Federal Programs: No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001*

In January 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also called the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. This law represents the most significant change in federal education policy since the first ESEA was enacted in 1965. The 1,180-page Act impacts the way public education is conducted in every state and school that receives federal ESEA funding.

More than two-thirds of the federal funding for NCLB is distributed to schools in the form of local formula grants. Under these programs, funds are allocated to school districts based on a formula developed at the federal or state levels. Typically, more of these funds are allocated to poorer areas through formulas that are tied to counts of specific categories of students, usually a poverty factor, e.g., the number of students in a school that are eligible for free or reduced price lunch.

NCLB’s chief formula grant programs are:

• Title I for economically disadvantaged students
• Title II for teacher training and educational technology
• Title III for immigrant students and those with limited English proficiency
• Title IV for safe and drug free schools and communities.

Also included in this section is information on:

• E-Rate; and
• Competitive Grant Programs.

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Title I

Title I – Improving the academic achievement of the disadvantaged. Title I, Part A, is the largest of the Title programs, with almost all of the formula grant dollars going directly to local school districts. Nationwide, in 2004, the “average” district received approximately $1,200 for each student in poverty. However, at this current level of funding only about half of all eligible students are served.

Schools can use funds for a broad range of services aimed at helping low-achieving students meet state standards. These services include hiring teachers and paraprofessionals, implementing best practices and parent involvement activities and coordinating special support services.

For information about Title I, Part A, requirements, funding and the number of Oregon students and schools participating in Title I, Part A, programs, see Improving Basic Programs - Title I-A on the Oregon Department of Education Web site. For federal regulations and funding information, see “A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind” on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.

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Title II

Title II – Preparing, training and recruiting highly-qualified teachers is designed to assist school districts in recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers, principals and student services personnel. These funds can be used for scholarships, signing bonuses and differential pay to fill shortages in core academic subjects as well as for professional development programs to help teachers, principals and student services personnel meet NCLB requirements for being highly qualified as well as their state’s achievement standards. Funds also can be used as incentives to retain qualified teachers and principals.

Under this provision of the law, by the 2005-06 school year, all of a district’s teachers in nine core curriculum subjects must meet NCLB requirements for being highly qualified. By the 2005-2006 school year, all paraprofessionals who work in an instructional capacity in programs supported by federal Title I also must be highly qualified. In Oregon, this requirement will be especially difficult to meet in small and rural districts. In addition there is no additional funding available for increased costs for the professional development, recruitment, retention or higher compensation that districts may incur in meeting this mandate.

Enhancing education through technologies redesigns the federal government’s previous grant programs into a new grant program for state redistribution to local schools. Half of the funds are distributed by a local formula based on Title I enrollments. The other half of the funding is distributed by competitive grants.

To receive funding, local school districts must show how they would raise all of their students’ academic achievement to meet state standards and improve the capacity of teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum and instruction. Funds can be used to increase access to technology through public-private partnerships; to raise achievement through technology-based teaching practices; to support “lead” technology teachers; and to acquire and maintain hardware and software aimed at raising student achievement. The funds also can be used for distance learning and parent involvement.

For information about Title II requirements and funding, see “Teacher Quality” or “Enhancing Ed through Technology” on the Oregon Department of Education Web site. For federal regulations and funding information, see “A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind” on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.

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E-Rate

Although it is not a part Title II, the E-Rate is a crucial telecommunications program for schools and libraries. This program provides more than $2 billion annually in discounts for advanced and affordable telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections that can be used to support NCLB related activities. Administered through competitive grants by the Federal Communications Commission, the discounts range from 20 to 90 percent and are determined by the percentage of students eligible for the national school lunch program and by the school’s urban or rural designation. Wealthier districts can participate by forming partnerships to share their technology resources with poorer districts.

The program is not subject to the annual congressional budget process and consequently serves as a stable funding stream for many schools across the country. For more information see www.fcc.gov/learnnet.

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Title III

English Language acquisition in 2004 allocated nearly $700 million to the states to fund programs for limited-English-proficient (LEP) students as well as for services for recent immigrants. Title III grants are awarded to an “eligible entity” such as a school district, a group of districts, or a partnership between a district and a community or other organization (Education Service District) and are based on the number of LEP students served throughout the state.

The emphasis of Title III grants is on advancing English proficiency and the general academic achievement needed to meet state standards through instructional and professional development activities. States also can make grants to support a wide range of services for immigrant students in districts or regions that experience increases in immigration.

For information about Title III requirements and funding see “Language Instruction – Limited English and Immigrant” on the Oregon Department of Education Web site. For federal regulations and funding information see “A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind” on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.

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Title IV

Safe and drug-free schools and communities. This component of Title IV supports classroom and community programs, including professional development activities to prevent drug use and violence among school-age youth. Funding through grants by states can be used for a wide range of activities such as curriculum development, counseling, metal detectors, community programs and employee background checks.

For information about Title IV requirements and funding, see “Safe and drug-free schools and communities” on the Oregon Department of Education Web site. For federal regulations and funding information, see “A Guide to Education and No Child Left Behind” on the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.

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Competitive Grant Programs

NCLB Competitive Grant Programs are available to individual districts through an application and award process administered by the Oregon Department of Education, unless otherwise noted. In 2004, federal NCLB competitive grant programs included:

• Reading First (Title I-B-1) provides grants for reading programs in Grades K-3 that are supported by scientifically based research. Priority for these grants is given to districts where students from families with incomes below the poverty line exceed 6,500 or 15 percent of the total enrollment. The grants can be used for a variety of activities, such as screening students, implementing instructional programs, and providing professional development so reading teachers can attain highly qualified status.
  
  For information about Reading First grant application requirements and awards, see "Reading First" on the Oregon Department of Education Web site and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.
  
  
• Early Reading First (Title I-B-2) grants are awarded by the U.S. Secretary of Education to support age-appropriate prereading programs for preschoolers from families in poverty. See details about Early Reading First application requirements and awards on the Oregon Department of Education Web site and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.
  
  
• Even Start (Title I-B-3) is also aimed at building the reading foundation of economically disadvantaged preschoolers. Under this program, the Oregon Department of Education awards grants through family literacy programs so that parents will be better able to serve as their child’s first teacher and reinforce the child’s work in elementary school. See details about Even Start application requirements and awards on the Oregon Department of Education Web site and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.
  
  
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program (Title IV-B) is designed to provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including tutorial services to help students - particularly those who attend low-performing schools - to meet state and local student academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics.
  
  Under this program the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) makes 21st Century Community Learning Center grants available to school districts, community-based and faith-based organizations to offer out-of-school time academic and enrichment services to serve children who attend high-poverty schools. Grants from the state must be over a three- to five-year period, tied to specific principles of effectiveness and carried out in active collaboration with the public schools the children attend.
  
  See details about the CCLC program application requirements and awards on the Oregon Department of Education Web site and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.
  
  
• Rural Education Initiative (Title VI-B) enables small districts to participate in NCLB funding even if they are not eligible to fully engage in other grant programs. Federal grant appropriations for Title VI-B are divided equally between the U.S. Secretary of Education and the state departments of education. Under the Small, Rural School Achievement component, the secretary of education can make grants of up to $60,000 to school districts with fewer than 600 students.
  
  Similarly, under the Rural and Low-Income School program, districts with a low population density and 20 percent or more of their students from low-income families are eligible to receive grants from the state. For both federal and state grants, the funds can be used to conduct formula grant activities authorized by Titles I, II, III and IV.
  
  See details about Rural Education Initiative (Title VI-B) programs, application requirements and awards on the Oregon Department of Education Web site and the U.S. Department of Education’s Web site.

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* Resource for the information about NCLB Title programs is the National School Boards Association’s Spring 2004 NCLB Action Alert available from the association at www.nsba.org.