Title I funds in a Targeted Assistance school must be used to improve the academic achievement of identified Title I students. Students must be identified based on multiple, objective, educationally related criteria. Criteria must also be generated to determine when a student may exit the Title I program.
Title I supplemental services may be delivered in a number of ways, i.e., in-class instruction; pull-out instruction; and/or extended day, week, or year instruction.
Teachers responsible for providing supplemental services to identified students must be appropriately licensed. Title I staff must coordinate with other school personnel, and Title I schools must involve parents in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Title I program.
Districts with private schools must consult with private school representatives before making final determinations about the use of Title I funds.
Targeted Assistance and Multi-Level Systems of Supports (MLSS)
MLSS and Targeted Assistance Programming: Some Parameters to be Aware Of
When implementing an equitable multi-level system of supports in a targeted assistance school, staff must ensure that the students served by Title I teachers and the services those teachers provide are consistent with Title I law. In a targeted assistance school, Title I teachers should still work only with Title I-eligible students, and the services they provide should still be above and beyond what non-title students are receiving and supplemental to the core instructional program. This must be foremost in consideration when determining which level Title I services would best be placed.
The Role of Title I Teachers in an Equitable MLSS
Title I services are one piece of the continuum of services available to students in an equitable MLSS. Title I teachers should still be providing supplemental educational support to a select group of students determined as Title I-eligible by a review of multiple measures of academic progress. The school should still have explicit criteria for when students enter the Title I program and explicit criteria for when students exit the Title I program. Title I teachers should collaborate with regular classroom teachers in identifying Title I students.
Title I teachers may consult with regular classroom teachers to design classroom interventions that the teacher would implement before a student is identified as Title I eligible. However, the Title I teacher should not be delivering those interventions, as they are designed for non-Title I students. Title I teachers should never be used to deliver the core instruction provided to all students, even if that instruction is differentiated. All Title I teachers should deliver education services over and above the core instruction, and these services should never reduce a student's access to the core instruction.
The Role of Title I Paraprofessionals in an Equitable MLSS
Paraprofessionals work under the direct supervision of an appropriately licensed teacher whose responsibilities include, but are not limited to, supporting the lesson plan of a properly licensed teacher, providing technical assistance to the teacher, and helping with classroom management. Paraprofessionals hired with Title I funds are specifically assigned to support students receiving Title I services under the direct supervision of an appropriately licensed teacher. This could include supporting a Title I student's participation in the school's MLSS. Title I paraprofessionals should not provide interventions to general education students.
Purchasing Instructional Materials Using Title I Funds
If the district is purchasing particular materials for all schools in the district, those materials must be purchased with state or local funds in both Title I and non-Title I schools. In a targeted assistance school, Title I funds may only be used to purchase instructional materials for Title I students in the Title I program. Title I funds may never be used to purchase instructional materials in non-Title I schools.
The Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Rule
In a targeted assistance program, Title I teachers should serve Title I identified students and provide the necessary supplemental interventions to these students. These documented interventions with the Title I teacher may meet the standards of an intensive intervention required as part of a SLD eligibility decision. For more information on the SLD criteria and its definition of "intensive interventions," see Programs for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities and Role of Special Education in an equitable MLSS guidance.
Resources
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. 2017. "Wisconsin's Framework for Equitable Multi-Level Systems of Supports."
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Title I and School Support. 2009. "Title I, Part A Targeted Assistance Program Resource." Contains strategies and considerations for different areas of implementation