Title I Proposals

The centerpiece of the President’s plan is a set of recommendations to reauthorize Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Last authorized in 1994, Title I is the federal government’s largest program of educational assistance to elementary and secondary schools, providing over $8 billion annually to meet the needs of disadvantaged students.  Title I now serves over 11 million students, of whom 30 percent are Hispanic and 28 percent are African American.  Nearly one in five Title I participants have limited English proficiency, and close to one in ten have disabilities.[3] 

The President’s Title I proposals appear to include:  an extension of current law (including many reforms enacted under the Clinton Administration), several new proposals (some helpful, some not) and apparent rollbacks of some current protections and reforms. 

Maintaining Current Law

As we read the President’s plan,[4] many of the proposals for standards, assessment and accountability build upon or duplicate the 1994 reforms.  We note that these reforms were broadly supported by civil rights and advocacy organizations, parents and educators, the previous Administration, and, significantly, a bipartisan agreement of the Congress.  These measures now embraced by the new Administration include:

·        State content standards in reading and math

·        State assessments in reading and math

·        Reports to parents on their children’s assessment results

·        Reports to the public on achievement data disaggregated by race, gender, limited English proficiency (LEP), disability, and socio-economic status (although the plan does not include migrant status, as in current law)

·        State-determined definitions of “adequate yearly progress” of schools and districts

·        Assistance to turn around low-performing schools

·        Corrective action to assure remedies for children in persistently low-performing schools

These reforms (and others) in the 1994 law sought to eliminate the dual systems of public education that had offered watered-down schooling and low expectations for poor students while ensuring greater resources and more rigorous academics for more affluent students.   Although we have criticized the pace of change under the revised Title I - and the unwillingness of education and other officials at all levels of government to take effective steps to eliminate inequity - there is powerful evidence that the Title I reforms, when done right, can be a powerful tool to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.  The Citizens’ Commission and many other organizations, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, have advocated staying the course with these measures, while improving federal oversight and giving states, school districts and schools the resources and support they need to bring about effective change.

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