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The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently comprehensively amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), is the primary source of federal aid to support elementary and secondary education. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and was funded at $17.5 billion for FY2022. It is designed to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Under current law, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A allocations to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on four separate funding formulas: Basic Grants, Concentration Grants, Targeted Grants, and Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG). State grants are the total of the allocations for all LEAs in the state under all four formulas. The four Title I-A formulas have somewhat distinct allocation patterns, providing varying shares of allocated funds to different types of LEAs and states. Thus, for some states, certain formulas are more favorable than others. This report provides FY2022 state grant amounts under each of the four formulas used to determine Title I-A grants. Overall, California received the largest FY2022 Title I-A grant amount ($2.1 billion, or 11.98% of total Title I-A grants to states). Vermont received the smallest FY2022 Title I-A grant amount ($40.1 million, or 0.23% of total Title I-A grants to states).

From March 2020 through March 2021, three laws providing federal funding for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education were enacted in response to the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic declared by President Trump on March 13, 2020. The second of these laws provided a higher amount of funding than the first, and the third provided a higher amount than the second. The funds were intended to help the U.S. educational system "prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus." Funds were generally made available to states, local educational agencies (LEAs), private schools, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to support the transition to remote learning, provide support services to students, protect education-related jobs, provide institutional support, and provide grant aid to postsecondary students. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) was signed into law. Included in the act was the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF), which was created "to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally." The ESF was composed of three emergency relief funds: (1) A Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund; (2) An Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund; and (3) A Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). This report discusses the ESF and the programs initially authorized under it that were included in the CARES Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2). The report begins with an overview of the appropriations available for the ESF and the required reservations of funds under each act. It then discusses each of the emergency education relief funds, including the EANS program. The next part of the report provides an overview of the other provisions included in the ESF: maintenance of effort (MOE) and maintenance of equity (MOEq) provisions, reporting requirements, continued payments to employees, and definitions. The report also includes several appendices that provide information on state funding under the GEER Fund, EANS program, and ESSER Fund, and funding aggregated at the state level and institutional sector level under the HEERF based on ED's published grant amounts, as well as information about periods of obligation and liquidation of funds and deadlines that apply to HEERF.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), most recently comprehensively amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), is the primary source of federal aid to support elementary and secondary education. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and was funded at $16.5 billion for FY2021. It is designed to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from lowincome families. Under current law, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on four separate funding formulas: Basic Grants, Concentration Grants, Targeted Grants, and Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG). State grants are the total of the allocations for all LEAs in the state under all four formulas. The four Title I-A formulas have somewhat distinct allocation patterns, providing varying shares of allocated funds to different types of LEAs and states. Thus, for some states, certain formulas are more favorable than others. This report provides FY2021 state grant amounts under each of the four formulas used to determine Title I-A grants. Overall, California received the largest FY2021 Title I-A grant amount ($2.0 billion, or 12.48% of total Title I-A grants). Vermont received the smallest FY2021 Title I-A grant amount ($37.5 million, or 0.23% of total Title I-A grants).

This report provides an overview of major provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It also includes a table showing annual appropriations for ESEA programs for FY2017 through FY2022, as well as a table showing the transition in authorized programs and related appropriations from FY2016, when No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) provisions were still in effect, to FY2017, when Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provisions took effect. A table detailing authorizations of appropriations under current law is also included. The ESSA authorized appropriations for ESEA programs through FY2020.

From March 2020 through March 2021, three laws provided increasing levels of federal funding for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education primarily through the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) in response to the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic as declared by President Trump on March 13, 2020. On March 27, 2020, $30.750 billion was initially appropriated for the ESF by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136). On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA; Division M of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 [P.L. 116-260]), was enacted, providing an additional $81.880 billion in appropriations for an amended ESF. On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2), a budget reconciliation measure, provided an additional $169.609 billion for programs originally enacted as part of the ESF. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) was signed into law. Included in the act was the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF), which was created "to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally." The ESF was composed of three emergency relief funds: (1) A Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund; (2) An Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund; and (3) A Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). This report discusses the ESF and the programs initially authorized under it that were included in the CARES Act, CRRSAA, and ARPA. The report begins with an overview of the appropriations available for the ESF and the required reservations of funds under each act. It then discusses each of the emergency education relief funds, including the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program. The next part of the report provides an overview of the other provisions included in the ESF: maintenance of effort (MOE) and maintenance of equity (MOEq) provisions, reporting requirements, continued payments to employees, and definitions. The report also includes several appendices that provide information on state funding under the GEER Fund, EANS program, and ESSER Fund, and funding aggregated at the state level and institutional sector level under the HEERF based on ED's published grant amounts, as well as information about periods of obligation and liquidation of funds and deadlines that apply to HEERF.

Since the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, P.L. 89-10, as amended) in 1965, the major programs of aid to elementary and secondary education authorized under it have sought to provide for the equitable participation of eligible students enrolled in both public and private elementary and secondary schools. This is particularly true of the largest federal elementary and secondary aid program, Education for the Disadvantaged, authorized by ESEA Title I, Part A and commonly referred to as the Title I-A program. This report begins by examining the history of the ESEA equitable services provisions. It discusses the role of public and private elementary and secondary education in the mid-1960s and proposals for federal aid to elementary and secondary schools prior to 1965. It then discusses the initial enactment of the ESEA, with a focus on federal involvement in elementary and secondary education, school desegregation matters, and private schools. Next, the report considers the implementation of equitable services provisions from 1965 through 1997, which includes an overview of two Supreme Court decisions that affected the delivery of equitable services. The next section of the report examines current equitable services provisions included in the ESEA. The ESEA includes two major sets of equitable services provisions--one in Title I-A and one in Title VIII-F-1. The report discusses both sets of provisions and highlights the similarities and differences between them. It then discusses whether the provision of equitable services constitutes aid to private schools and other ESEA provisions that apply specifically to private schools. This is followed by a discussion of the inclusion of equitable services provisions in non-ESEA programs, specifically with respect to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), in federal education programs enacted following the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report concludes with consideration of selected issues related to the provision of equitable services. [Wayne Riddle co-authored this report.]

Updated September 30, 2024 Congressional interest in elementary and secondary public school safety and security remains strong. Though public school safety and security is primarily a state and local responsibility, [...]

September 16, 2024 Introduction Overview of the ESSER Fund, GEER Fund, EANS Program, ARP-HCY, and Similar Funding for the Outlying Areas Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund Governor's [...]

Updated September 24, 2024 Introduction Report Organization Programs with an Explicit School Safety or Security Purpose Grant Programs Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants National Activities for School Safety […]

Since March 2020, a number of laws have been enacted to provide relief to people and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA; P.L. 116-127) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136), both enacted in March 2020; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260), enacted in December 2020; and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2), enacted in March 2021. The laws enacted in response to the pandemic include a wide array of provisions, some of which are amendments to existing programs, benefits, and authorities, and others that are newly established. Many of these provisions were enacted on a temporary basis, where Congress specified an expiration date or a limited period during which they would remain in effect. Some provisions had been set to expire in 2020 or 2021 and were extended with the enactment of P.L. 116-260 or P.L. 117-2, both of which also established a number of additional pandemic relief provisions. For certain other provisions, Congress specified that availability would be tied to the duration of a declared emergency or disaster. This report identifies provisions enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that are set to expire during the 117th Congress (i.e., before January 3, 2023). These provisions are presented in a series of tables organized by subject matter. The expiring provisions that are within the scope of this report are primarily those that define the authority of government agencies or other entities to act, usually by authorizing a policy, project, or activity. These include provisions that temporarily suspend or delay the period during which a provision of law, regulation, requirement, or deadline is in effect; establish a moratorium on a particular activity; or provide authorization for certain provisions of law, regulation, or other requirements to be waived.

The primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--particularly its Title I-A program, which authorizes federal aid for the education of disadvantaged students. The ESEA was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89- 10) "to strengthen and improve educational quality and educational opportunities in the Nation's elementary and secondary schools." The Title I-A program in particular provides supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families, as well as eligible students who live in the areas served by these public schools but attend private schools. Since the enactment of the ESEA, Title I-A grants have always been calculated based on one or more measures of a child's family financial situation (also referred to as poverty measures), with an emphasis on providing aid to schools serving concentrations of children from low-income families. Currently, four individual formulas are used to determine Title I-A grants to local educational agencies (LEAs). These formulas are based on a variety of factors, including data available from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, which is administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. SAIPE includes estimates of the number of children ages 5-17 living in families in poverty. This report begins with an overview of the Title I-A formulas used by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to make grants to LEAs, with a focus on the numerous ways in which measures of a child's family income are employed. This is followed by an historical overview of the Title IA formulas and how the measures of poverty included in them have changed over time. The discussion then focuses on measures of school-level poverty that are used to make Title I-A grants from LEAs to the school level. This includes a focus on allocation methods for the past 20 years and complications that have arisen related to continuing to use these allocation methods to make grants to schools and for Title I-A accountability and reporting requirements. The last section of the report discusses some alternative school-level poverty measures that ED has considered or is currently examining. The report also includes two appendices. Appendix A provides an overview of the key factors included in each of the Title I-A formulas. Appendix B provides a detailed discussion about the standard federal poverty measure included in the SAIPE data used to determine Title I-A LEA grants.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to add a new Part E to Title I entitled "Flexibility for Equitable Per-Pupil Spending." Under Title I-E, the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) has the authority to provide local educational agencies (LEAs) with flexibility to consolidate eligible federal funds with state and local funding to create a "single school funding system based on weighted per-pupil allocations for low-income and otherwise disadvantaged students." The ESEA Title I-E authority is applicable to LEAs that are using or agree to implement "weighted student funding" systems to establish budgets for, and allocate funds to, individual public schools. These funding systems base school funding on the number of pupils in each school in specified categories. Under these funding systems, weights are assigned to a variety of pupil characteristics that are deemed to be related to the costs of educating such pupils--such as being from a low-income family, being an English Learner (EL), or having a disability. Weights are also assigned on the basis of students' educational program (grade level, career-technical education, gifted and talented, or others). School budgets are based on these weighted pupil counts, in contrast to treating all pupils in the same manner. To provide context for the Title I-E authority, this report begins with a brief discussion of how public elementary and secondary education is financed at the state and local levels. It focuses on the primary types of state school finance programs and school finance "equalization," including an overview of weighted student funding systems. Building on this background, the remainder of the report focuses on the Title I-E authority. First, there is an examination of the Title I-E statutory authority and related non-regulatory guidance provided by U.S. Department of Education (ED). This is followed by a discussion of current Title I-E implementation issues. The next section considers possible interactions between the Title I-E authority and other ESEA programs, particularly Title I-A. The report concludes with discussion of some issues that may arise related to the Title I-E authority.

In response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Administration have taken several actions to support the continued education of elementary, secondary, and higher education students and to protect student loan borrowers and educational institutions from related economic hardship. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136, as amended) was enacted on March 27, 2020, to authorize the Secretary of Education (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) to grant flexibilities and waivers of various statutory and regulatory provisions due to the COVID-19 emergency; to provide relief to postsecondary education students and student loan borrowers; to provide financial support to states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to maintain operations and continue supporting students; and to assist other purposes not directly related to education. The House passed the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800) on May 15, 2020 to continue supporting the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the federal government, including its response via several education-related programs. This report provides brief summaries of key provisions in the Heroes Act that would affect elementary, secondary, and higher education students and student loan borrowers. The report begins by describing supplemental funding the act would make available to educational providers and in support of broadband educational infrastructure. This is followed by sections describing amendments that would be made to CARES Act education-related provisions, and sections describing Heroes Act provisions that would provide relief to private and federal student loan borrowers. The report concludes with descriptions of bill provisions that would authorize new waivers and flexibilities pertaining to existing legislative requirements in the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended; the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins), as amended; and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), as amended.

The primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--particularly its Title I-A program, which authorizes federal aid for the education of disadvantaged students. This report provides an overview of major provisions of the ESEA. It also includes a table showing annual appropriations for ESEA programs for FY2017 through FY2020, as well as a table showing the transition in authorized programs and related appropriations from FY2016, when the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; P.L. 107-110) provisions were still in effect, to FY2017, when ESSA provisions took effect. Finally, a table detailing authorizations of appropriations under current law is also included. The ESSA authorized appropriations for ESEA programs through FY2020.

On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136) was signed into law. Included in the act was the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF), which was created "to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or internationally." The ESF is composed of three emergency relief funds: (1) a Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund; (2) an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund; and (3) a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The ESF is administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). This report begins with an overview of the appropriations available for the ESF and the required reservations of funds. It then discusses each of the emergency education relief funds. For the emergency education relief funds for which ED has published grant amounts (i.e., GEER Fund, ESSER Fund, and HEERF), ED's allocations have been included in this report. This is followed by an overview of the other provisions included in the ESF: assistance to non-public schools, continued payments to employees, definitions, and maintenance of effort (MOE) provisions. The last section of the report discusses reporting requirements included in the CARES Act that apply to amounts awarded through the emergency education relief funds. Table A-1 in the Appendix shows grant amounts by state for all three emergency education relief funds.

Updated August 8, 2024 Congress provides annual appropriations and periodically provides supplemental appropriations for public elementary and secondary schools through many agencies and programs. Of these funds, the largest tranche [...]

The primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--particularly its Title I-A program, which authorizes federal aid for the education of disadvantaged students. This report provides a brief overview of major provisions of the ESEA. It is organized by title and part of the act. Annual appropriations for ESEA programs are provided through the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS-ED) Appropriations Act, and are shown in this report based on the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Education, Budget Service for FY2017 through FY2019. Table 2 provides ESEA appropriations for FY2016 and FY2017 to depict the transition from the ESEA as amended by the NCLB to the ESEA as amended by the ESSA. Table 3 provides authorizations of appropriations included in the ESEA as amended by the ESSA. The Appendix provides a list of selected acronyms used in the report.

The funding of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States involves a combination of local, state, and federal government revenues. State and local governments generally provide over 90% of the revenue available for public elementary and secondary education on an annual basis, with the federal government providing the remainder. As such, there is consistent congressional interest in understanding how the majority of available funds are provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) and, ultimately, to public schools. This report intends to provide context for consideration of the comparatively small but important role of the federal assistance programs in financing public education, discuss some of the ways that state and local finance policies and practices intersect with federal involvement, and explain selected key concepts in this field. The report provides a basic overview of the mechanisms used by states and LEAs to fund public education and an introduction to core school finance concepts. It then focuses on state school finance programs, the varieties of policies under which states provide funds to LEAs, and the local units of government that administer public K-12 education. The next section considers LEA programs to finance individual public schools. The report concludes with a review of recent efforts to collect and report data on the level of expenditures per pupil at individual public schools within LEAs, a topic that has garnered increasing interest among policymakers in recent years.

The Impact Aid program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), was originally established in 1950 by P.L. 81-815 and P.L. 81-874, 15 years prior to the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Impact Aid compensates local educational agencies (LEAs) for a "substantial and continuing financial burden" resulting from federal activities. These activities include federal ownership of certain lands, as well as the enrollments in LEAs of children whose parents work or live on federal property and children living on Indian lands. The federal government provides compensation because LEAs are unable to collect property or other taxes from these individuals (e.g., members of the uniformed services living on military bases) or their employers, even though the LEAs are obligated to provide free public education to their children. Thus, Impact Aid is intended to compensate LEAs, in part, for the resulting loss of tax revenue. This report begins with a general overview of the various payments made under the Impact Aid program, followed by a detailed discussion of each section of Title VII as amended by the ESSA. This is followed by information about recent appropriations for Impact Aid. The report concludes with an overview of the "Impact Aid" programs administered by DOD. Tables included in Appendix A provide appropriations data in constant 2018 dollars. Appendix B provides a glossary of acronyms used in the report.

Assessing the achievement of students in elementary and secondary schools and the nation's educational progress is fundamental to informing education policy approaches. Congressional interest in this area includes and extends beyond the annual assessments administered by states to comply with the educational accountability requirements of Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Congressional interest in testing also encompasses a national assessment program, authorized by the National Assessment of Educational Progress Assessment Act (NAEPAA; Title III, Section 303 of P.L. 107-279), and participation in international assessment programs, authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA; P.L. 107-279, Section 153(a)(6)). At the national level, students participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). At the international level, U.S. students participate in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). When national and international assessment results are released, there is a tendency to take the results of one assessment and present them as a snapshot of U.S. student achievement. The focus on one set of assessment outcomes may result in a narrow and possibly misleading view of overall student achievement. The primary purpose of this report is to provide background and context for the interpretation of national and international assessment scores so that results can be interpreted appropriately over time and across multiple assessments. Other purposes of this report are to describe specific national and international assessments, describe the recent results of these assessments, and clarify specific issues regarding the interpretation of assessment scores that explain the achievement of U.S. students.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and is funded at $15.8 billion for FY2018. Title I-A of the ESEA authorizes aid to Local education agency's (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending pre-kindergarten through grade 12 schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I-A has also become a vehicle to which a number of requirements affecting broad aspects of public K-12 education for all students have been attached as conditions for receiving Title I-A grants. Under Title I-A, funds are distributed to state educational agencies (SEAs) and (LEAs) based on four formulas. The ESSA made few changes to these formulas. One notable change is an increase in the set-aside for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and Outlying Areas from 1.0% to 1.1%. This change will take effect beginning in FY2017 provided the total amount available for state grants would not be less than the amount available in FY2016. All changes to the Title I-A grant allocation process made by the ESSA will take effect beginning in FY2017. This report provides a detailed discussion of the four Title I-A formulas used to determine grants as modified by the ESSA. Table A-1 in Appendix A offers an overview of the key elements included in the four formulas. Appendix B provides an overview of Title I-A appropriations levels in recent years. [Elizabeth Crowe, former Research Assistant at CRS, also contributed to this report.]

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education. The ESEA was last reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) in 2015. The Title I-A program has always been the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Title I-A grant amounts are primarily driven by the number of "formula children"--principally children from low-income families--in an LEA, although all four formulas also include an expenditure factor based on education expenditures, minimum grant provisions, and hold harmless provisions. Since the initial enactment of Title I-A in 1965, the formula(s) have been criticized for being more favorable to more densely populated and typically urban areas due to how children from low-income families are counted, and for being more favorable to wealthier states due to the inclusion of factors based on education expenditures. This report analyzes issues related to three of the major debates surrounding the Title I-A formulas: (1) the effect of different formula factors and provisions on grant amounts, (2) whether the formulas are more favorable to certain types of LEAs and states, and (3) how effectively the Title I-A formulas target funds on concentrations of poverty. The report is intended to complement CRS Report R44898, "History of the ESEA Title I-A Formulas," which provides a detailed examination of the history of the Title I-A formulas and of the underlying tensions in the policy debates about the design of the formulas from enactment of the original ESEA through enactment of the ESSA.

Federal education legislation continues to emphasize the role of assessment in elementary and secondary schools. Perhaps most prominently, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), requires the use of test-based educational accountability systems in states and specifies the requirements for the assessments that states must incorporate into state-designed educational accountability systems. These requirements are applicable to states that receive funding under Title I-A of the ESEA. As student assessments continue to be used for accountability purposes under the ESEA as well as in many other capacities related to federal programs (e.g., for identifying students eligible to receive extra services supported through federal programs), this report provides Congress with a general overview of assessments and related issues. It discusses different types of educational assessments and uses of assessment in support of the aims of federal policies. The report aims to explain basic concepts related to assessment in accessible language, and it identifies commonly discussed considerations related to the use of assessments. The report provides background information that can be helpful to readers as they consider the uses of educational assessment in conjunction with policies and programs. This report accompanies CRS Report R45049, "Educational Assessment and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act," by Rebecca R. Skinner (see ED597862), which provides a more detailed examination of the assessment requirements under the ESEA.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), specifies the requirements for the state assessments that states must incorporate into their state accountability systems to receive funding under Title I-A. Title IA of the ESEA authorizes aid to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the education of disadvantaged children. Title I-A grants provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving and other students attending elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. As a condition of receiving Title I-A funds, states, LEAs, and public schools must comply with numerous requirements related to standards, assessments, and academic accountability systems. All states currently accept Title I-A funds. For FY2017, the program was funded at $15.5 billion. While many of the assessment requirements of the ESEA have not changed from the requirements put into place by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB; P.L. 107-110), the ESSA provides states some new flexibility in meeting them. The purpose of this report is to describe the general assessment requirements of the ESEA as amended and discuss the new flexibility states have in meeting these requirements. The report also discusses some issues related to the changes enacted by ESSA regarding the use of assessments in accountability systems that are receiving attention as they are implemented. More specifically, this report examines issues related to assessment of student growth, assessment of students with disabilities and English learners, the use of computer adaptive assessments, student assessment participation requirements, and testing burden. While these changes have the potential to add flexibility and nuance to state accountability systems, states face the challenge of implementing them in such a way as to maintain the validity and reliability of the required assessments.

Updated February 12, 2024 Contents Introduction Title I: Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged Administration (Section 1004) Part A: Grants to Local Educational Agencies Calculation of Title I-A Grants [...]

Updated February 29, 2024 School choice generally refers to the opportunity for parents to select an elementary or secondary school for their child that differs from the assigned school that [...]

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was comprehensively reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. The Title I-A program is the largest grant program authorized under the ESEA and is funded at $14.4 billion for FY2015. It is designed to provide supplementary educational and related services to lowachieving and other students attending pre-kindergarten through grade 12 schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Under current law, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) determines Title I-A grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) based on four separate funding formulas: (1) Basic Grants; (2) Concentration Grants; (3) Targeted Grants; and (4) Education Finance Incentive Grants (EFIG). The four Title I-A formulas have somewhat distinct allocation patterns, providing varying shares of allocated funds to different types of states. Thus, for some states, certain formulas are more favorable than others. This report provides final FY2015 state grant amounts under each of the four formulas used to determine Title I-A grants.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89-10). Since then, there have been 13 major reauthorizations of the ESEA, with the most recent reauthorization occurring in 2015 with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, P.L. 114-95). This report provides information on the votes taken in the House and Senate in the committees of jurisdiction and on the House and Senate floors prior to and following conference proceedings for the ESEA of 1965 and subsequent major reauthorizations. The report also provides vote information on comprehensive ESEA reauthorization bills that were considered in the committees of jurisdiction or on the House or Senate floors following the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; P.L. 107-110) but prior to the consideration of the ESSA. During the 112th and 113th Congresses, both committees with jurisdiction over the ESEA ordered ESEA reauthorization bills to be reported. In the 113th Congress, an ESEA reauthorization bill was considered on the House floor.

October 24, 2023 Congress provides annual appropriations and periodically provides supplemental appropriations for public elementary and secondary schools through many agencies and programs. Of these funds, the largest tranche of [...]

September 27, 2023 Contents Introduction Title I-A Formulas Formula Child Count and Formula Child Rate Weighted LEA Formula Child Counts for Targeted Grant and EFIG Formulas Expenditure Factor LEA Hold [...]

Over the last two decades, there has been interest in developing federal policies that focus on student outcomes in elementary and secondary education. Perhaps most prominently, the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; P.L. 107-110), which amended and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), marked a dramatic expansion of the federal government's role in supporting standards-based instruction and test-based accountability, thereby increasing the federal government's involvement in decisions that directly affect teaching and learning. Under the ESEA, states are required to have standards in reading and mathematics for specified grade levels in order to receive funding under Title I-A of the ESEA. In response to this requirement, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted and implemented standards that meet the requirements of the ESEA. Since the ESEA was last comprehensively reauthorized by NCLB, recent developments have taken place that have possibly played a role in the selection of reading and mathematics standards by states: (1) the development and release of the Common Core State Standards; (2) the Race to the Top (RTT) State Grant competition and RTT Assessment Grants competition; and (3) the ESEA flexibility package provided by the Department of Education (ED) to states with approved applications. These three changes have substantially changed the elementary and secondary education federal policy landscape. This short report answers common questions related to K-12 accountability provisions under the ESEA, Common Core State Standards, RTT, and the ESEA flexibility package. A more detailed discussion of the Common Core State Standards and their relationship to RTT grants and the ESEA flexibility package is available in CRS Report R43711, "Common Core State Standards and Assessments: Background and Issues," by Rebecca R. Skinner and Jody Feder. [For "Common Core State Standards and Assessments: Background and Issues," see ED607234.]