Introduction to Title I Fiscal Requirements

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Introduction to Title I Fiscal Requirements

• Presented by
• Kristen Tosh Cowan, Esq.
• Brustein Manasevit, PLLC
• ktoshcowan_at_bruman.com
• Spring Forum 2011

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Overview

• 1) LEA-to-School allocations
• 2) Set asides
• 3) Equitable Services allocation
• 4) Carryover
• 5) Comparability
• 6) Reauthorization Predictions

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Resources -- Allocations

• Statute
• Section 1113
• Regulations
• 34 CFR 200.77-78
• Non-regulatory Guidance
• August 2003

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Resources Cross-cutting

• Title I Fiscal Issues Feb 2008
• www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/ fiscalguid.doc
• Consolidating funds in schoolwide programs, MOE,
  SNS, Comparability, Grantbacks, Carryover

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LEA-to-School Allocations

• Ranking and Serving Rules
• 1) Identify Eligible Schools
• 2) Rank Schools in Order of Poverty
• 3) Serve Schools Strictly in Accordance with Rank

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Step 1 Identify Eligible Schools
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Eligible School Attendance Areas

• Percentage of children from low-income families
  who reside in area . . . .
• AT LEAST AS HIGH AS . . . .
• percentage of children from low-income families
  in LEA

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LEA Discretion Eligibility

• 35 Percent Rule
• May designate as eligible
• Must still serve in order

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LEA Discretion Eligibility

• Grandfathering option
• Continue if served last year
• But, only continue for one year

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5 Poverty Measures

1. Census data
2. Free and reduced lunch
3. TANF
4. Medicaid eligibility
5. Composite of above

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Step 2 Rank Eligible Schools in order of
poverty
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Ranking and Serving

• Exceeding 75 poverty
• Strictly by poverty
• Without regard to gradespan
• At or below 75 poverty
• May rank by gradespan

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Exception NO Rank Serve if

• Small LEA exclusion
• If lt1000 students
• One school at each gradespan

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Step 3 serve schools STRICtLY in order of rank
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Allocation to Schools

• BUT first, calculate set-asides
• Allocate to schools based on total of students
  from low income families residing in area
  (including nonpublic)
• Discretion on amount of PPA
• Higher PPAs must be in higher schools on ranked
  list

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Allocations given without regard to schoolwide or
targeted assistance model

• Title I funding . . .
• . . . To school based on poverty
• . . . To student based on academics

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125 Percent Rule

• If serve any school lt35
• Then PPAs for all schools must be at least 125
  of LEAs PPA under Title I allocation
• Entire LEA Title I-A Grant
• of low income on census

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EXAMPLE

• 1,000,000 total Title I grant
• 2,000 poverty students
• 500/ student PPA
• If serve school lt35 poverty,
• 500 x 1.25 625 PPA

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Exception Rank Serve

• Skip school, if
• Comparability met
• Receiving supplemental state/local funds used in
  Title I-like program
• Supp. State/local funds meet or exceed amount
  would be received under Title I
• Still count and serve nonpublic in area

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Title I Set-Asides
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LEA MUST reserve specific percentage

• 20 choice transportation and SES
• 1 parental involvement
• 10 professional dev (if LEA ID)

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LEA MUST reserve but not specific percentage

• Administration (public and private)
• Homeless
• Neglected delinquent

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LEA MAY reserve

• Incentives to teachers in ID schools (lt5)
• Professional development
• other authorized activities
• Summer school
• Preschool
• Districtwide program

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CAUTION

• DONT CIRCUMVENT RANKING AND SERVING RULES!

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Calculating set asides

• Take off entire LEA grant
• Transferability
• Includes transferred amounts
• Carryover
• Does not include carry over (apply only in
  first year available)

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Example

• Title I, Part A 500,000
• Transferred 30,000 from Title II
• Carried over 50,000 from prior year
• Each set aside applies to 530,000

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Funds for Supp Ed Services and Choice
Transportation

• Amount equal to 20 of LEA allocation
• (unless lesser amount needed)
• To pay transportation for choice
• To satisfy all requests for SES services
• Both

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• If no SES, then 20 on choice
• If no choice, then 20 on SES
• If both, then minimum of 5 for choice, 5 for
  supp services, and 10 for either

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Credit for Parent Outreach

• Allow limited amount of funds for parent
  outreach to count toward 20
• Capped at 0.2 of LEA Part A grant
• May spend more for outreach, but only 0.2 counts
  toward 20
• EX - 1 million LEA grant
• 20 200,000
• 0.2 2,000 can count toward 200,000

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What costs count as parent outreach?

• Parent notices, communication through the media,
  internet, and community, displaying information
  on LEAs website, and parent fairs
• Allowance, not a requirement

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Amount equal to 20

• May use Title I, Part A school improvement
  (sect. 1003) ARRA
• transferability
• State, local, or private funds

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If use Title I Funds, from where?

• Off the top of LEA allocation OR from individual
  school allocations?
• Both permitted
• If school in corrective action or restruct, lt15

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• Use 20 unless a lesser amount is needed
• How do you know if less is needed?

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To spend less than 20, LEA must 200.48(d)(2)(i)

• Partner, to extent practicable, with outside
  groups (CBO, FBO, etc.)
• Send timely, accurate notice to parents
• Ensure SES sign-up forms given directly to all
  eligible students/ parents
• Ensure SES sign-up forms made widely available
  through broad dissemination (Internet, other
  media, public agencies)

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• 5. Provide (at a minimum) two enrollment windows
  at separate points in school year of sufficient
  length
• 6. Ensure SES providers are given access to
  school facilities, using a fair, open and
  objective process, on same basis as others

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Does LEA need SEAs permission before
reallocating the 20?

• NO!

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LEA must document and notify SEA!

• Before reallocating remainder of 20, LEA must
• Maintain records demonstrating it has met
  criteria
• Notify the SEA that it met criteria
• Notify SEA of amount of remainder it intends to
  spend on other allowable activities

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SEA monitors 20 compliance through
(200.48(d)(3))

• Regular monitoring (on multi-year cycles)
• Ensure 6 criteria are met
• More frequent monitoring
• For LEAs that have spent significant portion of
  20 on other activities AND subject of multiple
  complaints, supported by credible evidence,
  regarding implementation of choice or SES
• SEA must complete its review by the beginning of
  the next school year

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Consequences for non-compliance200.48(d)(4)

• If SEA finds LEA did not meet all 6 criteria,
  then LEA must in the subsequent year
• Spend amount equal to the remainder of 20 in the
  subsequent year on choice/ SES, in addition to
  new 20, OR
• Meet all 6 criteria and obtain permission from
  the SEA before spending less than full 20 in
  subsequent year.

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How to reallocate?

• If took school allocations, then reallocated to
  those schools
• Subject to equitable participation of private
  school students

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Set Aside for Parent Involvement

• For LEAs with Part A allocations gt500,000
• 1 minimum reserved
• Proportional amount to private students
• 95 of remainder to schools
• 5 of remainder kept at LEA

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Equitable Services for Private School Students
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Equitable ServicesDeriving Allocation

• General Formula
• Based on number of
• Private school students
• From low-income families
• Who reside in Title I-participating public school
  attendance areas

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Calculate Allocation for Instruction

• Identify eligible school attendance areas
• Rank in order of poverty
• Strictly serve in rank order (i.e., ID who is
  Participating Public School)
• Calculate PPA for each area
• Derive allocation amount for each area
• must include nonpublic low-income
• Reserve nonpublic amount
• PPA x of nonpublic low-income students who
  reside in participating public sch area

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Reservation for districtwide instruction

• If LEA reserves for districtwide instructional
  programs for public elementary and secondary
• Then proportional amount goes to nonpublic
• 34 CFR sect 200.64(a)(2)(i)(A)

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Example

• LEA reserves 500,000 for districtwide reading
  initiative
• Of all low-income in LEA residing in
  participating attend areas, 5 are private
• 5 of 500,000 to private allocation

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Applies to

• Summer school
• After school programs
• Reading coaches
• DOES NOT APPLY TO
• SES/ Choice (20)
• Preschool

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Reservation for teachers and families

• If LEA reserves funds for parental involvement or
  professional development
• Then proportional amount to nonpublic
• 34 CFR sect 200.65(a)

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Example

• LEA reserves 1 of 500,000 allocation for
  parental involvement, or 5,000.
• Of all low-income families residing in
  participating attend area, 6 are private. Then
  6 of 5,000 used for families of participating
  private school students.

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Carryover

• General Rule May carryover up to 15 of Title I,
  Part A
• Reallocated by state if exceeds
• Waiver

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Use of Carryover Funds

• Flexible
• 3 Options
• Put back in LEA formula redistribute
• Designate for particular LEA activities
• (Allow school to retain)
• Cannot use in ineligible school

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3 Pillars of Fiscal Accountability

1. Maintenance of Effort
2. Supplement not Supplant
3. Comparability

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Heightened Federal Scrutiny on Comparability!!

• Common finding of USDE Program Reviewers
• Many serious findings in OIG Audits
• Focus of equity initiatives

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General Rule - 1120A(c)

• An LEA may receive Title I, Part A funds only if
  it uses state and local funds to provide services
  in Title I schools that, taken as a whole, are at
  least comparable to the services provided in
  non-Title I schools.
• Reasonable variance is ok (10)

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• If all are Title I schools, all must be
  substantially comparable.
• Reasonable variance ok (gt10)

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Timing

• Common Finding!
• Guidance Must be annual determination
• Review for current year and make adjustments for
  current year

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Written Assurances

• LEA must file with SEA written assurances of
  policies for equivalence
• LEA-wide salary schedule
• Teachers, administrators, and other staff
• Curriculum materials and instructional supplies
• Must keep records to document implemented and
  equivalence achieved

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Demonstrate equivalence achieved through

• Student/instructional staff ratios
• Student/instructional staff salary ratios
• Expenditures per pupil or
• A resource allocation plan based on student
  characteristics such as poverty, LEP, disability,
  etc. (i.e., by formula)
• Need only meet under 1 approach

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How to measure??

• Compare
• Average of all non-Title I schools
• to
• Each Title I school

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For example Using student/ instructional staff
ratios

• Average of all non-Title I schools 101

• Title I schools
• Lincoln 101
• Washington 91
• Madison 111
• Jefferson 121

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• Basis for evaluation Compare
• Grade-spans
• Large schools
• Small schools

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Does not apply if LEA has

• Only 1 school
• Only 1 school at each gradespan

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Exclusions

• Federal Funds
• Private Funds

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Exclusions

• Need not include unpredictable changes in
  students enrollment or personnel assignments that
  occur after the start of a school year

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Exclusions LEA may exclude state/ local funds
expended for

• Language instruction for LEP students
• Excess costs of providing services to students
  with disabilities
• Supplemental programs that meet the intent and
  purposes of Title I
• Staff salary differentials for years of
  employment

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Who is instructional staff?

• Consistent between Title I and
• non-Title I
• Teachers (art, music, phys ed), guidance
  counselors, speech therapists, librarians, social
  workers, psychologists
• Paraprofessionals ED up to SEA/ LEA

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How to calculate in a SWP?

• Problem (theoretically)
• Cannot exclude state and local funds
• Cannot identify teachers paid with state and
  local funds
• Use (non-federal) expenditures per student

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How to calculate with charter schools?

• Charters must be included (if not independent
  LEAs)
• Problem No LEA control over staffing
• Use (non-federal) expenditures per student

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How will Reauthorization impact Title I Fiscal
Requirements?
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Reauthorization Predictions

• Comparability
• Close loophole of excluding salary differential
  to reflect seniority
• Move to measuring non-federal expenditures/
  student
• Supplement not Supplant
• Change to reviewing total amount of funding, not
  individual expenditure?

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Reauthorization Predictions

• Choice/ SES
• Unlikely 20 minimum mandate
• One option of many
• Target to underperforming subgroup
• Financial incentives for teachers and students

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Reauthorization Predictions

• No significant changes to
• Ranking serving rules
• Equitable services
• Consolidating funds in schoolwides
• Time effort

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