ERIC Number: ED532769
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Mar
Pages: 32
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
How the Supplement-Not-Supplant Requirement Can Work against the Policy Goals of Title I: A Case for Using Title I, Part A, Education Funds More Effectively and Efficiently. Tightening Up Title I
Junge, Melissa; Krvaric, Sheara
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a federal program to provide additional assistance to academically struggling students in high-poverty areas, has long contained a provision called the "supplement-not-supplant" requirement. This provision was designed to ensure Title I funds were spent on extra educational services for at-risk students, but in practice, the rule as it is currently enforced can prevent school districts and schools from spending federal money on effective educational strategies. Complying with the supplement-not-supplant rule also carries an enormous administrative burden. This paper briefly describes the origins of Title I's supplement-not-supplant requirement and provides examples of how the rule affects state and local implementation of Title I programs. This paper also offers three options for reforming the rule: (1) Replace the current "cost-by-cost test" with a test that focuses on the amount of state and local funding Title I schools receive to ensure such funds are allocated neutrally without regard to the Title I funds available to the school; (2) Allow the U.S. Department of Education, and perhaps state educational agencies, to waive the supplement-not-supplant requirement as needed to promote effective and efficient educational strategies for at-risk students; and (3) Eliminate the supplement-not-supplant test altogether. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which the supplement-not-supplant requirement works against the goals of Title I and to offer suggestions for alternatives that better promote the responsible use of Title I funds. (Contains 29 endnotes.)
Descriptors: Educational Strategies, Elementary Secondary Education, Federal Programs, Educational Change, Politics of Education, Efficiency, Program Effectiveness, Program Implementation, Educational Policy, Policy Analysis, Federal Aid, Federal Legislation, Federal Regulation, Change Strategies, Academic Support Services, Poverty Programs, At Risk Students, Educational History, Program Improvement
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 1150 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-862-5800; Fax: 202-862-7177; Web site: http://www.aei.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A