SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT

UNDER TITLE I, PART A OF THEELEMENTARY 

AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, 

AS AMENDED BY THE 

EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT

Non-Regulatory 

Informational Document

June 2019
2

Table of Contents

I. Introduction...............................................................................................................................................4

II. The Every Student Succeeds Act ..............................................................................................................8

III. Supplement not Supplant—In General .....................................................................................................9

IV. Demonstrating LEA Compliance ............................................................................................................11

Example #1: Allocation of State and Local Funds Based on Student Characteristics (Weighted Student 

Funding).................................................................................................................................................12

Example #2: Allocation of State and Local Funds Based on Staffing and Supplies..............................13

V. Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................................................14

1. Must an LEA develop a new methodology for allocating State and local funds to schools to 

comply with supplement not supplant?..................................................................................................14

2. What does it mean for an LEA’s allocation methodology to be “Title I neutral”? .....................14

3. How does a “Title I neutral” methodology ensure that a Title I school receives all the State and 

local resources it would otherwise receive were it not a Title I school?................................................14

4. May an LEA be required to apply the three presumptions to determine whether supplanting has

occurred?................................................................................................................................................14

5. What State and local funds are subject to the Title I supplement not supplant requirement?.....15

6. Does an LEA have discretion as to which State and local funds it allocates to schools? ...........15

7. May a school’s Title I status ever be taken into account in the methodology to allocate State and 

local funds to schools? ...........................................................................................................................15

8. May an LEA use a combination of methodologies for allocating State and local funds to 

schools?..................................................................................................................................................16

9. Does an LEA have flexibility when developing its methodology for allocating State and local 

funds to schools?....................................................................................................................................16

10. May the Department prescribe the specific methodology an LEA must use to allocate State and 

local funds to each Title I school?..........................................................................................................16

11. Must an LEA’s methodology result in equal per-pupil spending between Title I schools and 

non-Title I schools?................................................................................................................................16

12. May an LEA use its actual per-pupil expenditures data to demonstrate compliance with 

supplement not supplant?.......................................................................................................................17

13. Must an LEA use the same methodology for charter and non-charter schools within the LEA?17

14. Must an LEA adjust its allocation of State and local resources to account for changes during the 

school year that might result in the LEA’s non-compliance? ................................................................17

15. Will last-minute changes before the start of school affect compliance of an LEA’s methodology 

with the supplement not supplant requirement?.....................................................................................17

16. Must an LEA allocate State and local funds for activities required by Federal, State, or local law 

to Title I schools?...................................................................................................................................18

18. Must an LEA post on its website its methodology for allocating State and local funds to 

schools?..................................................................................................................................................18

19. Must an LEA maintain documentation to demonstrate that the LEA allocated State and local 

funds to schools in accordance with its methodology? ..........................................................................18
3

20. When must an LEA demonstrate compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement? .19

21. Do the supplement not supplant requirements described in this document apply to other ESEA 

programs with a supplement not supplant requirement?........................................................................19

22. Do the supplement not supplant requirements in ESEA section 1118(b) apply to Title I, Parts C 

and D? ....................................................................................................................................................19

23. May the Secretary of Education waive the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement?

20

24. Must an SEA approve an LEA’s methodology for allocating State and local funds to schools?20

25. How does an LEA treat Impact Aid funds and other Federal funds intended to replace local tax 

revenue in implementing ESEA section 1118(b)(2)? ............................................................................20

26. Are there LEAs that, in whole or in part, do not need to have a methodology to comply with 

ESEA section 1118(b)(2)? .....................................................................................................................20

27. If an educational service agency (ESA) receives Title I, Part A funds as an LEA to provide Title 

I services to a group of regular LEAs, must the ESA comply with the supplement not supplant

requirement?...........................................................................................................................................21

28. Must Title I, Part A funds be used only for allowable activities given that no LEA may be 

required to demonstrate that individual costs are supplemental?...........................................................21

29. Does the compliance test in ESEA section 1118(b)(2) apply to school improvement funds an 

LEA receives under section 1003?.........................................................................................................21

30. Does meeting the comparability requirement in ESEA section 1118(c) satisfy an LEA’s 

responsibility to have a methodology to demonstrate compliance with the supplement not supplant 

requirement in section 1118(b)(2)?........................................................................................................22

VI. Resources Not Allocated to Schools.......................................................................................................23

VII. Excluding Supplemental State and Local Funds from a Determination of Supplanting.........................24

Supplemental State or Local Funds........................................................................................................24

Meeting the Intent and Purposes of Title I, Part A.................................................................................24

Example #1 ............................................................................................................................................26

Example #2 ............................................................................................................................................26

Example #3 ............................................................................................................................................26
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Dear Educator,

I am writing to provide you the Department’s final non-regulatory guidance regarding the new supplement not 

supplant requirement under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA). The purpose of Title I is to “provide all children 

significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational 

achievement gaps.” To realize this purpose, there has been a longstanding requirement that Title I funds must

supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds spent on children participating in Title I programs.

In the past, demonstrating compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement was considered difficult 

and burdensome by some school districts. It led some observers to conclude that efforts to comply hindered 

effective spending on the students most in need. This is antithetical to the purpose of the Title I program. 

To address this concern, Congress changed the way a school district demonstrates compliance with the Title I 

supplement not supplant requirement when it reauthorized the ESEA in 2015. Specifically, it eliminated the 

cost-by-cost analysis that the ESEA previously required and replaced it with a new test intended to simplify 

the compliance process, to reduce burden, and, most importantly, to prioritize effective spending.

Now, in order to comply, a school district need only show that its methodology to allocate State and local 

resources to schools does not consider a school’s Title I status—for example, by using a weighted student 

funding formula. For many school districts, this requirement can be met using the school district’s current 

methodology for allocating State and local resources. 

This change will help foster more effective spending across all funding sources. No longer should any school 

district feel pressure to use Title I funds on only those items or services that seem “extra” in an effort to reduce 

audit risk. Instead, every school district can effectively use its Title I funds as part of a comprehensive system 

of support that spans multiple funding sources in order to help the students most in need. 

Enclosed is final, non-regulatory guidance to help States and school districts understand both the intent of and 

ways to comply with the supplement not supplant requirement under Title I. Should you have any questions 

about the guidance, please contact my staff at OESE.TitleI-A@ed.gov-. 

Thank you for all that you do every day on behalf of America’s children.

Sincerely,

Frank Brogan

Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education
5

I. Introduction

The purpose of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) is to 

“provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality 

education, and to close educational achievement gaps.”1 The U.S. Department of Education 

(Department) allocates Title I, Part A funds through State educational agencies (SEAs) to local 

educational agencies (LEAs) to improve the achievement of low-achieving students in schools 

with high concentrations of students from low-income families. 

To ensure that the Federal investment has a meaningful impact on the students the program is 

designed to serve, Title I, Part A includes a requirement that Title I, Part A funds supplement, 

and do not supplant, funds available from State and local sources for the education of students 

participating in Title I, Part A programs. Without this requirement, Federal dollars could simply 

be used to replace State and local dollars that would otherwise be made available. 

While recognizing the importance of the supplement not supplant requirement, Congress 

indicated that supplement not supplant under the ESEA as amended by the No Child Left 

Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) had become more restrictive than its original intent.2 Similarly, a

report jointly published by the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for American 

Progress in 2012 described the supplement not supplant requirement under NCLB as 

“burdensome” and giving “strong incentives to perpetuate past spending practices—even 

hopelessly ineffective ones.”3 The same 2012 report endorsed replacing the NCLB-era 

compliance tests with a simpler, more objective test4based on an examination of a district’s 

allocation methodology and finding it neutral with respect to a school’s Title I status.5It

suggested such a neutrality test “frees local officials to take conscious steps toward using Title I 

funds to improve student achievement.”6

Under the ESEA as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), the manner in 

which an LEA demonstrates compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement changed. 

The change was described in a report from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions as intended to “provide more flexibility for schools to utilize Title I funds to 

implement comprehensive and innovative programs. LEAs will be able to demonstrate 

[supplement not supplant] compliance in a much less burdensome and restrictive way, while still 

making clear that Federal dollars are supplemental to State and local dollars and not be used to 

replace them.”7

 

1 See ESEA section 1001.

2 U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 Report to 

Accompany S.1117, 114th Congress, 2d Session, 2015, S. Rep. 114-231, 31, https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt231/CRPT114srpt231.pdf 

3 Raegen Miller, Frederick Hess & Cynthia Brown, “Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Offers a New 

Chance to Improve Education”, (American Enterprise Institute/Center for American Progress, 2012), 2-3, 

https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2012/03/pdf/titleI_recs.pdf 

4 Melissa Junge and Sheara Kravic, “How the Supplement-Not-Supplant Requirement Can Work Against the Policy Goals of Title I”, 

(American Enterprise Institute/Center for American Progress, 2012), 18-20,

http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/-how-the-supplementnotsupplant-requirement-can-work-against-the-policy-goals-oftitle-i_111823556546.pdf 

5 Miller, Hess & Brown, 3

6

Ibid, 3

7 U.S. Congress, Senate, HELP Committee, Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 Report to Accompany S.1117, 32 
6

This document addresses the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement in the ESEA as 

amended by ESSA. It does not address supplement not supplant requirements for other ESEA 

programs, which are different from the requirements for Title I, Part A.

8

It also does not address 

other non-ESEA grant programs the Department administers that have a supplement not 

supplant requirement.

Please note that in March and April 2016, the Department engaged in negotiated rulemaking in 

order to promulgate regulations regarding the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant 

requirement. On September 6, 2016, after failure to reach consensus during negotiated 

rulemaking, the Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding the 

Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement.9

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) concluded the Department’s proposed 

regulations put forth during negotiated rulemaking in 2016 “appear[ ] to go beyond what would 

be required under a plain language reading of the statute”10 and that a “legal argument could be 

raised that [the Department] exceeded its statutory authority if it promulgates the proposed 

[supplement not supplant] rules”.

11

The Department never published final regulations. On July 17, 2018, the Department withdrew 

its NPRM.

12

Therefore, the draft regulations are not and were never in effect, do not reflect the policy of the 

Department, and have no force of law. The guidance in this document supersedes all prior nonregulatory guidance issued by the Department concerning the Title I, Part A supplement not 

supplant requirement.

The Department has determined that this document is significant guidance under the Office of 

Management and Budget’s Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices, 72 Fed. Reg. 

3432 (Jan. 25, 2007; see 

www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/fy2007/mo07-07.pdf). Significant 

guidance is non-binding and does not create or impose new legal requirements. The Department 

is issuing this document to provide SEAs, LEAs, and schools with information to assist them in 

meeting their obligations under the ESEA.

The Department provided a 30 day opportunity for the public to comment on a draft of this 

document and received over 40 comments. We have taken those comments into consideration 

in revising the draft document. If you are interested in commenting further on this document,

please email us your comments at OESE.feedback@ed.gov or write to us at the following 

address: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, 

 

8 See question #20 in the FAQ section for a complete list of other ESEA programs with supplement not supplant requirements.

9 Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, US Department of Education, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Federal Register 81, 

No. 172, (September 6, 2016): 61148, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/09/06/2016-20989/title-i-improving-theacademic-achievement-of-the-disadvantaged-supplement-not-supplant 

10 Congressional Research Service Memorandum, Proposed Regulations on the Supplement, Not Supplant Provision That Applies to the 

Title I-A Program Authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Jody Feder and Rebecca Skinner, (May 5, 2016), 8, 

https://edworkforce.house.gov/uploadedfiles/sns_and_negotiated_rulemaking_5-5-16.pdf 

11 Ibid, 9

12 Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, US Department of Education, Proposed Rule Withdrawal, Federal Register 83, No. 

137, (July 17, 2018): 33167, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/07/17/2018-15259/title-i-improving-the-academicachievement-of-the-disadvantaged-supplement-not-supplant-withdrawal
7

Washington, DC 20202. For further information about the Department’s guidance processes, 

please visit www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/significant-guidance.html.
8

II. The Every Student Succeeds Act

In 2015, ESSA reauthorized the ESEA, including Title I, Part A and its fiscal requirements. 

An LEA receiving Title I, Part A funds must continue to use its Title I, Part A funds only to 

supplement, and not supplant, the funds that would be made available from State and local 

sources in the absence of such Federal funds. This general supplement not supplant requirement 

is largely unchanged from NCLB.

However, the manner in which an LEA demonstrates compliance with supplement not supplant

is now different. Under ESSA, an LEA’s allocation of State and local funds to schools is 

examined as a whole to ensure that Title I, Part A funds supplement, and do not supplant, State 

and local funds. An LEA can no longer be required to identify that any individual cost or service 

supported with Title I, Part A funds is supplemental.

Therefore, an LEA must show that its methodology to allocate State and local funds to schools

results in each Title I school receiving all of the State and local funds it would otherwise receive 

if it were not receiving Title I, Part A funds.

In other words, an LEA’s methodology must be “Title I neutral” in that it allocates State and 

local funds to schools without regard for Title I status. This demonstrates an LEA did not reduce 

the State and local funds made available to a Title I school because such a school is also 

receiving Title I, Part A funds. This is consistent with the purpose of the supplement not 

supplant requirement. 
9

III.Supplement not Supplant—In General

ESEA section 1118(b)(1) requires that an LEA use the Title I, Part A funds it receives from 

its SEA only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence of Title I, Part A funds, be 

made available from State and local sources for the education of students participating in a 

Title I program. 

ESEA section 1118(b)(1), as amended by ESSA, is largely unchanged from the supplement not 

supplant requirement in ESEA section 1120A(b), as amended by NCLB. The only change in this 

requirement from NCLB is the clarification that “non-Federal funds,” as used in NCLB, means 

only public “State and local funds.” Accordingly, other non-Federal funds, such as private 

contributions, fundraising, and parent fees, need not be part of determining compliance with the 

Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement, unless the State or LEA requires that they be 

included.

Although the general requirement in ESEA section 1118(b)(1) remains largely unchanged, 

ESEA section 1118(b)(3) contains a new provision that represents a significant change from the 

NCLB Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement,

13 particularly with respect to a 

targeted assistance school14 and Title I, Part A funds used at the district level. 

 

13 See section 1120A(b) of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB. 

14 A “targeted assistance school” is a school in which an LEA uses Title I, Part A funds on allowable activities only for 

students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet a State’s challenging academic standards. See ESEA section 

1115 for more information.

SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT IN GENERAL

A State educational agency or local educational agency shall use Federal funds 

received under [Title I, Part A] only to supplement the funds that would, in the 

absence of such Federal funds, be made available from State and local sources for 

the education of students participating in programs assisted under [Title I, Part A], 

and not to supplant such funds.

(ESEA section 1118(b)(1))
10

)

The provision in ESEA section 1118(b)(3)(A) previously applied15 only to a schoolwide program 

school.

16 Under ESSA, this provision now applies to all Title I schools, including targeted 

assistance schools. Likewise, it applies to an LEA with respect to Title I resources not allocated to 

schools (see Section VI. Resources Not Allocated to Schools for further discussion). As a result, 

consistent with paragraph A in the box above, to demonstrate compliance with the supplement not 

supplant requirement in any Title I school (including a targeted assistance school) and the LEA as 

a whole, an LEA cannot be required to use the three presumptions that had traditionally been used 

to determine whether a specific use of Title I, Part A funds constitutes supplanting.17

This provision and the compliance test under ESEA section 1118(b)(2) represent a significant

change in how supplanting is determined under Title I, Part A. Because of the new language in

ESEA section 1118(b)(3)(A), supplanting is no longer determined based on the specific use of 

Title I, Part A funds. Rather, as discussed in Section IV. Demonstrating LEA Compliance and 

Section VI. Resources Not Allocated to Schools, it is determined by the allocation of State and 

local resources to schools and whether such resources are allocated without regard to a school’s 

Title I status. 

The provision in ESEA section 1118(b)(3)(B), which clarifies that an LEA need not provide 

Title I, Part A services through a particular instructional method or in a particular instructional 

setting in order to demonstrate compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement, is not 

new.

18 This provision clarifies, for example, that an LEA need not pull out students from their 

regular classroom to provide Title I services in order to demonstrate that the Title I, Part A 

funds used to provide those services are supplemental to, and do not replace, State or local 

funds that would otherwise be used to provide the services.

 

15 See section 1114(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB.

16 A “schoolwide program school” is a school in which Title I, Part A funds may be used to upgrade the educational 

program for all students in the school. See ESEA section 1114 for more information.

17 See question #3 in the FAQ section for further discussion.

18 See section 1120A(b)(2) of the ESEA, as amended by NCLB.

SPECIAL RULE

No local educational agency shall be required to—

A. Identify that an individual cost or service supported under [Title I, Part A] is 

supplemental; or

B. Provide services under [Title I, Part A] through a particular instructional

method or in a particular instructional setting in order to demonstrate such 

agency’s compliance with [the supplement not supplant requirement].

(ESEA section 1118(b)(3))
11

IV.Demonstrating LEA Compliance

ESEA section 1118(b)(2) is new in Title I, Part A of the ESEA, as amended by ESSA. It 

establishes how an LEA demonstrates compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement. 

ESEA section 1118(b)(2) examines an LEA’s allocation of State and local funds to schools as a 

whole. The new provision was described by Congress as “allow[ing] ... LEAs to comply with 

supplement, not supplant for Title I, Part A funds if they can document that the manner in 

which they allocate State and local resources to schools is ‘Title I neutral’, or that the 

methodology does not account for the Title I funds that schools will receive.”19

The basis for section 1118(b)(2) is that an LEA has a methodology (or methodologies) to 

allocate State and local funds to schools. To demonstrate compliance with the supplement not 

supplant requirement, an LEA’s methodology must result in each Title I school in the LEA 

receiving all the State and local funds it would otherwise receive if it were not receiving Title I, 

Part A funds—i.e., the methodology may not take into account a school’s Title I status. When

an LEA allocates State and local funds to schools through a methodology that is neutral with 

regard to whether a school receives Title I, Part A funds, it follows that Title I, Part A funds in a

Title I school are supplemental to its State and local funds.

An LEA’s methodology used to allocate State and local funds to schools may include the 

allocation of State and local dollars and/or the allocation of resources backed by State and local 

funds, such as the allocation of full-time teacher positions. The following examples are 

designed to show possible methodologies by which an LEA may comply with the Title I, Part 

A supplement not supplant requirement.

20

Please note that these are only examples of a methodology that an LEA might use; an LEA may 

choose to use a methodology (or multiple methodologies) that do not follow one of these 

examples.

 

19 U.S. Congress, Senate, HELP Committee, Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 Report to Accompany S.1117, 32 

20 Examples #1 and #2 are from the Department’s Supporting School Reform by Leveraging Federal Funds in a 

Schoolwide Program guidance (July 30, 2015) https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/eseatitleiswguidance.pdf.

COMPLIANCE

To demonstrate compliance with [the supplement not supplant requirement], a 

local educational agency shall demonstrate that the methodology used to allocate 

State and local funds to each school receiving [Title I, Part A funds] ensures that 

such school receives all of the State and local funds it would otherwise receive if 

it were not receiving [Title I, Part A funds].

(ESEA section 1118(b)(2))
12

Example #1: Allocation of State and Local Funds Based on Student Characteristics

(Weighted Student Funding)

Assume:

a. Base allocation per student = $7,000

b. Additional allocation per student from a low-income family = $250

c. Additional allocation per English learner = $500

d. Additional allocation per student with a disability = $1,500

e. Additional allocation per preschool student = $8,500

This example allocates State and local funds to schools based on a standard formula through 

which an LEA allocates dollar amounts based on objective student characteristics. Under this 

example, in a school of 400 students, including 200 students from low-income families, 100 

English learners, 50 children with disabilities,

21 and 20 preschool students, the LEA would 

allocate to the school $3,145,000 in State and local funds based on the following calculations:

Category Calculation Result

Allocation per student 400 students x $7,000 $2,800,000

Allocation per student 

from low- income 

family

200 students from lowincome families x $250

$50,000

Allocation per English 

learner

100 English learners x 

$500

$50,000

Allocation per 

student with a 

disability

50 children with a 

disability x

$1,500

$75,000

Allocation per preschool 

student

20 preschool students x 

$8,500

$170,000

Total $3,145,000

To meet the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement, an LEA would use this

methodology to allocate State and local funds to each school, without regard for whether a 

school receives Title I, Part A funds.

 

21 ESEA section 8101(4) defines the term “child with a disability” as “[having] the same meaning given that term in 

section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
13

Example #2: Allocation of State and Local Funds Based on Staffing and Supplies

Assume:

a. 1 principal/school ($120,000)

b. 1 librarian/school ($65,000)

c. 2 guidance counselors/school ($65,000/guidance counselor)

d. 1 teacher per 20 students ($65,000/teacher)

e. $825/student for instructional materials and supplies (including technology)

This example allocates State and local funds to schools based on estimated average costs. In a 

school of 400 students, the LEA would allocate to the school $1,945,000 in State and local funds 

based on the following calculations:

Category Calculation Result

1 principal 1 principal x $120,000 $120,000

1 librarian 1 librarian x $65,000 $65,000

2 guidance counselors 2 guidance counselors x 

$65,000

$130,000

20 teachers 20 teachers x $65,000 $1,300,000

Materials and supplies 400 students x $825 $330,000

Total $1,945,000

To meet the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant requirement, an LEA would use this 

methodology to allocate State and local funds to each school, without regard for whether a 

school receives Title I, Part A funds.
14

V. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Must an LEA develop a new methodology for allocating State and local funds to schools 

to comply with supplement not supplant?

No. There is no expectation that an LEA must develop a new or necessarily different methodology, 

as long as any existing methodology is neutral with respect to a school’s Title I status.

2. What does it mean for an LEA’s allocation methodology to be “Title I neutral”?

An allocation methodology that is “Title I neutral” is shorthand to describe an allocation 

methodology that allocates State and local funds to schools without regard for a school’s Title I 

status (i.e., neutrally). A Title I neutral methodology ensures that State and local funds to a Title I 

school are not reduced based on the school receiving Title I, Part A funds because the 

methodology for allocating State and local funds to schools does not consider Title I status.

3. How does a “Title I neutral” methodology ensure that a Title I school receives all the 

State and local resources it would otherwise receive were it not a Title I school?

A Title I neutral methodology, or an allocation methodology that does not consider Title I status, 

by definition does not reduce the State and local funds to a Title I school because it does not use 

Title I status when allocating State and local funds. When using such a methodology, it follows

that a Title I school received all the State and local funds it would otherwise receive were it not a 

Title I school, as nothing in the allocation methodology for State and local funds accounts for 

Title status. Likewise, a Title I neutral methodology does not use a proxy for Title I status such as 

a school’s number or percentage of students in poverty or vague terms such as “educational need”

that would result in a Title I school’s receiving fewer State or local funds than it would receive if it 

were a non-Title I school.

4. May an LEA be required to apply the three presumptions to determine whether 

supplanting has occurred?22

No. ESEA section 1118(b)(3)(A) states that no LEA shall be required to identify that an 

individual cost or service is supplemental. This provision rules out requiring an LEA to use

the three presumptions to comply with the supplement not supplant requirement, which were 

based on an analysis of individual costs. 

 

22Under NCLB, to support LEAs in complying with the supplement not supplant requirement in a targeted assistance school, the 

Department applied three presumptions to determine whether Title I, Part A funds had been used to supplant State or local funds:

(1) Was the activity supported with Title I, Part A funds required by State or local law?

(2) Was the activity supported with Title I, Part A funds supported in a prior year with State or local funds?

(3) Was the activity supported with Title I, Part A funds in a Title I school supported with State or local funds in 

a non-Title I school?

If the answer to any of these questions was “yes,” there arose a presumption that the Title I, Part A funds supplanted State or local 

funds that, in the absence of the Title I, Part A funds, would have been used for the activity. This presumption could be rebutted by an 

LEA. 
15

5. What State and local funds are subject to the Title I supplement not supplant 

requirement?

ESEA section 1118(b)(1) requires that Title I, Part A funds supplement the funds that would, 

in the absence of the Title I, Part A funds, be made available from State and local sources for 

the education of students participating in Title I programs. Accordingly, the supplement not 

supplant requirement applies to all State and local funds that an LEA uses for the education 

of students.

23

Please note, however, that the new compliance demonstration in ESEA section 1118(b)(2)

focuses only on the State and local funds each school is allocated from its LEA. Because

many LEAs do not allocate all State and local funds to schools, there may naturally be some 

State and local funds that are not subject to the compliance demonstration. 

For State and local funds that an LEA does not allocate to schools, ESEA section 1118(b)(1) 

requires that the LEA conduct activities supported by such funds in a manner that does not 

take into account a school’s Title I status. 

6. Does an LEA have discretion as to which State and local funds it allocates to schools?

Yes. An LEA retains the discretion to determine which State and local funds it allocates to 

schools and which it does not. An LEA does not normally allocate all of its State and local 

funds to schools. Rather, an LEA by both necessity and choice retains some State and local 

funds at the district level.

Regarding questions #4 and #5, please see Section VI. Resources Not Allocated to Schools for 

further discussion.

7. May a school’s Title I status ever be taken into account in the methodology to allocate 

State and local funds to schools?

Yes, there are two instances in which a school’s Title I status may be considered in the 

methodology to allocate State and local funds to schools. 

• An LEA could, at its choosing, allocate more State and local funds to a Title I school on the 

basis of its being a Title I school. An LEA’s methodology for allocating State and local 

funds must ensure a Title I school is allocated “all of the State and local funds it would 

otherwise receive were it not receiving [Title I, Part A funds].”

24 This scenario presumes 

the LEA allocates to a Title I school all the State and local funds it would otherwise receive 

were it not a Title I school (based on its Title I neutral allocation methodology) and then 

allocates more State and local funds based on a school’s Title I status. Because there is no 

reduction in State and local funding based on a school’s Title I status (in fact the Title I 

school is receiving more State and local funding based on its Title I status), this is 

consistent with the supplement not supplant requirement.

 

23 With one exception: an LEA may exclude supplemental State and local funds for activities that meet the intent and purposes of Title 

I, Part A, pursuant to ESEA section 1118(d). Please see Section VII. Excluding Supplemental State and Local Funds from a 

Determination of Supplanting for further discussion.

24 See ESEA section 1118(b)(2).
16

• An LEA may exclude from a supplanting determination the supplemental State and local 

funds for programs that meet the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A, pursuant to ESEA 

section 1118(d). This allows an LEA to take a school’s Title I status into account if

allocating to schools supplemental State and local funds for programs that meet the intent 

and purposes of Title I, Part A, as permitted by the exclusion. Please see Section VII. 

Excluding Supplemental State and Local Funds from a Determination of Supplanting for 

further discussion.

8. May an LEA use a combination of methodologies for allocating State and local funds to 

schools?

Yes. An LEA may use a combination of methodologies to allocate State and local funds to 

schools. For example, an LEA might use a different methodology for allocating State and local 

funds to high schools than it uses to allocate such funds to elementary schools.

9. Does an LEA have flexibility when developing its methodology for allocating State and 

local funds to schools?

Yes, although many LEAs are likely to use an existing allocation methodology for purposes of 

demonstrating compliance (as long as its existing methodology is neutral with regard to a school’s 

Title I status).

However, when developing a methodology (or methodologies), an LEA does have significant 

flexibility in its design, as long as the methodology is neutral with regard a school’s Title I status. 

In developing a methodology, LEAs may (but are not required to) consider:

a. Whether to use a single districtwide methodology or a variable methodology/multiple

methodologies based on grade band or school type;

b. How the methodology may vary or scale based on student enrollment size; or

c. How the methodology may account for schools in need of additional funds to serve 

high concentrations of children with disabilities, English learners, or other such groups

of students the LEA determines require additional support.

10. May the Department prescribe the specific methodology an LEA must use to allocate 

State and local funds to each Title I school?

No. ESEA section 1118(b)(4) prohibits the Department from prescribing the specific 

methodology an LEA uses to allocate State and local funds to Title I schools. 

11. Must an LEA’s methodology result in equal per-pupil spending between Title I 

schools and non-Title I schools?

No. ESEA section 1605 prohibits the Department from mandating equalized spending per pupil for 

a State, LEA, or school. This prohibition accounts for the many different factors that affect the 

allocation of resources to schools, including schools enrolling higher concentrations of students 

with disabilities, schools with smaller student enrollment, and schools offering specialized 

programming, any or all of which may result in higher per-pupil spending. 
17

12. May an LEA use its actual per-pupil expenditures data to demonstrate compliance with 

supplement not supplant?

No. Although the two concepts—the methodology to allocate State and local funds to schools 

and the reporting of actual per-pupil expenditures for each school—are related, they are 

distinguishable and serve different purposes. For each school’s report card, an LEA must include 

the actual per-pupil expenditures of Federal, State, and local funds, disaggregated by source of 

funds, for the preceding fiscal year.25 Including this data on report cards will enhance 

transparency and provide valuable information to educators, parents, and others regarding the 

use of resources. However, actual per pupil expenditures data represents a retrospective analysis

of how much was spent by each school. 

The compliance demonstration for the supplement not supplant requirement is based on the 

methodology by which State and local funds are allocated to schools. It is designed to ensure 

Federal funds are not supplanting State and local funds at the point in which State and local 

funds are allocated to schools. 

Since actual per-pupil expenditure data is not a methodology by which State and local funds are 

allocated to schools, it therefore cannot be a methodology for an LEA to demonstrate 

compliance with supplement not supplant. 

13. Must an LEA use the same methodology for charter and non-charter schools within the

LEA?

No. An LEA may, at its choosing, allocate State and local funds to charter schools within the 

LEA using a separate methodology from that through which it allocates State and local funds to 

non-charter schools, consistent with any/all applicable State charter school laws. For example, 

some LEAs allocate State and local funds to charter schools to cover facility costs but do not 

allocate such funds to traditional public schools, which, at the LEA’s discretion, could be reason 

for a different methodology for the allocation of State and local resources to charter schools.

Should an LEA choose to use more than one methodology, each must be neutral with respect to 

Title I schools.

14. Must an LEA adjust its allocation of State and local resources to account for changes 

during the school year that might result in the LEA’s non-compliance?

No. ESEA section 1118(b)(2) contemplates an annual allocation of State and local funds to 

demonstrate compliance with the supplement not supplant requirement in section 1118(b)(1). 

Accordingly, an LEA makes this demonstration at only one point during the year and is not 

required to continuously demonstrate compliance throughout the school year.

15. Will last-minute changes before the start of school affect compliance of an LEA’s

methodology with the supplement not supplant requirement?

No. As long as the methodology for allocating State and local funds is neutral with respect to 

Title I school status, last-minute changes in resource allocation that often occur prior to the 

 

25 See ESEA section 1111(h)(1)(C)(x) and ESEA section 1111(h)(2)(C)
18

beginning of the school year should not affect an LEA’s compliance with the supplement not 

supplant requirement. For example, were an employee to transfer or resign prior to the 

beginning of the school year, an LEA may replace that employee without risking noncompliance as long as the school’s Title I status is not a factor in the determination regarding 

the allocation of resources. Were an LEA to not allocate a resource because a school is a Title I 

school, the LEA would be out of compliance with ESEA section 1118(b)(2). 

16. Must an LEA allocate State and local funds for activities required by Federal, State,

or local law to Title I schools?

Yes. Where State or local law requires that all schools comply, and to the extent that an 

LEA allocates State and local funds for activities required by Federal, State, or local law 

through its allocation methodology to schools, then a Title I school must be allocated State 

and local funds for the activity required by State or local law, similar to any non-Title I 

school.

See Example #3 under Section VII. Excluding Supplemental State and Local Funds from a 

Determination of Supplanting, however, for an exception to this general principle.

17. Must a Title I school receive the State and local funds necessary to provide services 

required by law for children with disabilities and English learners?

Yes. ESEA sections 1118(b)(1)-(2) and 1114(a)(2)(B) require that a Title I school receive the 

State and local funds necessary to provide services required by law for children with disabilities 

and English learners. Examples of services required by law for children with disabilities and 

English learners include services in an individualized education program (IEP) necessary for a 

child with disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE); services for English 

learners required by Lau v. Nichols 414 U.S. 563 (1974)26and the administration of a screener to 

determine whether a student is English proficient as required under Title VI of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964.

18. Must an LEA post on its website its methodology for allocating State and local funds to 

schools?

There is no Federal requirement that an LEA post its methodology on its website. However, an 

SEA, as part of carrying out its responsibilities under ESEA section 8304(a)(3), may require an 

LEA to post its methodology. Moreover, posting the methodology will be useful to the LEA’s 

stakeholders, particularly parents and families. 

19. Must an LEA maintain documentation to demonstrate that the LEA allocated State 

and local funds to schools in accordance with its methodology?

Yes. Under ESEA section 8306(a)(6)(B) and 34 C.F.R. §§ 76.730-76.731, an LEA must keep 

records to show compliance with program requirements and facilitate an effective audit. 

Accordingly, an LEA must maintain documentation necessary to demonstrate that its methodology 

results in each Title I school in the LEA receiving all of the State and local funds it would 

otherwise receive if it were not receiving Title I, Part A funds and provide this information upon 

 

26 See more here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ell/lau.html
19

request to the SEA, auditors, and other authorized individuals. Examples of documentation include 

the LEA’s methodology and calculations the LEA performed to implement its methodology.

20. When must an LEA demonstrate compliance with the supplement not supplant 

requirement?

ESEA section 1118(b)(5) requires an LEA to meet the compliance requirement under section 

1118(b)(2) not later than two years after the date of enactment of the ESSA— i.e., December 10, 

2017.

Because an LEA cannot reasonably allocate State and local funds under a new methodology in 

the middle of a school year, the Department used its transition authority under ESSA section 4(b) 

to delay the use of the new compliance provision until the beginning of the 2018−2019 school 

year. 

21. Do the supplement not supplant requirements described in this document apply to other 

ESEA programs with a supplement not supplant requirement?

No. Other ESEA programs that have a supplement not supplant requirement are not affected by 

the new language in ESEA section 1118(b). Those programs include:

a. Title I, Part C (section 1304(c)(2));

b. Title I, Part D (section 1415(b));

c. Title II, Part A (section 2301);

d. Title II, Part B, Subpart 1 (section 2212(g));

e. Title III, Part A (section 3115(g));

f. Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1 (section 4110);

g. Title IV, Part B (section 4204(a)(2)(B));

h. Title IV, Part C (section 4304(k)(3)(C));

i. Title IV, Part F, Subpart 2 (section 4625(i));

j. Title IV, Part F, Subpart 4 (section 4642(b)(2));

k. Title V, Part B (section 5232);

l. Title VI, Part A, Subpart 1 (section 6114(c)(1));

m. Title VI, Part A, Subpart 3 (section 6132(f)); and

n. Title VII, Subsection (b) (section 7007(b)(5)(A)(iii)).

22. Do the supplement not supplant requirements in ESEA section 1118(b) apply to Title I, 

Parts C and D?

As this document discusses, ESEA section 1118(b) contains the supplement not supplant 

requirements for Title I, Part A. ESEA section 1304(c)(2) requires that a migrant education 

program or project under Title I, Part C be “carried out in a manner consistent with the objectives 

of” ESEA section 1118(b). Likewise, ESEA section 1415(a)(2)(C) requires that a State agency 

program for children who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk under Title I, Part D, Subpart 1 be 

“carried out in a manner consistent with section 1118.” As funds under Parts C and D do not flow 

directly to schools, the specific requirements pertaining to the methodology, special rule, 

prohibition, and timelines that are described in ESEA section 1118(b)(2)-(5) do not apply to funds 

under Parts C and D. However, the general prohibition against using Federal funds to supplant 

State and local funds in ESEA section 1118(b)(1) still applies. Therefore, programs under Parts C 

and D are still required to provide services that supplement, and do not supplant, those provided 
20

with State and local funds consistent with how the requirement was implemented prior to the 

ESSA.

23. May the Secretary of Education waive the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant

requirement?

No. ESEA section 8401(c)(4) specifically prohibits the Secretary of Education from waiving 

any supplement not supplant requirement.

24. Must an SEA approve an LEA’s methodology for allocating State and local funds to 

schools?

No. However, the ESEA requires an SEA to monitor its LEAs to ensure compliance with the 

requirements of the ESEA (see ESEA section 8304(a)(1), (3)(B)), which would include that an 

LEA has a compliant methodology for allocating State and local funds, among other 

requirements. Therefore, an SEA may request to review an LEA’s methodology as part of its 

monitoring process.

25. How does an LEA treat Impact Aid funds and other Federal funds intended to 

replace local tax revenue in implementing ESEA section 1118(b)(2)?

ESEA section 1118(b)(2) only applies to an LEA’s allocation of State and local funds to schools. 

Therefore, an LEA is not required to allocate Federal Impact Aid funds or other Federal funds 

intended to replace local tax revenue27 in the same manner as its State and local funds. Please note 

that nothing in ESEA section 1118(b)(2) affects an LEA’s receipt of Impact Aid or other such 

Federal funds or the statutory or regulatory requirements governing their use.

26. Are there LEAs that, in whole or in part, do not need to have a methodology to 

comply with ESEA section 1118(b)(2)?

Yes. An LEA need not have a methodology to comply with ESEA section 1118(b)(2) if it has—

a. One school;

b. Only Title I schools; or

c. A grade span that contains only: a single school, non-Title I schools, or Title I schools 

(i.e., no methodology is required for this grade span).

Although such an LEA need not have a methodology to comply with ESEA section 1118(b)(2), it 

does not relieve the LEA of its requirement under ESEA section 1118(b)(1) and elsewhere to 

operate consistent with all Federal, State and local requirements and to provide free public 

education, including for schools and grade spans meeting the conditions described above. 

 

27 Examples include impact aid for military-connected school districts operated by the Department of Defense Education 

Activity’s educational partnership and “payments in lieu of taxes” from the Department of the Interior to local 

governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to non-taxable Federal lands within their boundaries.
21

27. If an educational service agency (ESA) receives Title I, Part A funds as an LEA to 

provide Title I services to a group of regular LEAs, must the ESA comply with the 

supplement not supplant requirement?

Yes. The ESEA requires an ESA, as a recipient of Title I, Part A funds (i.e., receives a Title I, 

Part A grant), to comply with all applicable requirements, including the supplement not supplant 

requirement. This may pose unique issues if the regular LEAs that an ESA services control the 

allocation of State and local funds to their schools. In such a case, the ESA will need to 

cooperate with the LEAs that it serves and that control the allocation of State and local funds to 

ensure that each Title I school receives all the State and local funds it would otherwise receive if 

it were not receiving Title I, Part A funds, recognizing that schools within an ESA may receive 

different per-pupil amounts depending on the allocation methodology of the LEA in which they 

are located. If an ESA is not a recipient of Title I, Part A funds, but instead enters into an 

agreement with one or more LEAs to provide services, the ESA would not need to meet the 

supplement not supplant requirement; rather, the requirement would apply to each individual 

LEA. 

28. Must Title I, Part A funds be used only for allowable activities given that no LEA may 

be required to demonstrate that individual costs are supplemental?

Yes. The ESEA requires an LEA to use Title I, Part A funds only for allowable costs, even if the 

LEA complies with the supplement not supplant requirement. The type of Title I program 

determines whether a cost is allowable:

• In a schoolwide program, Title I funds may be used to upgrade the entire educational 

program in the school and benefit all students, provided the cost is consistent with the 

school’s comprehensive needs assessment and included in the school’s comprehensive 

schoolwide plan (see ESEA section 1114(a)(1)). 

• In a targeted assistance program and with respect to funds for district-level activities, the 

ESEA requires Title I, Part A funds to be used only to serve students who are failing, or 

most at risk of failing, to meet the State’s challenging academic standards (see ESEA 

section 1115(a)). 

To be allowable, a cost also must comply with the Cost Principles in the Uniform Administrative 

Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 2 C.F.R. Part 200, 

Subpart E (e.g., costs must be “necessary and reasonable” for proper and efficient administration 

of the Title I program under 2 C.F.R. § 200.403). Although an LEA need not identify that 

particular costs supported with Title I, Part A funds are supplemental, it still must use its Title I, 

Part A funds only for allowable costs.

29. Does the compliance test in ESEA section 1118(b)(2) apply to school improvement funds 

an LEA receives under section 1003?

Yes. ESEA section 1003(e)(2) requires an LEA to assure that each school the LEA serves with 

section 1003 school improvement funds will receive all of the State and local funds it would 

have received in the absence of the section 1003 funds. Under section 1118(b)(2), each LEA 

must allocate State and local funds to each Title I school through a methodology that ensures the 

school receives all of the State and local funds it would otherwise receive if it were not receiving 
22

Title I funds—i.e., in a Title I-neutral manner. Assuming an LEA allocates State and local funds 

through its methodology first, any school—whether Title I or non-Title I—that receives section 

1003 funds would already have received, through the LEA’s methodology, all the State and 

local funds it would have received absent the 1003 funds. Thus, the LEA would be complying 

with both ESEA sections 1118(b)(2) and 1003(e)(2).

30. Does meeting the comparability requirement in ESEA section 1118(c) satisfy an LEA’s 

responsibility to have a methodology to demonstrate compliance with the supplement 

not supplant requirement in section 1118(b)(2)?

Not necessarily. Whether meeting comparability would suffice to demonstrate compliance with 

the supplement not supplant requirement under ESEA section 1118(b)(2) depends on how an 

LEA calculates comparability. For example, if an LEA uses a pupil-teacher ratio to calculate 

comparability, that approach would likely not be sufficient to comply with the supplement not 

supplant requirement under section 1118(b)(2). A pupil-teacher ratio used for purposes of 

comparability is unlikely to represent all of the State and local funds that an LEA allocates to its 

schools; therefore, it is insufficient to satisfy the supplement not supplant requirement, which 

contemplates a test of all State and local resources allocated to schools through its methodology.

However, if an LEA demonstrates comparability on the basis of a weighted-student-funding 

system through which it allocates State and local funds through a formula to each school—Title 

I and non-Title I—based on characteristics of students, the LEA’s comparability approach 

would likely also meet the requirements of section 1118(b)(2).
23

VI.Resources Not Allocated to Schools

An LEA does not normally allocate all its State and local funds to schools through its 

methodology. Rather, an LEA by both necessity and choice retains some State and local funds at 

the district level for use on personnel and non-personnel services that benefit multiple schools or 

all schools. The activities supported by State and local funds that an LEA does not allocate to 

schools through its methodology are called "districtwide activities” for purposes of this 

discussion.

A districtwide activity may provide benefits to all schools within an LEA, either directly or 

indirectly. For example, such activities may include districtwide academic programs, such as 

summer school or after-school programs; and specialized personnel providing districtwide 

services, such as instructional coaches and speech therapists. Similarly, a districtwide activity 

may include activities that benefit a set of schools, rather than a single school. For example, 

personnel, such as substitute teachers or social workers, may serve multiple schools, often on an 

as-needed basis. Given the difficulty or inability to accurately forecast or apportion such 

activities to the school level, an LEA may choose not to allocate to schools the State and local 

funds supporting these activities.

As previously noted, ESEA section 1118(b)(2) requires an LEA to demonstrate compliance 

with the supplement not supplant requirement by having a methodology that ensures that its

allocation of State and local funds to schools is Title I neutral so that Title I, Part A funds used 

in Title I schools are supplemental. There is no similar compliance test for State and local funds 

reserved for districtwide activities. However, because the general supplement not supplant 

requirement in ESEA section 1118(b)(1) applies to all State and local funds, an LEA must

conduct districtwide activities supported by such funds in a manner that does not take into 

account a school’s Title I status (e.g., by implementing a policy of conducting districtwide 

activities in a Title I-neutral manner).

For example, an LEA may choose not to allocate to schools the State and local funds to

support a social worker. Instead, the LEA reserves the State and local funds for a social 

worker at the district level. The LEA deploys the social worker to different schools 

throughout the school year on an as-needed basis that does not take into account a school’s 

Title I status. Although the State and local funding for such a social worker is not allocated to 

a school, and therefore is not subject to the compliance test, access to or assignment of the 

social worker must be Title I neutral in order to comply with the general supplement not 

supplant requirement in ESEA section 1118(b)(1), which applies to all State and local funds.

As long as a school’s Title I status is not taken into account when an LEA makes its 

determinations about use of, access to, or assignment of such districtwide resources, the LEA 

would be in compliance with ESEA section 1118(b)(1). 

In addition, to the extent that an LEA retains State and local funds to implement activities that 

are required by Federal, State or local law, the LEA must use those funds in a manner that does 

not take into account a school’s Title I status.
24

VII. Excluding Supplemental State and Local 

Funds from a Determination of Supplanting

Under ESEA section 1118(d), an SEA or LEA may exclude from a supplanting determination 

the supplemental State and local funds for programs that meet the intent and purposes of Title I, 

Part A. Therefore, at the LEA’s discretion, a school’s Title I status may be taken into account 

when expending supplemental State and local funds as permitted by the exclusion. In other 

words, it is not required that the allocation or use of supplemental State and local funds be Title 

I-neutral.

Supplemental State or Local Funds

There is no statutory definition of “supplemental State or local funds.” Rather, whether State or 

local funds that may be subject to the exclusion provision are supplemental will likely depend on 

the purpose of the specific funds. One indication that funds are supplemental is that they are 

appropriated for a specific purpose over and above what an LEA needs to provide free public 

elementary and secondary education—e.g., funds to provide full-day kindergarten not required by 

State law; funds to provide preschool programs not required by State law, either for all students or 

only at-risk students; funds to provide interventions in comprehensive support and improvement 

schools. This may be particularly true of supplemental State funds that are often appropriated for 

a specific purpose. Supplemental local funds might be funds an LEA earmarks for a specific 

purpose and does not allocate through its methodology under ESEA section 1118(b)(2) because 

they likely do not go to all schools; rather, they might go to a subset of schools—i.e., those with 

specific needs the funds are designed to address such as comprehensive support and improvement 

schools.

Being supplemental State or local funds would not be sufficient to qualify for the exclusion. The 

funds must also be used for activities that meet the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A, as 

described below.

Meeting the Intent and Purposes of Title I, Part A

The Title I regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 200.79 define when a program supported with 

supplemental State or local funds meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A.

EXCLUSION OF SUPPLEMENTAL STATE AND LOCAL FUNDS

For the purpose of complying with [the Title I, Part A supplement not supplant 

requirement and Title I, Part A comparability requirement], a State educational agency 

or local educational agency may exclude supplemental State or local funds expended in 

any school attendance area or school for programs that meet the intent and purposes of 

[Title I, Part A].

(ESEA section 1118(d))
25

Thus, a program meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A if it would be an allowable use 

of Title I, Part A funds were it implemented in a Title I schoolwide program or targeted 

assistance school.

Please note that since not all children with disabilities or English learners are failing, or most at 

risk of failing, to meet the State’s challenging academic standards, as required for Title I 

students by ESEA section 1115(c), it is unlikely costs for services required by law for these 

students would meet the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A and therefore be subject to the 

exclusion provision.

However, being supplemental State or local funds alone is not sufficient to qualify for the 

exclusion. The supplemental State or local funds must also be used for programs that meet the 

intent and purposes of Title I, Part A in order to qualify for the exclusion. 

For an LEA that elects to use the exclusion, it must identify whether State and local funds 

expended on a particular program are supplemental, and whether the program meets the intent 

and purposes of Title I, Part A pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 200.79(b). 

A program meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A if the program either—

1. Is implemented in a school in which the percentage of children from lowincome families is at least 40 percent and is designed to promote schoolwide 

reform and upgrade the entire educational operation of the school to support 

students in their achievement toward meeting the State’s challenging academic 

achievement standards that all students are expected to meet; and

2. Is designed to meet the educational needs of all students in the school, 

particularly those who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet the State’s 

challenging academic achievement standards; and

3. Uses the State’s assessment system to review the effectiveness of the program;

OR

1. Serves only students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet 

the State’s challenging academic achievement standards; and

2. Provides supplementary services designed to meet the special educational needs 

of participating students to support their achievement toward meeting the 

State’s student academic achievement standards; and

3. Uses the State’s assessment system to review the effectiveness of the program.

(34 C.F.R. § 200.79(b))
26

Example #1

Assume:

a. Through its methodology, an LEA allocates to only non-Title I schools State and local 

funding to support after-school tutoring for any student who scores below proficient on the 

State’s mathematics assessment.

b. In its Title I schools, the LEA uses Title I, Part A funds to support after-school tutoring for 

any student who scores below proficient on the State’s mathematics assessment. 

This example would not violate the supplement not supplant requirement. Although the LEA is 

taking into account Title I status when allocating State and local funds through its methodology 

by only allocating to its non-Title I schools the State and local funds for the tutoring program, 

tutoring is a supplemental program and it benefits students who, by virtue of being nonproficient in mathematics, are failing to meet the State’s mathematics standards. Therefore, the 

State and local funds supporting tutoring qualify for the exclusion because the program is 

supplemental and meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A pursuant to 34 C.F.R. §

200.79(b). 

Example #2 

Assume:

a. An SEA has adopted an “A-F” school grading system and identifies all “F” 

schools as comprehensive support and improvement schools.

b. An LEA has both Title I and non-Title I “F” schools.

c. Through its methodology, an LEA allocates State and local funding to support 

appropriate interventions to only non-Title I “F” schools.

d. In its Title I “F” schools, the LEA uses Title I, Part A funds to support the same or 

similar interventions as in the non-Title I “F” schools.

This example would not violate the supplement not supplant requirement. Although the LEA is 

taking into account Title I status when allocating State and local funds through its methodology 

by only allocating to non-Title I “F” schools the State and local funds to support appropriate 

interventions, the interventions are supplemental and are designed to meet the needs of students 

who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet State academic achievement standards. 

Therefore, the State and local funds supporting interventions in “F” schools qualify for the 

exclusion because they are supplemental and meet the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A 

pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 200.79(b). 

Example #3

Assume:

a. A State law requires all third-grade students to meet the State’s proficient 

achievement standard in reading/language arts in order to be promoted to fourth 

grade. The State does not provide funds to meet this mandate.
27

b. The State law requires that any student who is not proficient at the start of third grade 

must be provided 90 minutes of supplemental services designed to improve his/her 

reading proficiency.

c. An LEA uses Title I, Part A funds to provide the requisite reading services in a 

Title I school and, through its methodology, allocates supplemental local funds 

only to non-Title I schools to provide the requisite reading services.

This example would not violate the supplement not supplant requirement. Although the LEA is 

taking into account Title I status when allocating local funds through its methodology by only 

allocating to non-Title I schools the local funds to provide supplemental reading services to meet 

State law, the supplemental reading services are designed to meet the needs of third-grade 

students who are failing, or most at risk of failing, to meet State academic achievement standards 

in reading. Therefore, the local funds supporting reading services qualify for the exclusion 

because the program is supplemental and meets the intent and purposes of Title I, Part A 

pursuant to 34 C.F.R. § 200.79(b), even though the services are required by State law.28

 

28 This example is distinguishable from question # 15 in the FAQ section because the legally required services are 

supplemental and targeted only on at-risk students—i.e., those for whom Title I is intended—rather than all students.