For the past 60 years, the Title I program run by the Department of Education has been the backbone of educational opportunity in our public schools. However, these resources are now at risk. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal education funds from public schools across the country, including Title I money that public schools and students depend on.
How does Title I support schools?
All parents want their kids to be set up for success, no matter where they live. Title I specifically targets schools with high percentages of children from low-income families, ensuring that all students have access to a quality education, regardless of their economic background.
Here are just a few of the ways that Title I supports public schools—
- Providing reading specialists who help struggling readers catch up to grade level
- Access to math intervention programs that give students extra support
- Paying for more teacher salaries to reduce class sizes
- Providing access to extended learning time and after-school tutoring programs
- Providing technology and learning materials to classrooms where they might otherwise be unaffordable
- Financing professional development for teachers
- Funding early childhood education such as preschool
What happens if Title I funding is eliminated?
Title I has played a crucial role in leveling the playing field for students across the country for six decades. By providing essential resources—from reading specialists to after-school programs and teacher support—this program helps ensure every child, regardless of their ZIP code or family income, has a fair shot at a quality education.
Threats to Title I funding put these vital services in jeopardy and risk widening the opportunity gap for millions of students. These aren’t just budget numbers—they’re real programs that help real kids every day. Public school students across the country will feel the impacts if Title I funding is eliminated—and kids from low-income families and communities who need the most support will be hit the hardest.
