SEC. 9211.

STUDY ON THE TITLE I FORMULA

Section Summary

ESSA Update

SEC. 9211. STUDY ON THE TITLE I FORMULA.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:

(1) Part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) provides funding

to local educational agencies through four separate formulas

that have been added to the law over time, and which have

``distinct allocation patterns, providing varying shares of

allocated funds to different types of local educational agencies

or States,'' according to a 2015 report from the Congressional

Research Service.

(2) Minimal effort has been made by the Federal Government

to determine if the four formulas are adequately delivering

funds to local educational agencies with the highest

districtwide poverty averages.

(3) The formulas for distributing Targeted Grants and

Education Finance Incentive grants use two weighting systems,

[[Page 129 STAT. 2151]]

one based on the percentage of children included in the

determination of grants to local educational agencies

(percentage weighting), and another based on the absolute number

of such children (number weighting). Both weighting systems have

five quintiles with a roughly equal number of children in each

quintile. Whichever of these weighting systems results in the

highest total weighted formula child count for a local

educational agency is the weighting system used for that agency

in the final allocation of Targeted and Education Finance

Incentive Grant funds.

(4) The Congressional Research Service has also said the

number weighting alternative is generally more favorable to

large local educational agencies with much larger geographic

boundaries and larger counts of eligible children than smaller

local educational agencies with smaller counts, but potentially

higher percentages, of eligible children, because large local

educational agencies have many more children in the higher

weighted quintiles.

(5) In local educational agencies that are classified by the

National Center for Education Statistics as ``Large City'', 47

percent of all students attend schools with 75 percent or higher

poverty.

(b) Study.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of

enactment of this Act, the Director of the Institute of

Education Sciences shall complete a study on the effectiveness

of the four part A of title I formulas, described in subsection

(a), to deliver funds to the most economically disadvantaged

communities.

(2) Contents.--The study described in paragraph (1) shall

include--

(A) an analysis of the distribution of part A of

title I funds under the four formulas;

(B) an analysis of how part A of title I funds are

distributed among local educational agencies in each of

the 12 locale types classified by the National Center on

Education Statistics.

(C) the extent to which the four formulas unduly

benefit or unduly disadvantage any of the local

educational agencies described in subparagraph (B);

(D) the extent to which the four formulas unduly

benefit or unduly disadvantage high-poverty eligible

school attendance areas in the local educational

agencies described in subparagraph (B);

(E) the extent to which the four formulas unduly

benefit or unduly disadvantage lower population local

educational agencies with relatively high percentages of

districtwide poverty;

(F) the impact of number weighting and percentage

weighting in the formulas for distributing Targeted

Grants and Education Finance Incentive Grants on each of

the local educational agencies described in subparagraph

(B);

(G) the impact of number weighting and percentage

weighting on targeting part A of title I funds to

eligible school attendance areas with the highest

concentrations of poverty in local educational agencies

described in subparagraph (B), and local educational

agencies described

[[Page 129 STAT. 2152]]

in subparagraph (B) with higher percentages of

districtwide poverty;

(H) an analysis of other studies and reports

produced by public and non-public entities examining the

distribution of part A of title I funds under the four

formulas; and

(I) recommendations, as appropriate, for amending or

consolidating the formulas to better target part A of

title I funds to the most economically disadvantaged

communities and most economically disadvantaged eligible

school attendance areas.

(3) Public dissemination.--The Director of the Institute of

Education Sciences shall widely disseminate the findings of the

study conducted under this section--

(A) in a timely fashion;

(B) to--

(i) the public; and

(ii) the Committee on Education and the

Workforce of the House of Representatives and the

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and

Pensions of the Senate; and

(C) through electronic transfer and other means,

such as posting to the website of the Institute of

Education Sciences or the Department of Education.

NCLB Text

Previously not included in NCLB.