Title I Funds – Who’s Gaining and Who’s Losing

School Year 2005-06 Update

WASHINGTON – July 6, 2005 – The Center on Education Policy (CEP) has analyzed the fiscal year 2005 allocations released by the U.S. Department of Education for the federal Title I program. These funds are available to states and school districts in school year 2005-06 to educate disadvantaged children. The report, Title I Funds: Who’s Gaining and Who’s Losing School Year 2005-06 Update summarizes the Center’s findings about gains and losses for states and school districts, including:

• For the coming school year, about two-thirds of the school districts that participate in the federal Title I program, or some 8,800 districts, will receive fewer funds than they did last year to serve disadvantaged children. About 4,400 districts will gain in Title I funding.

• The number of districts losing Title I funding – which educate about one-third of U.S. students – has grown significantly since 2004, when CEP reported that more than half of all U.S. districts would receive fewer Title I dollars.

• Nine states will see their federal Title I funds reduced, while 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will see gains.

• These funding reductions are coming at a time when the federal government is demanding, through the No Child Left Behind Act, that school districts and states raise achievement, improve teacher quality, and accomplish other goals.

• The growth of the number of children in poverty (6 percent) doubled the percentage increase in Title I grant funds for school districts for fiscal year 2005 (3 percent, or $393 million). As a result, fewer Title I dollars are available for each poor child.

The report can be found at the Center’s Web site at:
http://www.cep-dc.org/pubs/TitleI_Funds_6July2005/Title_I_Funds_6July2005.pdf