ESEA Title I-A Formulas: In Brief (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised March 7, 2016 |
| Report Number |
R44164 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rebecca R. Skinner, Specialist in Education Policy |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The Title I-A program
is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and is funded at $14.9 billion for
FY2016. It is designed to provide supplementary educational and related services to lowachieving
and other students attending pre-kindergarten through grade 12 schools with relatively
high concentrations of students from low-income families. Under current law, the U.S.
Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A grants to local educational agencies (LEAs)
based on four separate funding formulas: Basic Grants, Concentration Grants, Targeted Grants,
and Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG). Annual appropriations bills specify portions of
each year’s Title I-A appropriation to be allocated to LEAs and states under each of these
formulas.
For each formula, a maximum grant is calculated by multiplying a “formula child count,”
consisting primarily of estimated numbers of school-age children in poor families, by an
“expenditure factor” based on state average per pupil expenditures for public K-12 education. In
some formulas, additional factors are multiplied by the formula child count and expenditure
factor. These maximum grants are then reduced to equal the level of available appropriations for
each formula, taking into account a variety of state and LEA minimum grant and “hold harmless”
provisions. In general, LEAs must have a minimum number of formula children and/or a
minimum formula child rate to be eligible to receive a grant under a specific Title I-A formula.
Some LEAs may qualify for a grant under only one formula, while other LEAs may be eligible to
receive grants under multiple formulas. This report provides a general overview of the key
components of each of the formulas.
