients with integrating all federal grant funds to support your Charter District!

What is Title I funding?

Title I funding is part of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, and it is applied for as a federal grant through the Texas Education Agency. It is a formula grant which means that if you have eligible students, you will receive the funding, based on a funding formula, without having to compete with other districts for the money. The federal funds provide additional funding to schools to address achievement gaps of students from poverty. The programs must be academic in nature, and you will have some discretion through the improvement planning process to address your unique student needs.

What are the types of Title I programs?

There are two types of Title I programs:

  • Targeted Assisted – This type of program requires certain students to be identified, based on a criteria you establish, in order to receive services. You must have 35% free and reduced lunch population at a school to apply as targeted assisted. This is typical for first year schools since you have to do a planning year to become Title I schoolwide. Only the identified students can be served by Title I funds, and data will need to be kept on which students are served and the services they received.
  • Schoolwide – Once the planning year is completed, and you have 40% free and reduced lunch, you can become a schoolwide campus. In this program, all students in the school can be served by the funds.

Where can I view the Title I grant?

The employee responsible for applying for federal grants will need to have a TEAL account, and within the TEAL account, the eGrants application. New users typically are routed to the Superintendent for approval.

New charters will complete a SC5050 in eGrants in November of the year they open. The data is mostly enrollment numbers taken from PEIMS, and the data will be used to determine your Title I funding amounts. Then typically you will be able to complete the Title I grant application in January and receive the funds in March or April. This will provide you with a short amount of time to address student needs through a targeted assisted program in the spring while planning to become schoolwide the following year.

Once the routine is established, your federal grant funding amounts will be posted online each year, usually in May, at the TEA entitlements website. The grant application will be posted in eGrants soon after the entitlements are released. Planning will start in the spring in the form of conducting a Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) and writing a rough draft of your District and Campus Improvement Plans (DIP/CIP). The grant is generally submitted in the summer between June 30 and before your employees return to work — depending on your situation.

What are the requirements of Title I?

The following are the requirements of having a Title I program which are discussed to a greater extent in the webinar:

  • Annual CNA
  • Annual CIP
  • Annual Program Evaluation
  • DIP addressing Title I Requirements
  • District Parent and Family Engagement Policy
  • Campus Parent and Family Engagement Policy
  • School Parent Compact

What can I spend Title I funds on?

There are many possibilities depending on your campus plan, but keep in mind, parental involvement will be required. The most common uses of Title I funds include personnel such as interventionists or instructional aides to work with high-need students. After school tutoring and intervention software are other common uses.

See the Title I Use of Funds Reference Document as another helpful resource.

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