Title I money is essential for schools |
On Board Online • October 16, 2023
Robert S. Schneider
NYSSBA Executive Director
Currently, the federal budget rests in the hands of one of the most dysfunctional Congresses in history. Our elected officials barely averted a government shutdown on Oct. 1, and now there is a leadership crisis in the House of Representatives.
Congressional dysfunction has also resulted in some really bad bills for education. For example, one that the House considered in September would have cut 80% of a well-established federal funding stream for K-12 schools known as Title I.
New York's estimated award in Title I funding for the 2023 fiscal year was more than $1.4 billion, according to the U.S. Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, behind only California and Texas. This is money that our schools have come to rely on to sustain important, effective programs - particularly those that support reading and literacy.
Fortunately, the bill failed. But the fact that Title I was on the chopping block for even a short period of time is surprising, because the program is directly targeted at schools with students in poverty (or close to it).
As we all know, communities with a lot of low-income households cannot raise as much money for local schools as communities that have a healthy tax base. Title I was designed to address that imbalance by providing federal money to schools based on the enrollment of children who come from low-income homes.
Student eligibility can be determined by free or reduced-price lunch or Medicaid eligibility, among other criteria. About half of America's schoolchildren (approximately 25 million) qualify. About six in 10 American schools get at least some Title I money.
Through the last six decades, Title I has survived the changing political winds. The program has been around since the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed by Congress in 1965. According to the U.S. Department of Education, it was created "to ensure economically disadvantaged children receive a fair, equitable and high-quality education."
President Lyndon Johnson considered Title I part of his War on Poverty, which was part of a larger legislative reform program he called the Great Society. Later reauthorizations were known as No Child Left Behind under President George W. Bush and the Every Student Succeeds Act during the administration of President Barack Obama.
Over the decades, Title I has become a critical part of the American public education funding infrastructure. The idea of saving money by slashing Title I by 80% is like an architect economizing by eliminating 80% of the support beams in a building.
Can you imagine the impact of losing this funding on our schools? Take Albany City schools, for example, where this federal money enables the district to hire reading teachers and literacy coaches, who help classroom teachers bolster core reading programs and foster foundational literacy skills.
Albany also puts this money to good use by hiring staff to coordinate services for students experiencing homelessness. Title I money funds after-school tutoring and promotes family engagement through activities such as STEM and literacy nights.
The money that flows through this program goes to schools all over America - city schools, rural schools and suburban schools. Schools in the industrial Rust Belt, the deep south, and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Virtually everywhere.
The money must "supplement, not supplant" other funding for a school district - meaning districts can't, for example, stop using local tax revenue or state aid to pay for a seventh grade science teacher's salary and use Title I money, instead.
Title I money can also be used for substance abuse prevention, tech support staff salaries and English language learner instruction - all areas of need for school districts.
We often talk about NYSSBA's advocacy priorities at the state level, but we also lobby for Title I, federal meal funding and other national programs that schools depend upon.
What if the proposed 80% cut to Title I had gone through? One estimate cited by the National Association of Secondary School Principals pegged the potential nationwide loss at 220,000 teachers from schools serving low-income students.
Education funding and policy have evolved to become a shared responsibility of local school boards, state governments and the federal government. The Title I bill is an example of how destructive the proposed "solutions" can get.