Providing Equitable Services to Private School Children

The Title I program provides supplemental educational services so that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

Under Title I, Part A Local Education Agencies (LEA)s are required to provide services for eligible private school students. Section 1120 of Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act requires a participating LEA to provide eligible children attending private elementary and secondary schools, their teachers, and their families with Title I services or other benefits that are equitable to those provided to eligible public school children, their teachers, and their families.  

Basic Building Blocks for Providing Title I Services to Eligible Private School Children (adapted from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

Locate Your Fund-Generating Students

• Obtain a list of the LEA students who are attending private schools who would have attended a school that has a Title I program.
• Obtain income information to determine how many of these students generated Title I funds (see link for Non-Regulatory guidance sections B4-B8)

Contact Appropriate Private School Officials

• Inform private school officials at schools where students from your district (who would have attended Title I schools and have generated funds for your LEA) that you have a Title I program and offer consultation regarding participation in the program.
• Keep a record of letters sent and ensure that all schools contacted responded (either affirmatively or negatively) to your offer.

 Timely and Meaningful Consultation

• A unilateral offer of services by an LEA, with no opportunity for discussion, is not adequate.
• Consultation must take place before an LEA makes any decisions that affect the opportunities of eligible private school children to participate in Title I programs
• Provide program information including: the school selection process, grade spans served, the number of low-income public and private school children residing in the area, and the per-pupil allocation (PPA) of each public school participating area.
• Obtain written affirmation that consultation has taken place.
• Program development must be a consultation topic.
• The consultation process continues throughout the implementation of the private school program.
• The consultation cycle concludes for a private school program after the school year has closed, the district and private school have assessed the effectiveness of the private school Title I program, and revisions have been made for future Title I programs.

Program Development

• Benefits must be equitable to those offered to eligible public school students(not necessarily the same)
• Address the following issues: how the children's needs will be identified, what services will be offered, how and where services will be assessed, the size and scope of the equitable services to be provided and the amount of funds to be used for those services, parental activities, and professional development opportunities for officials and staff who work directly with students who participate in the program.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• See that Title I services adhere to all Title I regulations and are coordinated with regular classroom instruction.
• Maintain control of funds, label material purchased by Title I, and keep an inventory of LEA Title I property
• Design and develop an assessment plan which includes how the Title I services will be academically assessed and how the results of that assessment will be used to improve those services. LEA must annually assess the progress of the Title I program toward meeting the agreed-upon standards.

Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

Private School Program Quick Guidance

Building Blocks Document

LEA Affirmation of Consultation with Private School Officials Template

Private School Participation Power Point

May 1, 2009 Regional Technical Assistance Power Point

USDOE Ensuring Equitable Services to private School Children Tool Kit

USDOE Non-Regulatory Guidance: Title I Services to Eligible Private School Children

Contact information
Kimberly Wells 
Education Associate, Title I and School Improvement
Delaware Department of Education
Telephone: (302) 857.3320
Fax: (302) 739-1780