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February 4, 2020
Title IV, Part A Eligibility Clarification
We recently received greater clarification from the US Department of Education about eligibility for Title IV, Part A or the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Federal Title Program. The clarification states that local educational agencies (LEAs) must be allocated and accept Title I, Part A awards in the prior fiscal year in order to be eligible to receive a Title IV, Part A grant award allocation in the current year.
Starting with the allocations awarded in Summer 2020 for State Fiscal Year 2021, LEAs will not receive Title IV, Part A funds if they:
- are not Title I, Part A eligible in the prior fiscal year, or
- decline Title I, Part A funds in the prior fiscal year.
Determining Public School Eligibility for Title I, Part A
How does your district determine which public schools to serve with Title I, Part A funds? As you prepare for school year 2020-21, consider the following:
District Average Poverty Rate
This is the total percent of students eligible for education benefits, often referred to as free and reduced-price meals program (FRP), enrolled in any public school within the district boundaries. Note: this average includes students in any public school, not just schools historically served with Title I, Part A funds. The district average excludes students enrolled in nonpublic schools. (Note: the current “District Average” in SERVS is inaccurate! Use your public school district average instead.)
Seventy-Five Percent Rule
The district must serve all public schools with a poverty rate of 75% or more, including full-time special education sites and alternative learning centers.
High School Consideration
Districts may choose to serve high schools with a poverty rate of 50-74% before serving elementary or middle schools with poverty rates between 50 and 75%. Example: a district could determine that serving a high school with a poverty rate of 53% is the priority over an elementary with a poverty rate of 65%. See “Changing Needs” below.
Rank Order
Once a district has determined schools served with the 75% rule and High School Consideration, they may choose to serve schools in rank order or rank order by grade span. Any school over the district average poverty rate or over the grade span average poverty rate is eligible to be served.
Thirty-Five Percent Rule
When a district’s average poverty rate (see above) is greater than 35%, the district may choose to serve any school with a poverty rate greater than 35%, even if that school’s poverty rate is not above the district average poverty rate.
District as a Whole
Districts with enrollment under 1,000 students may choose to serve the district as a whole without regard to rank ordering rules.
Changing Needs
Consider your district’s strategic plan and comprehensive needs assessment. How does your district’s plan for serving schools with Title I, Part A funding align to the current needs and trends of your district? Take this opportunity to strategically consider the best use of all funding streams. Contact your Area Director to discuss possibilities.
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Mainframe Modernization Project Update
In partnership with Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) and an outside vendor, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is currently in the process of converting all school finance mainframe system applications and databases to a new, more modern language and platforms. This project includes many of the applications used by the School Finance Division to calculate and distribute aids and levies, and process student, transportation and financial data collected from school districts, charter schools and other local education agencies. As most of these 28 systems are interconnected, the goal of this project is to convert them all as a group and retire the old mainframe systems at the end of the transition period.
Some services will be unavailable from Thursday, February 13, 2020, at 5 p.m. until start of business on Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Additional information, including interrupted services and project contact information can be found in the document named "Mainframe Modernization Project Update" on the School Finance website.
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