Title I, Part A District Level Set Asides (Formerly District Managed Activities)

Purpose

The intent of Title I, Part A funds is to concentrate funds in schools with the highest percentages of poverty and to provide sufficient funds to those schools to support the academic achievement and growth of eligible students. However, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, Section 1113(c) has required district level set-asides as well as set-asides that are at the discretion of the local educational agencies (LEAs). This document is designed to provide guidance on both required and allowable district level Title I, Part A Set-Asides. As with all ESEA funds, proposed activities with district level set-asides and district level allowable activities must be reasonable and necessary to meet the intent of Title I which is (to ensure all students have a fair, equitable, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and close achievement gaps.

All Title I requirements, such as rank and serve, supplement, not supplant, comparability, and maintenance of effort, continue to apply regardless of the allocation structures and retention of funds at the LEA level. Additionally, as we transition towards the end of ESSER funds, LEAs are encouraged to take into consideration the effectiveness of activities that should be continued with ESEA funds both at the LEA and school level. As funds become more scarce and/or needs increase, LEAs are encouraged to use ESEA funds for the evidence-based strategies and interventions that have shown to have significant impact on improving outcomes.

LEAs are encouraged to consider the needs of all or a subset of Title I schools in determining whether to retain funds for allowable LEA level activities. Note, LEAs may not use this allowability as a means to avoid serving schools at the school level or as a means to circumvent rank order requirements and it is not likely to be permissible to use funds set-aside at the district level to support efforts benefiting only one school. Furthermore, LEAs should ensure that stakeholders have been meaningfully engaged in the development and design of the LEA’s Title I plan, including the intent to retain funds at the district level to support allowable Title I activities, and that the LEA has afforded the public a reasonable opportunity to comment on the planned use of funds.

Title I, Part A - Required District Level Set-Asides

Set-Aside	Description	ESEA Consolidated Application Funding Source
Parent Involvement Set-Aside	For LEAs with allocation greater than $500,000, required budget set-aside of 1% minimum to support parent involvement activities At least 90% of amount set-aside must go to Title I schools Parents must be involved in schools’ decision on how to use these funds District may retain remaining 10% of the amount set-aside to support district-level parental involvement activities For more information on use of funds visit the Elementary and Secondary Education Parent, Family and Community Engagement webpage.	Title I Part A Parent Involvement Set-Aside (9211 School Level) (9212 District Level)
Homeless Set-Aside	Required set-aside; all districts must budget at least $50 for this set-aside (capped at 25% of Title, Part A allocation). Homeless set-aside should be sufficient to handle the educational needs of students identified as experiencing homelessness. LEAs should use methods suggested by the National Center for Homeless Education to determine an appropriate amount.	Title I Part A Eligible Homeless Children Set-Aside (9202)
Neglected Facilities Set-Aside	Input allocations for districts with a neglected facility. Required set-aside amounts are published on the Office of Grants Fiscal webpage.	Title I Part A Neglected Institution (9204)
Non-Public School Set-Aside	Required set-aside if LEAs have participating non-public schools. LEAs must determine the proportionate share of funds used to provide equitable services under Title I, Part A based on the entire Title I, Part A allocation, prior to taking any other set-aside off the top. LEAs must obligate the set-aside to provide equitable services to eligible students attending non-public schools in the first fiscal year in which funds are available. For information regarding carryover, for, visit the Equitable Services to Non-public schools webpage.	Title I Part A Non-Public School Set-Aside (9205)

Title I, Part A - Allowable District Level Set-Asides

Set-Aside	Description	ESEA Consolidated Application Funding Source
Preschool Set-Aside	District support for school-based preschool activities (capped at 30% of Title, Part A allocation) Direct intervention with students Transition to kindergarten support Professional learning for preschool teachers	Title I Part A Preschool Set-Aside (9201)
Family Literacy Set-Aside	Literacy program for families in Title I schools (capped at 30% of Title I, Part A allocation) Adult GED/ESL/Parenting classes Parent and child activities Student activities involving literacy	Title I Part A Family Literacy Set-Aside (9203)
Financial Incentives	Financial incentives and awards for teachers who serve in Title I schools identified for Comprehensive Support or implementing targeted support for the purpose of attracting and retaining qualified and effective teachers in an amount that does not exceed 5% of the LEA’s total Title I allocation. 1113(c)(4) A waiver is required if District Managed Activity Set-Aside exceeds 20%	Title I Part A District Managed Activity Set-Aside (9206)
Pay Differential	Pay differential in Title I schools (Pay differential is used to equalize and account for the amount schools must spend on salaries and fixed charges) 1113 (c)(4). A waiver is required if District Managed Activity Set-Aside exceeds 20%	Title I Part A District Managed Activity Set-Aside (9206)
Transportation for Eligible Students	Costs to provide transportation (up to 5% of the Title I, Part A allocation) for students using the option to transfer schools in the following situations: comprehensive support and improvement to transfer to another higher-performing public school in the district (§1111(d)(1)(D)(v)) A waiver is required if District Managed Activity Set-Aside exceeds 20%	Title I Part A District Managed Activity Set-Aside (9206)
Additional Year of Title I Support	Supporting a previous Title I school for one additional year that is no longer eligible due to a change in poverty level. The LEA must allocate a per pupil amount that is the same as or lower than current Title I schools such that it falls within rank order even though the school will be marked as Not Served (NS) in the School Profile section of the Consolidated Application. Section 1113(b)(1)(C) A waiver is required if District Managed Activity Set-Aside exceeds 20%	Title I Part A District Managed Activity Set-Aside (9206)
Other District Managed Authorized Activities	ESSA Section 200.77 allows for districts to support all or a subset of Title I schools by retaining funds at the district level to conduct other authorized Title I activities not referenced above. However, the district must consider the following guiding questions when determining if the funds should be allocated to the school or retained at the district level. A waiver is required if District Managed Activity Set-Aside exceeds 20% Guiding Questions for Allowability: If the district can respond positively or has evidence to support responses to the following questions, the activity is likely allowable. Is this an allowable activity under Title I, Part A? Does this activity address the support needed for students most at risk of not meeting state standards? Does this activity address a need that can be documented by data the district has collected? Is there an operational need for maintaining the funds at the district level? Consider and explain how the funds retained at the district level are addressing Title I schools equitably (i.e. whether all schools identified for CS, TS, and ATS are served comparably). Has the LEA considered whether the remaining allocation for schools are sufficient to support student achievement in a meaningful way (i.e. the amount by which per pupil allocations (PPA) may be increased at the school level if the set-aside did not exceed the limitation, how rank order would be affected). What is the justification, added benefit(s) of, or reason(s) for retaining funds at the district level? Does retaining funds at the district level increase the cost effectiveness of an activity (i.e., pooling resources to serve multiple schools)? Do the district level activities meet at a minimum level 4 criteria (i.e., promising practices) of the ESSA tiers for evidence-based interventions?	Title I-A District Managed Activity Set-Aside (9206)

Budgeting District Set-Asides in the ESEA Consolidated Application

When entering Title I District Level Set-Aside into the ESEA Consolidated Application budget, the funds should be budgeted at the district level in the Location field. LEAs should include in the activity description the name of the school(s) that will benefit from each specific activity. LEAs should select “Title I-A District Managed Activity Set Aside (9206)” as the Funding Source. This coding must be used to prevent errors in serving schools out of rank order.

Description of Activity: Location Funding Source [insert name of school(s) benefiting from the DMA activity] - [insert description of activity that aligns with an above allowable DMA activity]. Location: XXXX-XXXX (District Level). Funding Source: Title I-A District Managed Activity Set Aside (9206)

Waiver Request Process

LEAs that propose to exceed the 20% limitation for retaining Title I, Part A funds at the district level to administer Title I, Part A supports (formerly referred to as District Managed Activities; this does not pertain to the other LEA level set-asides that may have other caps) are required to complete a waiver request in conjunction with submitting the Consolidated Application. The Unit of Federal Programs and Supports at CDE will review the LEA’s waiver request during the initial review of the LEA’s Consolidated Application. The LEA will be notified of whether approval has been granted through the regular Consolidated Application review system. CDE may request additional information prior to granting approval of the waiver request. A request to exceed the 20% limitation must be submitted and approved annually. Click here to complete the district level set-aside waiver.