Mar 11, 2011
Tightening Up Title I 

Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act of 1965 is the largest school program operated by the Department of Education. Title I began as an antipoverty program whose funds were meant to ameliorate the educational disadvantages of growing up in concentrated poverty. This goal has evolved into a broader responsibility around equity—closing achievement gaps. And Title I has become the pivot point for an education reform movement aiming to bolster U.S. economic competitiveness by promoting higher overall levels of academic achievement.

Through statutes, regulations, and guidance, Title I guides school districts’ and state educational agencies’ behavior. There are undoubtedly ways to align incentives embodied by the program to serve better the complex purpose of Title I.

Please join us for a conference featuring seven new papers that examine fiscal requirements and other provisions around the expenditure of and accounting for Title I funds. The papers draw on existing evidence to develop recommendations for policymakers.

 

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Panel 1: Fiscal Requirements

Presenters

• Melissa Junge, Esq., Partner, Federal Education Group, PLLC: "An Examination of How the Supplement Not Supplant Requirement Can Work Against the Policy Goals of Title I"
• Jennifer Cohen, Senior Policy Analyst, New America Foundation: "Evidence of Fiscal Inequity Within Florida’s Public School Districts"

Discussants

• David DeSchryver, Vice President of Education Policy, Whiteboard Advisors
• Tony Smith, Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District

Moderator: Cynthia Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American Progress

Panel 2: Set-Asides, Caps, and Capacity

Presenters

• Patricia Burch, Associate Professor of Education, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California: "The Implementation and Effectiveness of Supplemental Educational Services"
• Karen Mapp, Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education: "Title I and Parental Involvement: Lessons from the Past, Recommendations for the Future"
• Brenda Turnbull, Principal, Policy Studies Associates, Inc: "State Capacity to Implement Title I"

Discussants

• James Guthrie, Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies, George W. Bush Institute
• Paul Manna, Associate Professor, Department of Government & the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy, College of William & Mary

Moderator: Raegen Miller, Associate Director for Education Policy, Center for American Progress

Panel 3: Accountability, Strategy, and Efficiency

Presenters

• Jon Fullerton, Executive Director, Center for Education Policy Research, Harvard Graduate School of Education: "Title I Fiscal Requirements and School District Management"
• Martin West, Assistant Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education: "The Federal Role in Improving Educational Productivity"

Discussants

• Dianne Piche, Senior Counsel, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Amber Winkler, Research Director, Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Moderator: Frederick Hess, Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

Discussion: Themes of the Day & Reauthorization

Discussants

• Carmel Martin, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy, U.S. Department of Education
• Celia Sims, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Senator Richard Burr

Moderators: Cynthia Brown and Frederick Hess