Title Programs

Title I is the United States Federal Government’s largest education program to support public schools.  The purpose is to help every child receive a high quality education and to achieve the high academic standards set by the State of Minnesota.

Title II is professional development services that supplement professional development provided to private school teachers, principals, and other educational personnel at the private school.  The law requires that all uses of Title II, Part A funds supplement non-federal funds (i.e., private school funds) that would otherwise be used for activities.  Professional development provided with federal funds needs to be in addition to, and not in place of, what the private school would otherwise provide.  These services can be provided in the form areas such as training, workshops/conferences, mentoring/coaching, professional learning communities, etc. 

Title III is supplemental language instruction services to teach English to limited English proficient and immigrant students as well as assist them in achieving grade-level and graduation standards.  Professional development services can also be provided to private school staff to support them in serving English learners.  The SPPS Multilingual Learning (MLL) department oversees Title III at Nonpublic schools.

Title IV Part A is supplemental services are designed to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity to provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, improve school conditions for student learning, and improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. 

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) gives a share of Title I funds to each state based on the percentage of poverty in the state.  The Minnesota Department of  Educaton (MDE) then gives the money to school districts based on district poverty. 

Schools with 40% or more of the students eligible to receive Educational Benefits may receive Title I funds. This percentage can change from year to year.  Click here to see a list of the eligible Title I elementary, secondary and alternative schools and programs in Saint Paul Public Schools.

Title I also provides funding to support:

• Neglected and Delinquent Education Programs
  • Juvenile Detention Center Programs, 180 Degrees
• Homeless / Foster Care Education Programs
  • Project REACH / Fostering Connections
• Parent Involvement
• Office of Teaching and Learning
• Indian Education
• Counselors
• School Social Workers
• Family Liaisons
• PBIS
• MLL EA
• Non Public School Title I Services

Each school decides how Title I funds will be used in their school to improve education for all children.  Site based leadership teams in collaboration with parents determine how Title I funds will be used to help support the school’s identified needs.  Data is reviewed to determine the greatest needs in a school, devise strategies to improve student achievement in the school through a schoolwide or school improvement plan..

Title I requires that ever schoolwide Title I school, has a schoolwide plan for how to improve education for all students. For schools that have been identified by the State as a school in need of improvement, those schools must also complete an improvement plan. Because of the way the Saint Paul Public School's plan is configured, every school's plan meets the requirements for both requirements (Schoolwide Plan and School Improvement Plan). The plan is called the School Continuous Improvement Plan or SCIP.  Title I schools must ensure that Title I funds are used to support the work designated in the SCIP. The SCIPs are continuously revised based data and on the needs of the schools.

Schools are required to plan how they will involve parents in the education of their children. Each school must write, with the help of parents, a school Family Engagement Plan.  The school’s Family Engagement Plan describes how schools and families work together to help children succeed.

Schools must also work with parents to develop a Compact. A Parent/School Compact is a shared agreement that articulates how parents, children and the school will work together to support the child’s learning. The Parent/School Compact should be shared at the beginning of the school year with parents and then reviewed during conferences.

Schools must include parents in decisions about how to better meet the needs of their students, improve education in their schools, and use Title I funds to build the capacity of parents and staff to be involved in their children's education.  

Some ways Title I funds may be used to to support parents, build capacity, include parents in decision making include:

• Host activities to help families, help children learn by building their capacity to do so.
  • Support for registering student for post secondary (e.g. How to complete the FASFA)
  • Support for understanding assessments or the curriculum in use.
• Provide transportation to academic meetings, school activities.
• Provide childcare meetings and school activities.

Students most in need of educational help are provided with additional support services. Title I Schools also set goals for school improvement, measure student progress using Minnesota State Standards, and provide programs and services beyond what the district usually provides. Such  as:

• Provide School social work and School Counselor support
• Providing additional academic supports during the school day.
• Supporting teachers with professional development and job embedded coaching in the content areas to improve instruction.
• Provide Cultural Liaisons and/or Family Liaisons to support students and families.

• Children and families experiencing homelessness.
• Neglected and Delinquent children.
• Children attending non-public schools.

Parents have the right to:

• Request information about the qualifications of their child’s teacher.
• Be informed if their child is being taught for more than four consecutive weeks by a teacher not licensed in the area of instruction.
• See progress reports for their child and the school.
• Help decide if the school is meeting their child’s needs and offer suggestions for improvement.

The Schoolwide model is used in all Title I in SPPS schools that receive Title I services.  A schoolwide Title I model means a school uses Title I funds to support comprehensive strategies for improving the whole school so every student achieves high levels of academic proficiency. Schoolwide programs have great latitude to determine how to organize their program and allocate the multiple funding sources available to them. As a schoolwide program, schools do not have to identify particular children as eligible for services,  The exception receives a Targeted Services Model.

No schools are Targeted Assistance in St. Paul Public Schools.

Target Assistance Schools:

• Receive Title I funds but is ineligible or has chosen not to operate a Title I schoolwide program.
• Uses Title I funds to provide services to a select group of children--those identified as failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the State's challenging content and student performance standards. 

Schoolwide model: The school uses the Title I funding across the whole school, supporting and supplementing state and local funds to improve the education of historically disadvantaged students.

Targeted Assistance model: Title I funds provide services to eligible children identified as having the greatest need for special assistance.   Those students must also reside within the attendance area of a Title I school.  In this model Title I teachers pull out eligible students from class for extra instruction.

In both models Title I funding must always supplement and never supplant the regular education program at a school.

The Office of Title I - Federal Programs oversees Targeted Assistance Title I programs at Non Public Schools. Through consultation, Saint Paul Public Schools works with the non public school to determine the size, scope and nature of the program to be delivered by the district at the non public school site.

During the course of administering federally funded programs disagreements may arise.  Listed below are the procedures that will be followed in an attempt to resolve any disputes over issues raised.

Title I Complaint Procedures

Non Public Complaint Procedures

Report Suspected Fraud, Waste or Abuse: U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Hotline

The OIG Hotline is available for anyone who knows of or suspects fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or violations of laws and regulations involving U.S. Department of Education funds or programs. This includes allegations of suspected wrongdoing by Department employees, contractors, grantees, schools and school officials, persons in positions of trust involving Department funds or programs, collection agencies, recipients of student financial assistance, or lending institutions. If you have knowledge of any wrongdoing involving Department funds or operations, let us know!

New resource: ESSA e-learning modules

MDE’s new School and District Accountability page includes key aspects of the North Star accountability system that is Minnesota’s new way to identify schools and districts for support under ESSA and the state’s World’s Best Workforce law. Each module is approximately 4-7 minutes long. A module about the philosophy of the system and a module with an overview of the system are already available, and more modules are coming soon to explore the processes for identifying schools and districts as well as each indicator used when making identifications.