Title I funding is a federal program that provides supplemental financial assistance to school districts and schools with a high percentage of children from low-income families. The program is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was reauthorized in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) .

Under ESSA, Title I, Part A provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) – Public School Districts, Charter Schools, and BOCES – to improve basic programs operated by LEAs. An LEAs Title I allocation is the sum of the amount that the LEA receives under each formula. LEAs target the Title I funds they receive to schools with the highest percentages of children from low-income families.

If a Title I school is operating a targeted assistance program, the school provides Title I services to children who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet challenging State academic standards. Schools in which children from low-income families make up at least 40 percent of enrollment are eligible to use Title I funds to operate schoolwide programs that serve all children in the school in order to raise the achievement of the lowest-achieving students.

LEAs may set aside funds as part of an administration reserve to account for costs of administering the grant program. Salaries associated with this reserve should reflect the percentage of time allocated to grant-related activities. There is no statutory cap on administrative costs for Title I.

In summary, Title I funding is a federal program that provides financial assistance to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income households. The program aims to give all children a fair opportunity to obtain a high-quality education by providing supplemental financial assistance to schools and school districts.