Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, North Dakota will transition from the alternative allocation method to the U.S. Department of Education’s (USED) methodology for determining Title I, Part A allocations. This change reflects North Dakota’s commitment to distributing federal funds as intended and ensuring funds are being used to reduce the achievement gap.
Please refer to the below census data chart to find out if your district is eligible for a Title I allocation. Red highlights indicate districts ineligible for a Title I allocation for the 2025-2026 school year due to a poverty count below 10. PLEASE NOTE: North Dakota has not yet received estimated allocations from the USED for the 2025-2026 school year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How can a district check to see if they are eligible for Title I funds for the next school year? How and when will school districts receive Title Funds?
A. Although NDDPI can’t predict how much federal funding North Dakota will receive for the 2025-2026 school year, districts should review and reference their current Census data to determine if their district is eligible. Any district with ten or more poverty students will receive a 25-26 Title I allocation. Typically, North Dakota receives estimated federal allocations in late March, pending Congressional budget approval. NDDPI is awarded the actual funds on the first working day of July.
Q. We have been asked to verify our Census data. Could you provide guidance on how to do that? (e.g., What questions to ask? What data to pull? How to know if there is an error?)
A. Every December, the USED releases a memo for school districts to verify census data. NDDPI shared information on January 7, 2025, on how districts can and should verify their boundaries and review for eligibility. More information can be found within the links in the memo: New Title I Allocation Process and Release of 2023 Census Data for 2025-2026. When it gets to this point, school districts must verify boundaries, rather than counts, as the data is lagging. However, school districts can use this information to encourage their communities to participate in the census process, as well as understand the various tools the USED uses. Even in North Dakota’s Alternative Poverty Method, data from the census was used.
Q. Will this allocation method and funding possibly change with transitions happening at the federal level and with the USED?
A. Transitions and fluctuations happen regularly at the federal level and those changes trickle down to the states that administer these programs. NDDPI is committed to communicating any changes to school districts as soon as possible.
Q. How would you identify whose financial responsibility it is to collect the funding based on the home district of the student? Who should facilitate this process?
A. Financial responsibility in this context means that Title I funding impacts need to be (or should be) a part of the decision-making/strategic planning process when thinking about Title I services and the use of funds. In addition, there is always a potential that school districts could work together to provide student services, but this should not be merely a dollar amount. In Title I, there is not an accurate “dollar to student” value. The funding does not follow the student in this case but is used to estimate a school or district’s overall need.
Q. How will the collection of free and reduced lunch forms impact Title I allocations?
A. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonpublic schools and residential childcare institutions. Although free and reduced lunch forms will not directly impact Title I allocations, it is critical to continue collecting forms to ensure that families and schools can get the proper assistance with meal reimbursements. More information about how the school nutrition program works can be found on the NDDPI website here: School Nutrition Program.
Q. How will the U.S. Department of Education (USED) Title I, Part A allocation method impact the Rank & Serve Process? Will this be done differently moving forward?
A. The Rank and Serve process of Title I, Part A has always allowed local school districts flexibility in determining school poverty counts. More information can be found on page 6 of Within District Allocations Under Title I, Part A guidance.
Q. How will this decision impact nonpublic school amounts and equitable services?
A. Nonpublic allocations will be affected in the same proportion as district allocations. The Providing Equitable Services to Eligible Private School Children, Teachers, and Families guidance, pages 14-19, provides more information on calculating proportionate shares. In addition, more guidance on serving nonpublic schools can be found here: Equitable Services for Private Schools | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.
Q. How will this decision affect Title II, Part A and Title IV, Part A?
A. This decision will not impact Title II. Title II, Part A is a formula allocation that uses census poverty data and total population data to generate district allocations. Eighty percent of the district's Title II, Part A allocation is based on poverty and the remaining twenty percent is based on total population. However, there are impacts regarding Title IV. Title IV, Part A is based on a formula using the same proportion as the school district’s prior year’s Title I, Part A allocations. If Title I allocations change, then the following year, a district’s Title IV allocation is impacted. NDDPI is required to ensure that no eligible district receives an allocation of less than $10,000.
Q. Our school’s Title I teacher is unsure about her job security since her position is funded through Title I. Do you have any information on how the funding changes might impact local positions?
A. Title I funding is a supplemental grant provided annually by the federal government and is subject to fluctuations and changes beyond North Dakota’s control. NDDPI communicates methods and amounts so that local school boards and superintendents can make informed decisions every year.
Q. Can Title I funding be used to pay district administrators and if so, when is it justifiable? Does NDDPI monitor the use of funds? Our district is top-heavy with highly paid administrators, some of whom are paid with federal funds. To my understanding, Title I dollars should first and foremost go towards interventionists and resources for direct contact with at-risk students.
A. NDDPI is required by federal law to monitor local Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV, Equitable Services, English Learners, Homeless, and Foster Care programs to ensure compliance with programmatic and fiscal regulations. If funding is reduced, priority should be given to expenses that meet primary needs by directly benefiting students’ academic growth in reading and math, such as direct academic services, evidence-based programming and curriculum, and essential supplies and professional learning. Then, once primary needs are met and if funding remains, funds could then be used for behavioral interventions and non-instructional staff to support behavior, attendance, and mental health. Funds should not be used on administration (i.e., operational, fiscal, or administrative in nature) or travel for professional development unless all other needs have been met.
Q. Does NDDPI monitor and regulate how districts determine the use of their funds? Through many years of being a Title I interventionist and coordinator of services, I have found that Title I funds are most effective when used for early intervention of direct services to decrease the number of students who fall behind as they progress through the education system. Our district used to serve more of our elementary schools but now has decided to serve the secondary level and use funds for more administrative positions. The instructional team (teachers) are not involved in decisions and have no say about what schools are served or why they chose those schools.
A. NDDPI is required by federal law to monitor local Title I, Title II, Title III, Title IV, Equitable Services, English Learners, Homeless, and Foster Care programs to ensure compliance with programmatic and fiscal regulations. It is the responsibility of the local school district to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and regularly evaluate the Title I program for success in reducing the achievement gap. In addition, it is required that school districts work collaboratively to consult with all educational stakeholders when determining the use of funds. During monitoring, NDDPI reviews documentation that this has occurred and that outcomes are being met.