Federal Support Shrinks for NYC Schools With Many Low-Income Students

Title I is the largest source of federal aid for elementary and secondary schools, providing school
districts across the country with funding for after-school academic support, bilingual programs, health
services, parent involvement efforts, and other programs for students from low-income families. In
school year 2016-2017, federal officials allocated more than $14 billion in Title I funds to over 69,000 schools nationwide, with Title I-A funding making up most of the allocation. But even as more of New York City’s schools qualify for Title I-A the amount of funding available to the city has been decreasing.

The shrinking aid to the city stems from several fiscal and demographic factors. Federal Title I-A
allocations to states have been relatively flat (the money flows from Washington to the states where
it is then divided among school districts), although the number of eligible students nationwide has
been growing. While the number of eligible students in New York State has grown over the years
2006 through 2017, it has lagged the rise in most other states, resulting in a decrease in funds to
Albany. The distribution of funds from states to school districts also depends upon the poverty rate of
individual schools. New York City has had a decline in the number of eligible children over the 2006-
2017 period, even as the number of city schools eligible for Title I-A has climbed during those years.
With fewer funds going to more schools, allocations to individual schools are shrinking.

In this report, IBO looks at the history of Title I-A and New York City schools’ eligibility and allocations.

Among the findings:

• The number of low-income children eligible for Title I-A funding nationwide grew by about 28
percent from calendar year 2006 through 2017. Over that same period, federal spending on the
program grew by just 17 percent.
• In school year 2005-2006, New York City received just over $1 billion in Title I-A funds (in 2017
dollars). By school year 2016-2017, the city’s allocation had shrunk to just under $650 million, a
nearly 38 percent decline.
• From school year 2005-2006 through 2016-2017, the number of Title I-A eligible schools in the
city increased from 969 to 1,243, a rise of 28 percent.

If recent funding and demographic trends continue it is likely that New York City and other school
districts across the country will need to either find efficiencies in the delivery of their Title I-A funded
programs, fill shortfalls with local funds, or cut back on services.

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