General Title I Requirements

The information below is designed to support districts that are mandated to reserve Title I funds as Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent. The set-asides and services for youth living in neglected facilities or youth living in delinquent facilities are separate from each other. Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent is mandatory dollars taken from the District’s Title I, Part A Allocation for comparable services to students who reside in eligible institutions for Neglected children within the boundaries of the district. In addition to the mandatory Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent, a district, at its discretion, may reserve funds for Children in local institutions for delinquent children and neglected or delinquent children in a community-day program (34 CFR 200.77[a][2-3]).

Neglected Children and Youth – children and youth living in a child-caring institution that need care due to abandonment, neglect, or death of their parents/guardians.

Neglected Programs – a public or private residential facility for neglected children and youth, other than a foster home, that is operated for the care of children and youth who have been adjudicated delinquent or in need of supervision.

Delinquent Children and Youth – children and youth in a child-caring institution who have been adjudicated to be delinquent or in need of supervision.

Delinquent Facilities – a public or private residential facility for delinquent children and youth, other than a foster home, that is operated for the care of children and youth who have been adjudicated delinquent or in need of supervision.

Set-Aside for Students Identified as Neglected or Delinquent

Title I, Part A, of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), seeks to make sure the Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent is a set-aside fund that must be reserved from the district's Title I, Part A allocation for services to students who reside in eligible institutions for neglected children within the district's boundaries. Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent is only required by the district if there are students in an eligible institution for neglected children and youth and if these neglected children and youth attend a non-Title I school, similar to how it calculates the proportional share for equitable services (ESSA Section 1113[c][3][B]; 34 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 200.77[a][4]).  Therefore, if a district submits an October neglected count to the State for a local facility (public or private) that serves neglected children, which in turn generates Title I funds for the district, the district must provide Title I services to children in the facility that are “comparable to those provided to children in Title I Schools.”

Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent serve children in neglected institutions, and if appropriate, children in delinquent institutions, and neglected or delinquent students in community day programs, shall be determined based on the total allocation received by the district and prior to any allowable expenditures or transfers by the district.

The Title I, Part A Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent ensures that all children in neglected facilities have a significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, high-quality education, and close educational achievement gaps. Students who reside in local neglected facilities (that also attend school within the district) must receive the same services and opportunities offered by the district. (ESSA sections 1113[c][3][A][ii-iii], and [B][i-ii]).

Set-Aside for Students Identified as Neglected or Delinquent Allowable and Unallowable Uses of Funds

Programs and activities supported by the Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent funds must be:

• Consistent with the purpose of Title I, Part A Set-Aside for Students identified as Neglected or Delinquent,
• Necessary, addressing identified needs,
• Reasonable, considering the scope of impact and associated costs,
• Used for evidence-based activities,
• Utilized to supplement local and state funds, not supplant funds, 
• Coordinate with other available funds and resources to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of spending.

Decision rules help determine whether a proposed use of funds is allowable and appropriate in terms of Federal, State, and local requirements, laws, and regulations. The rules, listed below, may also be found in a checkbox form. Allowable and unallowable decision rules include:

• Do the proposed uses comply with federal requirements regarding the use of TIPD funds?
• Do the proposed uses align with the goals and objectives of the TIPD part of the North Dakota State plan?
• Do the proposed uses align with the requirements for, and the needs expressed (needs assessment), in the subgrantee’s application?
• Do the proposed uses comply with other applicable Federal regulations for the uses of Title I grant funds?
• Do the proposed uses of funds comply with applicable State or local laws and regulations?
• Will the proposed use(s) of funds improve outcomes for the students served, and how?
• Is the amount of TIPD funds to be spent on the suggested uses reasonable given its proportion of the facility’s overall TIPD allocation?
• Are there other potential funding sources (State or district funds) available to pay for the proposed use(s) of funds?

For questions or additional information on Title I, Part A, please contact:

Stef TwoCrow/Title I Coordinator – stwocrow@nd.gov or 701-328-2287

Jen Withers/Neglected and Delinquent Coordinator – jwithers@nd.gov or 701-328-4612

For more information, visit Title I, Part D

Districts must provide services for homeless children who attend Title I and non-Title I schools, including providing educationally related support services to children in shelters. The services in non-Title I schools must be comparable to those provided to children in Title I schools. A district must reserve “such funds as may be necessary” [ESSA 1113(c)(3)(A)], to serve homeless children attending both Title I and non-Title I schools (regardless of receiving a McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grant). Funds must be reserved even if all schools in the district are Title I schools. The reserved funds must address the educational needs of the homeless students and must take into account homeless students enrolled in nonpublic schools, institutions for neglected children, and local institutions for delinquent youths.

A district must provide eligible nonpublic school children, their families, and teachers with Title I, Part A educational services that are equitable to those provided to eligible public-school children, their families, and teachers. These services must be determined in consultation with nonpublic school officials.

Districts must ensure paraprofessionals in a targeted assistance program supported with Title I funds and all paraprofessionals in a schoolwide program, no matter the funding source, meet one of the following requirements [ESSA 111(g)(2)(J) and (M)]:

• Completed at least 48 semester hours of study at an institution of higher education;
• Obtained an associate’s (or higher) degree; OR
• Met a rigorous standard through an approved assessment.

Visit Title I Paraprofessional Certificate of Completion for additional information.

Preschool programs supported by Title I, Part A funds must also meet, at a minimum, the education performance standards of the Head Start Performance Standards that are aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five (2015).