Additional Information on grade–span option
The Educational Data Management Division within the CDE has established the following designations of grade-spans based upon the grades served by a school.
| Grades | Grades Span | Grades | Grades Span | Grades | Grades Span | Grades | Grades Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KK-KK | 1 | 01-11 | 3 | 04-04 | 1 | 06-12 | 3 |
| KK-01 | 1 | 01-12 | 3 | 04-05 | 1 | 07-07 | 2 |
| KK-02 | 1 | 02-02 | 1 | 04-06 | 1 | 07-08 | 2 |
| KK-03 | 1 | 02-03 | 1 | 04-07 | 1 | 07-09 | 2 |
| KK-04 | 1 | 02-04 | 1 | 04-08 | 2 | 07-10 | 3 |
| KK-05 | 1 | 02-05 | 1 | 04-09 | 2 | 07-11 | 3 |
| KK-06 | 1 | 02-06 | 1 | 04-10 | 3 | 07-12 | 3 |
| KK-07 | 1 | 02-07 | 1 | 04-11 | 3 | 08-08 | 2 |
| KK-08 | 1 | 02-08 | 2 | 04-12 | 3 | 08-09 | 2 |
| KK-09 | 2 | 02-09 | 2 | 05-05 | 1 | 08-10 | 3 |
| KK-10 | 3 | 02-10 | 3 | 05-06 | 1 | 08-11 | 3 |
| KK-11 | 3 | 02-11 | 3 | 05-07 | 2 | 08-12 | 3 |
| KK-12 | 3 | 02-12 | 3 | 05-08 | 2 | 09-09 | 3 |
| 01-01 | 1 | 03-03 | 1 | 05-09 | 2 | 09-10 | 3 |
| 01-02 | 1 | 03-04 | 1 | 05-10 | 3 | 09-11 | 3 |
| 01-03 | 1 | 03-05 | 1 | 05-11 | 3 | 09-12 | 3 |
| 01-04 | 1 | 03-06 | 1 | 05-12 | 3 | 10-10 | 3 |
| 01-05 | 1 | 03-07 | 1 | 06-06 | 1 | 10-11 | 3 |
| 01-06 | 1 | 03-08 | 1 | 06-07 | 2 | 10-12 | 3 |
| 01-07 | 1 | 03-09 | 2 | 06-08 | 2 | 11-11 | 3 |
| 01-08 | 1 | 03-10 | 3 | 06-09 | 2 | 11-12 | 3 |
| 01-09 | 2 | 03-11 | 3 | 06-10 | 3 | 12-12 | 3 |
| 01-10 | 3 | 03-12 | 3 | 06-11 | 3 | N/A | N/A |
The “Enrollment” and “Low Income” data are supplied based on the most recent ConApp data submitted in the 2010–11 ConApp Part II, page 48. The grade-span “Poverty Rate” column is calculated by dividing the grade-span low-income total by the grade-span enrollment. Schools at or above the grade-span poverty rate are eligible for funding under the Title I ranking method.
Note: Under Title I, Part A rules schools above 75 percent poverty must be served before any school with a lower poverty rate regardless of grade-span.
Note: If any school-level data have changed, e.g., schools added or closed, changes in student enrollment, free/reduced-price lunch data the LEA may amend the school data in the ConApp, Part I and save the changes. The amended data will be migrated forward into the ConApp, Part II. The school enrollment and poverty rate will be automatically recalculated for the ranking order selected, i.e., district-wide or grade-span. The LEA, for example, may update the ConApp, Part I with the student enrollment and low-income data with more recent data. The LEA must apply the new data to all schools and maintain, on file, the new data that led to the change.
Note: If the district chooses to create a composite ranking, a poverty rate must be calculated and completed for the ranking option. A description of the methodology for the ranking was determined must be included in the comment section for this page.
Title I, Part A Ranking Exceptions
Flexibility in ranking and selecting Title I attendance areas: School attendance areas at or above the district's poverty rate are eligible for Title I, Part A funding. In certain circumstances, the district may take advantage of special opportunities for extra flexibility. Refer to the ESEA Title I Part A, Section 1113 for additional information.
The LEA needs to indicate if it is qualifying a school for Title I funds based on one of the above exceptions.
- At least thirty-five percent low-income: A district may designate as eligible any school attendance area in which at least 35 percent of the students are from low-income families. When using this rule, schools must be served in rank order, and the allocation for a low-income student must be of sufficient size to provide a reasonable expectation of success.
- Public school poverty rate above district poverty rate: A district may designate a school that does not serve an eligible school attendance area as an eligible school if the percentage of children enrolled in that school from low-income families is equal to the percentage of children from low-income families in an eligible school attendance area. A continuation high school, magnet school, community school, or locally funded charter school could be served under this exception.
- Skipping an eligible school that will be served by state or local resources that meet the requirements of Title I: A district may skip eligible school attendance areas that have higher proportions of children from low-income families if the children in those attendance areas are receiving, from nonfederal funds, services of the same type at a funding level that is equal to that which would have been received from Title I, Part A funds. For example, a school that would be eligible to be served by Title I, Part A funds could be skipped if the school was allocated EIA/State Compensatory Education (SCE) funds equal to the allocation that would have been made under Title I. If a "skipped" school is served by any state or local program other than EIA/SCE, please click on the comments box and describe these services and allocations. Note: A school with a poverty concentration above 75 percent may be skipped for Title I, Part A funding if the school was allocated nonfederal funds in an amount equal to or greater than the amount that it would receive under Title I, Part A. Students in the skipped school must also receive services of the same type as schools funded with Title I.
- Desegregation – 25 percent waiver: If a district is operating a state or court-ordered desegregation program, the district may request a waiver from the ED to allow the district to serve as eligible schools at or above 25 percent poverty.
- Grandfather provision: The ESEA allows for an additional year of funding for schools that were funded last year but no longer rank high enough in the current school year to receive Title I, Part A funds.
- Feeder pattern: The LEA may project the number of low-income children in a middle school or high school on the basis of average poverty rate of the elementary school attendance areas that feed into that school. If this exception is used, please click on the comments box and describe the calculations. For an example of how to calculate for feeder pattern , please go to the ESEA Policy Guidance Web page (Outside Source). Click on the link to “Identifying Eligible Title I Schools and Attendance Areas.”
Title I Ranking Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
- May an LEA still select CalWorks data as a poverty measure for ranking schools?
Yes. The LEAs may still use CalWorks data to rank schools eligible for Title I funding. The CDE no longer receives this data. However, the LEA must obtain the data directly from their County Welfare Office. Please be aware that in many cases, the data may not be available. The LEA must then select an alternative poverty measure.
- A school that received Title I funds last year is no longer at or above the district wide poverty percentage. Can the school qualify for funding for one more year?
Yes. The grandfather provision (see Ranking Exceptions, e, above) allows for an additional year of funding for schools that were funded last year but no longer rank high enough in the current school year to receive Title I, Part A. The school does not need to be the next ranked school after all eligible schools that are at or above the district wide poverty percentage in order to be eligible.
- One of our high schools just missed being one of the schools at or above the district wide poverty percentage (or grade span percentage). Is there a way that we can qualify the school?
Yes. Occasionally middle schools and high schools do not qualify for funding because students are reluctant to participate in free or reduced meal program or fail to turn in the income data needed to the school. You may use the Feeder Pattern exception to make these schools eligible. To use the Feeder Pattern, an LEA may project the number of low-income children in a middle school or high school on the basis of average poverty rate of the elementary school attendance areas that feed into that school. For examples of how to calculate feeder pattern, please go to the ESEA Policy Guidance Web page (Outside Source). Click on the link to “Identifying Eligible Title I Schools and Attendance Areas.”
- My district has an enrollment of less than 1,000 students. What ranking rules apply?
Any LEA with a total enrollment of less than 1,000 students is not required to allocate funds to school attendance areas or schools in rank order of poverty. Also, the LEA is not required to determine a per-pupil amount and multiply that figure by the number of poor children in each attendance area or school in order to arrive at an allocation. In addition, neither provision applies regarding (1) requiring an LEA to allocate a higher per pupil amount to areas or schools with higher poverty rates than it allocated to areas or schools with lower poverty rates or (2) requiring that the per pupil amount used to determine each school's allocation be at least 125 percent of the LEA's per pupil Title I allocation in cases where a school district serves a school with a poverty rate below 35 percent.
However, the LEA must have a rational basis for how it allocates Title I funds/resources among its schools that is based on an assessment of the needs of the students in those schools. An LEA cannot use this special provision arbitrarily to skip a school if its students have a demonstrated need that is as great as or greater than another school.
- May a school with a poverty percentage above 75 percent be skipped if an LEA funds the school from other sources to the same level as if the school had received Title I funds?
Yes. Under Section 1113(b) (1) (D) an LEA may choose not to serve an eligible school attendance area or school that has a higher poverty percentage provided:- the school meets the comparability requirement in Section 1120A(c) of the Title I statute;
- the school is receiving supplemental funds from other state or local sources that are spent according to the requirements of sections 1114 (schoolwide program school) or 1115 (targeted assistance school) of the Title I statute; and
- the amount of supplemental funds expended per poverty child from State or local sources equals or exceeds the amount of Title I, Part A funds that would otherwise be allocated to that school.
There is no language in Section 1113 that indicates that this provision could not apply to schools with a poverty rate of 75 percent or more.
