Washington, D.C. — Established in 1965, Title I provides crucial financial assistance to American schools serving high percentages of children from low-income families. Yet the radical authoritarian playbook known as Project 2025 plans to eliminate Title I funding entirely.
A new 50-state analysis from the Center for American Progress outlines for the first time how devastating Project 2025’s plan to eliminate Title I funding would be for students and teachers across the nation.
Key findings from the analysis include:
- Title I supports low-income students and nearly 2 in 3 public schools.
- Teacher turnover rates at high-poverty schools are 10 percent higher than at schools with lower concentrations of poverty.
- Project 2025 would worsen existing teacher shortages by eliminating nearly 6 percent of the educator workforce—more than 180,000 positions.
“Since its inception, Title I has been a crucial program to help address chronic funding and opportunity gaps between students experiencing high poverty and their more affluent peers,” said Weadé James, senior director for K-12 Education Policy at CAP and co-author of the column. “Project 2025 plans to gut it entirely.”
“Removing Title I funding would mean losing thousands of teachers and ultimately limiting children’s access to quality instruction,” said Will Ragland, vice president of research for Advocacy and Outreach at CAP and co-author of the column. “It would be devastating to local schools, students, families, and communities.”
Read the column: “Project 2025’s Elimination of Title I Funding Would Hurt Students and Decimate Teaching Positions in Local Schools” by Weadé James and Will Ragland
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].