Federal Revenue

Federal funding comprises approximately 15 percent of Louisiana’s K-12 public education budget. For Fiscal Year 2011, Louisiana is receiving nearly $1.4 billion in federal funding.  The vast majority of this funding is awarded through state-administered grant programs and direct grant programs.

In a state-administered program, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is responsible for flowing grant funds to its Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and for ensuring the appropriate use of funds through oversight and monitoring activities.

In a direct grant program, the LEA receives the grant directly from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) and USDOE is responsible for oversight of the grant. LDOE does not have responsibility over direct grants from USDOE to LEAs.

The purpose of these grants vary from serving the lowest achieving schools to ensuring that  all children with disabilities have access to a high quality education to enhancing career and technical education.

Types of Federal Grants

Title I – School Improvement 1003(a): To improve student achievement in Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring to enable those schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) and exit improvement status

Title I – School Improvement 1003(g): In conjunction with Title I funds for school improvement, School Improvement Grants under section 1003(g) are used to improve student achievement in Title I schools and Title I eligible schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring as to enable those schools to make adequately yearly progress (AYP) and exit improvement status.

Title I A: To ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments

Title I C - Migrant Education Program: To ensure that Migrant children fully benefit from the same free public education provided to other children.

Title II A: To increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in the classroom and highly qualified principals and assistant principals in schools; and to hold LEAs and schools accountable for improvements in student academic achievement.

Title II D: To improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.

Title III - Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Immigrant Students: To help ensure that children who are limited English proficient, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same state standards as all children are expected to meet.

Title IV B 21st Century Community Learning Centers: To provide opportunities for communities to establish or expand activities in community learning centers that provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including providing tutorial services to help students, particularly students who attend low-performing schools, to meet state and local student academic achievement standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics.

Title VI B - Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) & Rural Low Income Schools (RLIS): To provide financial assistance to rural districts to assist them in meeting adequate yearly progress

Title X - McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program: To assist homeless children and youth in enrolling without barriers, attending, and succeeding in school.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Special Education: To ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Early Intervening Services: To provide early interventions to eligible students before they are identified as having a disability.

Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act: To develop more fully the academic and career and technical skills of secondary education students and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs.

Many of these grants are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes approximately $50 billion to support more than 100,000 pre-K–12 public schools across the country.

For more on how these grants have been allocated to districts over the last several years, please see the page on the Grants Management Unit which unit oversees federal and state flow through funds.