EHBD(LEGAL) - SPECIAL PROGRAMS: FEDERAL TITLE I

Note: The following contains basic requirements for districts and schools receiving Title I, Part A funds, but does not represent a complete list of legal obligations of such districts and schools. Those districts and schools that receive Title I, Part A funds should carefully review federal and state requirements concerning use of those funds. [For federal accountability standards, see AID. For requirements regarding federal funding, see CBB.]

Parent and Family Engagement Plan

A district may receive funds under Title I, Part A only if the district conducts outreach to all parents and family members and implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs assisted under Title I, Part A, consistent with 20 U.S.C. 6318. The programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children. 20 U.S.C. 6318(a)(1)

District Policy

A district that receives Title I, Part A funds shall develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. The policy shall be incorporated into a district plan developed under 20 U.S.C. 6312 [TEA-approved plan to receive Title I funds], establish the district's expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement, and describe how the district will:

  1. Involve parents and family members in jointly developing the district plan, and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 6311(d);
  2. Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the district in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education;
  3. Coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under Title I, Part A with parent and family engagement strategies to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant federal, state, and local laws and programs;
  4. Conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under Title I, Part A, including identifying:
    1. Barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by section 6318 (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background);
    2. The needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and
    3. Strategies to support successful school and family interactions;
  5. Use the findings of the above evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies described in section 6318; and
  6. Involve parents in the activities of the schools served under Title I, Part A, which may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the local educational agency to adequately represent the needs of the population served by such agency for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy.

20 U.S.C. 6318(a)(2) [See BQ(LOCAL)]

School Policy

Each school served under Title I, Part A shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of 20 U.S.C. 6318(c)–(f). Parents shall be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand. Such policy shall be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school. 20 U.S.C. 6318(b)

Fiscal Requirements

Maintenance of Effort

A district may receive funds under this part for any fiscal year only if TEA finds that the district has maintained their fiscal effort in accordance with 20 U.S.C. 7901. 20 U.S.C. 6321(a)

Supplement, Not Supplant

A district shall use federal funds received under Title I, Part A only to supplement, not supplant, the funds that would, in the absence of such federal funds, be made available from state and local sources for the education of students participating in programs assisted under Part A. 20 U.S.C. 6321(b)

Comparability

A district may receive funds under Title I, Part A only if state and local funds will be used in Title I, Part A schools to provide services that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to services in schools that are not receiving Title I, Part A funds. A district may meet this requirement on a grade-span by grade-span basis or a school-by-school basis.

For purposes of determining comparability, a district may exclude state and local funds expended for language instruction educational programs and the excess costs of providing services to children with disabilities as determined by the district.

A district shall be considered to have met the comparability requirements if the district has filed with TEA a written assurance that the district has established and implemented:

  1. A district-wide salary schedule;
  2. A policy to ensure equivalence among schools in teachers, administrators, and other staff; and
  3. A policy to ensure equivalence among schools in the provision of curriculum materials and instructional supplies.

20 U.S.C. 6321(c)

Prohibited Use of Funds

No funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) may be used:

  1. For construction, renovation, or repair of any school facility, except as authorized under ESEA;
  2. For transportation unless otherwise authorized under ESEA;
  3. To develop or distribute materials, or operate programs or courses of instruction directed at youth, that are designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual;
  4. To distribute or to aid in the distribution by any organization of legally obscene materials to minors on school grounds;
  5. To provide sex education or HIV-prevention education in schools unless that instruction is age appropriate and includes the health benefits of abstinence; or
  6. To operate a program of contraceptive distribution in schools.

20 U.S.C. 7906

Private Schools

After timely and meaningful consultation [as described at 20 U.S.C. 6320(b)] with appropriate private school officials, a district shall provide eligible children [as that term is defined at 20 U.S.C. 6315(c)] enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools, on an equitable basis and individually or in combination, with special educational services, instructional services (including evaluations to determine the progress being made in meeting such students' academic needs), counseling, mentoring, one-on-one tutoring, or other benefits under Title I, Part A that address their needs.

The educational services and other benefits may include dual or concurrent enrollment, educational radio and television, computer equipment and materials, other technology, and mobile educational services and equipment. The services and benefits, including materials and equipment, shall be secular, neutral, and non-ideological, shall be equitable in comparison to services and other benefits for public school children participating in Title I, Part A programs, and shall be provided in a timely manner. A district may provide services directly or through contracts with public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions.

A district shall also ensure that teachers and families of the children participate, on an equitable basis, in services and activities developed pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 6318 (parent and family engagement).

20 U.S.C. 6320

Note: See DBA for qualifications of teachers in Title I programs.

Homeless Children

As a condition of receiving funds under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a district shall serve homeless children according to their best interests. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3) [See FD, FDC, and FFC]

Iredell ISD

EHBD(LEGAL)-P

UPDATE 111

DATE ISSUED: 7/6/2018