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The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by 

fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

TO: State Title I Directors

FROM: Patrick Rooney

Deputy Director, Office of State Support

 Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

DATE: December 6, 2017

SUBJECT: Update on Transition for ESSA Title I Supplement, Not Supplant Requirements

In order to facilitate implementation and ensure a smooth transition to the new law, this memorandum 

provides information that the U.S. Department of Education (Department) will provide State 

educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) additional time to implement the 

new requirement in section 1118(b)(2) of the ESEA for demonstrating compliance with the 

supplement not supplant requirement under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the ESEA. In addition, I would 

like to highlight steps the Department is taking to support SEAs and LEAs in implementing this 

important new requirement.

Timeline for Implementation

Under section 1118(b)(2) of the ESEA, “[t]o 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 funds] ensures that such school receives 

all of the State and local funds it would otherwise receive if it were not receiving [Title I funds].” 

With respect to the timeline for implementation, section 1118(b)(5) of the ESEA requires that an LEA 

meet the compliance requirement not later than two years after the date of enactment of the ESSA—

i.e., December 10, 2017. We are aware that some SEAs and LEAs are taking steps to develop a 

methodology or use an existing methodology that meets the new compliance requirement by 

December 10, 2017, and we encourage those SEAs and LEAs to move forward with their process. We 

also recognize that for many LEAs it may not be reasonable to implement a new methodology in the 

middle of a school year and that the first implementation of the methodology cannot occur until the 

beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. Therefore, consistent with section 4(b) of the ESSA, which 

authorizes the Department to ensure an orderly transition to the new law, an SEA and its LEAs may 

delay meeting the compliance requirement in section 1118(b)(2) of the ESEA until the start of the 

2018-2019 school year. That is, an LEA does not need to have its methodology in place on December 

10, 2017, but the LEA must have a methodology in place in time for the LEA to use it when ensuring 

that Title I funds are supplementing, and not supplanting, other State and local funds in the 2018-2019 

school year. Of course, ESEA still requires that, even if the new methodology is not yet in place, SEAs 

and LEAs are utilizing all Title I, Part A funds only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence 

of such Title I, Part A funds, be made available from State and local sources for the education of 
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students participating in programs assisted under Title I, Part A, and not to supplant, such State and 

local funds.

Additional Support

The supplement not supplant requirement under Title I remains critically important to ensuring that 

Title I funds provide additional resources to students and teachers in Title I schools that have high 

concentrations of students from low-income families to counteract the effects of poverty in order to 

make it more likely that all children are provided significant opportunity to receive a “fair, equitable, 

and high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps,” which is identified in section 

1001 of the ESEA as the purpose of Title I. Therefore, we are committed to supporting SEAs and 

LEAs as they move forward with implementation of this critical requirement. Part of this commitment 

is to meet with various stakeholders to receive input toward developing non-regulatory guidance on 

the new Title I supplement not supplant requirement to support SEAs and LEAs to making the 

transition to this new requirement. 

Thank you again for the work that you continue to do to implement the ESEA. Please send

suggestions of questions or topics that you would like to see the guidance address to your Office of 

State Support program officer at OSS.[State]@ed.gov (e.g., OSS.Nebraska@ed.gov) on or before 

January 17, 2018.