ESEA Title I-A Formulas: A Primer (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Sept. 19, 2023 |
| Report Number |
R47702 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Rebecca R. Skinner; Isobel Sorenson |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) authorizes aid to local
educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide
supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending
elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of children from lowincome families. In recent years, Title I-A has also been used as a vehicle to which a number of
requirements affecting broad aspects of public elementary and secondary education for all
students have been attached as conditions for receiving Title I-A grants. The Title I-A program is
the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and is funded at $18.4 billion for FY2023.
The ESEA was most recently comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA; P.L. 114-95).
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A grants to LEAs based on four
separate funding formulas. After calculating grants, ED provides each state educational agency
(SEA) with the calculated grant amounts for LEAs in the state. The state then makes specific
adjustments to the grant amounts, including reserving funds for administration and school
improvement and determining grants for charter schools that are their own LEAs.1 After making
adjustments to the grant amounts calculated by ED, the state then provides funds to the LEAs.
The LEAs, in turn, distribute funds to public schools, often based on the percentage of children in
each school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.2
This report provides a general overview of the key components of each of the four formulas used
to allocate Title I-A funds. Table 1 provides a summary of these components (or factors).
