Title I, Part A Closeout

The General Education Provisions Act Section 421(b)(1) and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Section 1127(a), state any Title I funds received, which are not obligated and expended by the local educational agency (LEA) within the current fiscal year (FY), shall remain available for obligation and expenditure for one additional FY. All remaining funds not expended or obligated by September 30 of the succeeding FY shall be returned to the California Department of Education (CDE).

The federal requirements found in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance cited at Title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 200.16, Closeout is the process by which the CDE determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed for the allocation year.

Closeout Report and Invoicing

The LEA will complete the Title I, Part A Closeout Report in the Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS) during the winter release each year.

Federal Funding Flexibility Waiver

On September 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) granted the State of California approval of their Federal Funding Flexibility Waiver Request. The waiver extended the period of availability of FY 2019–20 Title I, Part A funds until September 30, 2022. (Without the federal funding flexibility waiver, the 2019–20 funds would have expired on September 30, 2021).

FY 2019–20—Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report, 39 months* (New)

The 2019–20 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report, 39 months* is a new data collection form to be completed during the 2023 CARS Winter Release.

• LEAs previously reported remaining 2019–20 carryover funds as of September 30, 2021 in the “2019–20 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report” during the 2022 CARS Winter release.

The LEA shall complete the “2019–20 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report, 39 months” during the 2023 CARS Winter release to report expenditures and obligations made through September 30, 2022.

FY 2020–21—Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report

The LEA that reported carryover during FY 2020–21 must report expenditures related to that carryover to confirm that all FY 2020–21 Title I, Part A funds (including funds for nonprofit private school equitable services proportional share, parent and family engagement, local neglected and/or delinquent institutions, and direct and indirect services to homeless students) were expended by September 30, 2022.

The LEA will complete the Title I, Part A Closeout Report in the CARS during the winter release each year.

Invoicing for Unspent Funds

After the close of the 2022–23 CARS Winter Release, targeted to open in Winter of 2023, the CDE will invoice LEAs with remaining FY 2019–20 and FY 2020–21 carryover funds reported in the 2019–20 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report, 39 months, and the 2020–21 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report respectively.

Resources

CARS
Additional instructions for completing the 2019–20 Title I, Part A LEA Closeout Report, 39 Months report are available under the sub-section titled “Training and User Documents” on the CDE’s CARS web page.

CFR
National Archives website guidance on CFR.

ESSA
ED guidance on ESSA.

LEA Identification and Selection of School Attendance Areas and Schools and Allocation of Title I Funds to Those Areas and Schools (DOC)
ED non-regulatory guidance outlining how LEAs identify eligible Title I school attendance areas and schools and allocate funds to those attendance areas and schools.

Title I Fiscal Issues: Maintenance of Effort Comparability Supplement, not Supplant Carryover Consolidating Funds in Schoolwide Programs Grantback Requirements (PDF)
ED non-regulatory guidance updating section E of the Title I fiscal issues guidance released in May 2006 addressing consolidating funds in schoolwide programs.

Fiscal Changes and Equitable Services Requirements Under the ESSA (PDF)
ED non-regulatory guidance changes made by the ESSA to the State formula-grant programs.