Elementary and Secondary Education Act: Potential Effects of Changing Comparability Requirements

摘要

For fiscal year 2010, Congress appropriated $14.5 billion for Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), which funds services to students in schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I, Part A includes several fiscal requirements, which are designed to prevent local school districts from using federal dollars to replace state and local education funding. One of these measures, Title I comparability, requires districts to provide services with state and local funds to Title I schools that are at least comparable to services provided in schools not served by Title I. State educational agencies monitor district compliance with Title I comparability requirements. This report addresses the following questions: (1) Which of the methods for demonstrating comparability are used by school districts in selected states and how does the chosen method affect resource allocation in selected school districts; (2) What have been Education's monitoring and audit findings for comparability; (3) What might be the benefits and drawbacks of requiring school districts to use an expenditure-per-student ratio that includes actual teacher salaries to demonstrate compliance with comparability requirements.