State & Federal Programs

What is Title I?

Title I began in the mid 1960 ’s as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. It is the largest federal assistance program for our public schools, used primarily in improving students' academic performance. The largest Title I program is Part A, which distributes funds to school districts based on census counts of children from low-income families.

The most recent reauthorization of ESEA was the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, which expanded the scope of Title I in public education and imposed sweeping requirements in areas such as annual testing, annual academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes. In 2015, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the new reauthorization of ESEA, called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which will go into effect July 1, 2017. Unlike NCLB, ESSA provides states, districts and schools with a great degree of flexibility and responsibility to determine what support and interventions are implemented for student achievement and success.

The purpose of Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and close the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and nonminority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers. A Title I, Part A schoolwide program is a comprehensive reform strategy designed to upgrade the entire educational program in a Title I school with a poverty percentage of 40% or more in order to improve the achievement of the lowest-achieving students. 

Title II, Part A - Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting (TPTR) Fund provides supplemental funding to improve student achievement. The funds are used to elevate teacher and principal quality through recruitment, hiring and retention strategies and to increase the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools. The program uses scientifically based professional development interventions and holds districts and schools accountable for improvements in student academic performance.

Funds can be used for a variety of purposes, from recruiting and retaining teachers to reducing class sizes, or providing professional development. These federal funds are granted to state educational agencies, which then distribute funds to school districts by formula. Most districts receive some Title II funding, with high-poverty and large districts receiving larger shares.

Most districts use their Title II funds to provide professional development. In particular, funds are used to provide continuous, ongoing training that helps teachers understand academic subjects and learn strategies to help students meet high academic standards.

Title II, Part A-TPTR→click here for more information.

Title III, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), aims to ensure that English learners (ELs) and immigrant students attain English proficiency and develop high levels of academic achievement in English. Title III will also assist all English learners meet the same challenging State academic standards that all children are expected to meet.

Title III, Part A-English Language Acquisition→click here for more information.

Purpose: Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 is intended to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of States, local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and local communities to provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for student learning, and improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students.

The Three Areas of Focus: Develop and implement programs and activities that support access to, and opportunities for a well-rounded education for all students – 20% of funding

Develop and implement programs and activities that support access to, and opportunities for a well-rounded education for all students – 20% of funding

Improve the use of technology to improve the academic achievement, academic growth, and -digital literacy of all students. 15% Technology

Well-rounded Education: Courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health education, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the state or LEA.

Accelerated Learning Opportunities: Programs and/or exams, such as dual credit, concurrent enrollment, Early College High Schools, and Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams, that provide opportunities for students to earn postsecondary credit while in high school,

Accelerated Learning Programs: Programs that offer post-secondary-level courses accepted for credit at institutions of higher education (including dual credit or concurrent enrollment programs and Early College High Schools) or post-secondary-level instruction and examinations that are accepted for credit at institutions of higher education (including AP and IB programs)

Professional Development: Strategies for providing educators (including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, and, as applicable, early childhood educators) with the knowledge and skills necessary to enable students to succeed in a well-rounded education and to meet the challenging state academic standards. For more details: See Texas Education Agency ESSA Provisions and Assurances, pages 4→5.

Title IV, Part A funds: must supplement—add to, enhance, expand, increase, extend—the programs and services offered with state and local funds; cannot be used to supplant—take the place of, replace—the state and local funds used to offer those programs and services; and are expended to benefit the intended population defined in the authorizing statute, rather than being diverted to cover expenses that an LEA would have paid out of other funds in the event the federal funds were not available Title IV, Part A-Student Support and Academic Enrichment→click here for more information.

Purpose: The goal of the State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is to provide funding to reduce disparity in performance on assessment instruments or disparity in the rates of high school completion between educationally disadvantaged students, at-risk students, and all other students. The purpose of the SCE program is to increase academic achievement and reduce the dropout rate for these students by providing supplemental programs and services.

Compensatory, Intensive, and Accelerated Instruction: (a) Each school district shall use the student performance data resulting from the basic skills assessment instruments and achievement tests administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, to design and implement appropriate compensatory, intensive, or accelerated instructional services for students in the district's schools that enable the students to be performing at grade level at the conclusion of the next regular school term. (b) Each district shall provide accelerated instruction to a student enrolled in the district who has taken the secondary exit-level assessment instrument and has not performed satisfactorily on each section or who is at risk of dropping out of school. (c) Each school district shall evaluate and document the effectiveness of the accelerated instruction in reducing any disparity in performance on assessment instruments administered under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, or disparity in the rates of high school completion between students at risk of dropping out of school and all other district students. Refer to TEC, Section 29.081(a)

Eligibility Criteria (State At-Risk, Economically Disadvantaged, Local At-risk Criteria): S.B. 1746 amends the Texas Education Code TEC §29.081 to identify a “student at risk of dropping out of school” to include each student who is under 26 years of age and satisfies one (or more) of the 15 state at-risk eligibility criteria. Identification should be conducted (for the student’s benefit) at any time during the year in order to identify those students who are eligible for "supplemental” services under the SCE program, and to ensure timely interventions are provided for these At-Risk Students. Additionally, H.B. 3 (86th Legislature) permits us to serve students who are “economically disadvantaged” as designated by their food service record Status in Skyward with State Compensatory Education (SCE) staff/funding (supplemental services), regardless of whether the student meets any of the at-risk criteria. A student’s economically disadvantaged status does not designate a student as being “at-risk”. All students enrolled at a Schoolwide Title I campus may receive “supplemental” SCE funded services. To serve a non-Title I student, using SCE staff, who does not qualify as State At-risk or Economically Disadvantaged, but needs supplemental SCE support, contact the Director of State & Federal Programs BEFORE serving the student to determine if the student qualifies for our Local At-Risk criteria. Spaces are limited; all students served by SCE staff must meet one or more of the State and/or local criteria.

State At-risk Criteria (Student Eligibility Criteria) KISD has adopted the TEC Section 29.081 fifteen criteria in identifying students who are eligible to receive intensive, supplemental services. These criteria include the following:

A student at-risk of dropping out of school includes each student who is under 26 years of age and who:

1. Has not advanced from one grade to the next for one or more school years. The exception is a student who did not advance from Pre-K or Kindergarten to the next grade level as a result of the request of the student’s parents; (will remain on list for remainder of public education)

2. Is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, and did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in the current semester;

3. Did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered to the student under Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school year subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;

4. Is in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or grade 1, 2, or 3, and did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the current school year;

5. Is pregnant or is a parent;

6. Has been placed in an alternative education program in accordance with §37.006 during the preceding or current school year;

7. Has been expelled in accordance with §37.007 during the preceding or current school year;

8. Is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release;

9. Was previously reported through the Public Education Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out of school (will remain on list for remainder of public education);

10. Is an emergent bilingual student, as defined by the TEC §29.052;

11. Is in the custody or care of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or has, during the current school year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official

12. Is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. §11302 and its subsequent amendments;

13. Resided, in the preceding school year, or who resides, in the current school year, in a residential placement facility within the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster group home. (Note: One overnight stay will keep the student at-risk for the following two (2) years); or

14. Has been incarcerated or has a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code. (will remain on list for remainder of public education)

15. Is enrolled in a school district or open-enrollment charter school, that is designated as a dropout recovery school under Section 39.0548

State Compensatory Education→click here for more information.

Statutes and correspondence related to the SCE program are listed below. Updated links and legislation information can be found on TEA's House Bill 3 web page and the Texas Legislature Online Statute Lookup page

The Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.0217, relates to satisfactory performance on state assessment instruments and providing accelerated instruction to certain students

The TEC, §29.081, defines the purpose of the SCE program and the statutory criteria for determining if a student is at risk of dropping out of high school

The TEC §29.089, allows school districts and charter schools to fund mentoring programs with SCE funds.

The TEC §48.104, provides the method for TEA to calculate school district and charter school allotments and establishes certain additional uses for SCE funds.

19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §61.1027 is related to the eligible student count for the compensatory education allotment.

As we engage in the excitement of back-to-school time, it is important to remember that many students start school without everything they need to access, stay stable in, and experience success in school and school activities. Our McKinney-Vento Liaison and social workers play an important role during the school year in identifying and connecting students/families experiencing homelessness to the services and supports they need to be successful. Mrs. Connie Caballero our McKinney-Vento District Liaison is essential in ensuring students experiencing homelessness start school with the same opportunities to succeed as their peers. Please see contact information for our McKinney-Vento Liaison below for helpful information and resources that support students experiencing homelessness in our district and community.

If you have questions about enrolling in school or need assistance with enrolling in school, contact:

Melissa Brown, McKinney-Vento Liaison

903-988-3900

301 N. Kilgore St.

Kilgore, TX 75662

melbrown@kisd.org

The Parent and Family Engagement provisions in Title I, Part A reflect the four principles in ESEA/ESSA. Specifically, these provisions stress shared accountability between schools and parents/families for high achievement, including (a) expanded public school choice and supplemental educational services for eligible children in low-performing schools, (b) local development of parent and family engagement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and (c) building parents' capacity for using effective practices to improve their own children's academic achievement.

A few of the important requirements include: The district must develop a District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents). Each Title I Part A Schoolwide campus must develop a campus-level Parent and Family Engagement Plan (developed jointly with parents). Each campus must hold an Annual Title I Meeting for Parents on more than one day at more than one time to inform parents of the school's participation in the Title I, Part A program and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements, including the rights of parents to be involved in those programs. Each Title I, Part A school must jointly develop School-Parent Compact with the parents of children served under Title I, Part A as a component of its written Parent and Family Engagement Policy.

KISD Title I School-Parent Compacts:

Kilgore Primary School

Kilgore Primary School Pre-K

Chandler Elementary School

Kilgore Intermediate School

KISD Parent & Family Engagement Policy→click here for more information.

The United States Department of Education (ED.gov) has many great tips and resources for parents, in both English and Spanish. These are available under The Partnership at the following website: HERE

Parents

You can influence the success of your child by becoming an active participant in your child’s school:

Communicate: Staying informed and responding promptly to all communications from the school or school district.

Be an example: Showing your child that education is important by reading, attending parent/teacher conferences and attending “open houses.”

Volunteer: Volunteering at your child’s school and helping with extra-curricular activities. Participate and support parent involvement activities at school.

Learn: How to help your child with classwork, homework, and future education plans.

Get involved: Joining school/parent organizations, school improvement teams, and other parent committees.

Collaborate with the community: Participating in parent activities with other families, know and use local community resources (libraries, universities, community centers, etc.) to increase skills and talents to obtain needed services for your child.

The Parent & Family Engagement Statewide Initiative→click here for more information.

The Parent & Family Engagement Connection Newsletter→click here for more information.

Helpful Link for Parents→click here for more information.

State and Federal Grants Manual

Federal Procurement Form

Award Criteria Rubric