Welcome Charter Local Education Agencies (LEAs)!
Information about Title I & Title II Programs
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) is dedicated to serving all children in the State of Arizona.
This page is intended to assist Charter Local Education Agencies seeking
Title I & Title II Program funding and support.
Background Basics
Any School that receives Title I funds, by having 2% poverty level or 10 students that qualify, will become a Title I school. If a charter Local Education Agency (LEA) has multiple sites, the Local Education Agency (LEA) must use a common measure to rank the sites from highest to lowest poverty percentage to determine the distribution of the Title I allocation.
In Arizona, geographically defined school districts and many charter schools are designated Local Education Agencies (LEAs). Title I is the largest program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and provides resources that are designed to help ensure that all students meet challenging state academic standards. Title II provides Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with resources that support professional learning.
Schools that receive Title I funds can develop and implement supports and interventions that supplement the regular instructional program of the school. The needs of students who are struggling in the regular education environment may be addressed with strategies, such as additional instructional time, smaller group or individual instruction, or alternate instructional approaches. Title I funds are also used to meet their child’s educational needs.
For the teachers and staff at the school, Title I and Title II funds can be used to provide professional learning opportunities that improve instructional practices, especially when teaching struggling students.
In order to receive Basic Title I funding, a Local Education Agency (LEA) must have at least 10 students (ages 5-17) from families in Census poverty and that must be at least 2% of the Local Education Agency’s student population. Charter schools that are considered separate Local Education Agencies (LEAs) may qualify, regardless of whether they are a single school site or operate like a school district with multiple sites. The Title I formula uses additional poverty thresholds to determine eligibility for portions of the funding a Local Education Agency receives. All Local Education Agencies within Arizona can qualify for Title II funding using a weighted formula based on poverty and student population.
Funding Facts
Congress has designed a complex process that begins with poverty distribution data from the US Census. Using the eligible Census poverty counts and some additional non-census data, the US Department of Education (ED) allocates the total Title I appropriation to all geographic districts in each state.
Because charter schools in Arizona lack boundaries, there is no direct Census poverty data available. The Arizona Department of Education has developed procedures that use data entered into Arizona Educational Data Standards (AzEDS) to derive an estimated poverty count that is equivalent to Census data received from the US Department of Education for all of geographic Arizona’s school districts. Any charter or other special district not included in the US Department of Education’s file that is eligible for Title I funds is added to the overall allocation file by redistributing funds proportionately.
Title I/II funds are intended to supplement the current instructional program. Common expenditures may include but are not limited to:
- Staff and Teacher Professional Development
- Summer School and Intersession Academic Activities
- Before and After School Tutoring
- Supplemental Instructional Materials and Software
- Support for Students Experiencing Homelessness
- Parent and Community Involvement Activities
- Academic and Interventions
- Staff Retention and Recruitment Stipends
Programmatic Possibilities
- Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) for the school site(s) only
- Root Cause Analysis
- LEA integrated Action Plan (LIAP) to be completed by multiple site LEAs only
- School(s) integrated action plan (SIAP)
- Completed application in Grants Management Enterprise (GME) system
Title I programs consist of supplemental instructional support and intervention programs, professional learning opportunities for teachers and administrators, and a family and community engagement program. There are two models- Targeted Assistance and Schoolwide. Arizona Charter Local Education Agencies may begin with a Targeted Assistance program and then transition to a Schoolwide. A charter school that meets the 40% poverty threshold may engage in the schoolwide planning process and transition to a schoolwide program.
What is the Title I Targeted Assistance program?
Regardless of poverty percentage, it is recommended that charter schools in their first year of operation maintain a targeted assistance model.
Targeted Assistance programs can be operated in any Title I school. The Integrated Action Plan for a Targeted Assistance program describes how the school will support the academic achievement of most at risk students which are identified through specific criteria. The criterion is then used to rank students in relation to expected academic growth. Those students that are the lowest achieving and are “targeted” to participate in supplemental intervention programs in addition to regular classroom instruction.
Title I Targeted Assistance program funds also provide professional development for teachers and other staff that work directly with the intervention program, and family and community engagement activities for parents and Title I students.
What is the Title I Schoolwide program?
A charter school that meets the 40% poverty threshold may engage in the schoolwide planning process and transition to a schoolwide program.
A Title I Schoolwide program is designed to upgrade the entire educational program through a well-rounded environment to ensure all students, especially those considered most academically at-risk, can attain academic proficiency. The schoolwide model, when fully implemented, permits resource alignment to serve the entire school, staff, and parents.
Application Assistance
If a Local Education Agency is interested in applying for Title I funds, send an email to the Arizona Department of Education inbox by August 1st prior to the start of the school year.
34 C.F.R §76.787 Defines significant expansion of enrollment as: “substantial increase in the number of students attending a charter school due to a significant event that is unlikely to occur on a regular basis, such as the addition of one or more grades or educational programs in major curriculum areas.”
- Addition of one or more grades
- Addition of a new site under the same charter Local Education Agency
- Addition of an educational program in major curriculum areas
Go-to-Guidance
Contacts & Communication
Reach out to the Academic Achievement Inbox at [email protected] for questions or call 602-364-1958 for assistance.
