Getting Creative with Your Title I Funds

Do you have unused Title I funds sitting there at the end of the school year?

You’re not alone.

Title I planning should not begin with a rush to spend whatever is left at the end of the year. It should begin with a more useful question: What is keeping students from meeting the academic standards—and what evidence-based support could remove that barrier?

That shift matters for the 2026–27 school year. Title I, Part A remains a flexible federal funding source, but every expense still needs a clear program purpose. In general, a cost must be necessary, reasonable, allocable to the program, and consistent with the school’s needs assessment and plan.

The good news is that those requirements leave room for far more than reading workbooks and pull-out intervention. When districts connect spending to documented student needs, Title I can support extended learning, instructional staff, family engagement, technology, filtered internet access, early learning, and other strategies designed to improve academic outcomes.

So the question becomes: What are some creative ways to take all that untapped capital and invest it in the future of student learning?

Feeling Confused about Title I?

According to Education Week, Title I grants for impoverished, disadvantaged students “make up the largest portion of all federal money for K-12 education.”

As we mentioned in an earlier blog post on the basics of Title I funding, there’s no one-size-fits-all way for schools to use their federal funding for education programs. Many schools use their Title I funds to invest in staff, whether it’s teachers, administrative staff, English language learner specialists, instructional coaches, or even parent-community liaisons.

But many schools don’t take as much advantage of their Title I funds as they could. Why? Most likely out of confusion and trepidation.

As Education Week reported:

In interviews with principals of Title I schools, some didn’t understand that consolidation was allowed; some thought other federal or state rules barred it; and many were afraid of simply doing it wrong. [American Institutes for Research researcher Steven] Hurlburt highlighted one principal who reported, “Everybody was just scared of having a bad audit finding and it turned into a big compliance exercise instead of an exercise of saying, how can we optimally use these funds to meet the unique needs of students?”

Title I Consolidation is Key

Don’t think of your leftover Title I funds as spare change you can just toss in a jar. Every single unused dollar at the end of each fiscal year can be put to use helping students and staff overcome the achievement gap separating low-income schools from their higher-income peers.

Over at Edmentum, writer Sarah Cornelius offers several helpful tips for how schools can use their leftover Title I funds. While you should always make spending decisions based on the needs of your particular school or district, these tips offer a guideline for ways to brainstorm about using your Title I funds.

They include:

• Pooling remaining Title I funds with additional federal funding for education programs to focus on a large project or initiative.
• Expanding intervention programs, as encouraged by ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act).
• Enhancing after-school and summer programs for students who struggle in traditional classroom settings.

An extensive U.S. Department of Education report highlights some of the many ways Title I eligible schools are getting flexible and creative with their funds. And it turns out that consolidating funds is key.

Consolidation, in fact, isn’t just suggested—it’s encouraged.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, by “making systemic changes that knit together services funded from a variety of sources into a comprehensive framework, schools have a better chance of increasing the academic achievement of all students.”

The U.S. Department of Education report is packed with case studies showing how innovative uses of Title I funds (whether consolidated with other funding sources or not) can impact both students' lives and the success of school districts.

9 Strategic Ways to Use Title I Funds in 2026–27

1. Expand high-impact tutoring and academic intervention

Title I can support additional learning time for students who need it most. Depending on the school’s plan and program model, that may include:

• Small-group or one-to-one tutoring
• Evidence-based reading or mathematics intervention
• Instructional materials and progress-monitoring tools
• Academic support before school, after school, or during designated intervention periods

The strongest proposal will identify the skill gap, the students to be served, the intervention model, and the measure used to evaluate progress.

2. Strengthen summer, after-school, and transition programs

Extended-learning programs can give students more time to master grade-level content and transition successfully. A district might use Title I funds for:

• STEM Clubs: Ocelot Elementary uses Title I funds to operate an after-school STEM club that all students can join. This club, a privilege that starts with an hour of study hall, has extended the school day by several hours per week.
• Summer Camps: Incoming sixth graders identified as “likely to struggle” at Charles Middle School can participate in a two-week summer camp that gets them acclimated to the building, the teachers, and the curriculum.
• School Counselors: Several schools, including Castle Elementary, Poplar Elementary, and Waxberry Middle School, used their Title I funds to hire a guidance counselor to offer non-academic emotional and social support to students.

3. Invest in instructional staff and coaching

Staffing remains one of the most common—and potentially valuable—uses of Title I. Funds may support additional teachers, paraprofessionals, interventionists, instructional coaches, or other personnel when their work advances the program’s academic goals.

For 2026–27, districts can also consider whether strategic staffing models would provide more students with access to effective instruction. The job description, student population served, schedule, and intended outcomes should all align with the approved plan.

4. Provide professional learning that changes classroom practice

One-off workshops often become expensive calendar events. Stronger Title I investments connect professional learning to a documented instructional need and give educators time to apply what they learn.

Examples may include:

• Training in evidence-based literacy or mathematics practices
• Coaching on differentiation and intervention
• Support for using assessment data to adjust instruction
• Training for effective use of newly adopted instructional technology
• Collaborative planning tied to the school improvement strategy

Build evaluation into the plan: teacher participation alone is not the outcome. Look for changes in practice and student progress.

5. Improve access to devices, digital learning, and filtered connectivity

While many Title I funds go toward reading and mathematics, another way to use them is to boost student access to technology—which can often boost success rates in reading and mathematics.

Schools in Fayette County, Georgia use Title I funds to give students access to school-loaned devices. This helps students in a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) school district to have the same learning opportunities as their peers.

Working closely with Title I parent liaisons, the district’s Title I coordinator identified those families who needed school-loaned equipment and provided them with affordable broadband Internet access using the Kajeet SmartSpot®.

For federally funded technology, districts should also plan for:

• Appropriate student internet filtering and online safety controls
• Inventory, checkout, loss, and replacement procedures
• Data-plan and usage management
• Technical and family support
• A process for measuring academic use and program effectiveness

Learn more about using Title I funds to provide your school or school district with cutting-edge wireless technology solutions.

6. Address attendance and other barriers to learning

Academic improvement is difficult when students are not consistently present or ready to learn. If a needs assessment shows that attendance, student well-being, or another barrier is contributing to poor academic performance, a school may be able to support strategies such as:

• Early-warning and attendance-intervention systems
• School counselors or specialized student-support personnel
• Mentoring and student-success programs
• Coordination with community-based services
• Transition or re-engagement support

The academic connection needs to be explicit. Title I is not a general-purpose operating fund for every student service a school would like to add.

7. Make family engagement practical and accessible

Family engagement is a core part of Title I—not a side event involving folding chairs and a tray of cookies. Effective investments help families understand academic expectations and support learning at home.

Possible uses include:

• Family literacy or mathematics workshops
• Translation and interpretation
• Accessible instructional resources for caregivers
• Family liaisons who connect households with academic programs
• Training on learning platforms, devices, or student internet safety
• Multiple participation formats for families with transportation, schedule, language, or connectivity barriers

Ask families what would make participation easier, and document how the strategy supports student learning.

8. Upgrade instructional materials and evidence-based programs

Schools may use Title I funds for curricula, books, supplies, software, assessments, and other instructional resources that support the schoolwide or targeted-assistance plan.

The buying decision should follow the need—not the vendor demo. Before purchasing, consider:

• Which student need the resource addresses
• Whether the approach has appropriate evidence
• How it fits the existing curriculum
• What training and implementation support staff will need
• How usage and student results will be monitored
• Whether recurring costs are sustainable

9. Combine funding streams around one coherent strategy

In a schoolwide program, consolidation can help a school replace fragmented initiatives with a coordinated plan. Title I may work alongside other eligible federal, state, and local resources to strengthen literacy, numeracy, staffing, technology, family engagement, or another priority identified in the comprehensive needs assessment.

Consolidation is not a license to ignore program responsibilities. Schools still need to meet the intent and purposes of the programs involved and comply with applicable requirements related to civil rights, health and safety, services for eligible private-school students, maintenance of effort, comparability, and supplement-not-supplant.

Work with the district’s federal programs and finance teams before combining funds or changing accounting practices.

A Better Title I Planning Checklist

Before approving a 2026–27 expense, ask:

1. What documented student need are we addressing?
2. Is the strategy included in—or consistent with—our schoolwide or targeted-assistance plan?
3. Who will benefit, and does that match our Title I program model?
4. Is the cost necessary, reasonable, allocable, and adequately documented?
5. Does our state or district require prior approval or a plan amendment?
6. How will we measure implementation and student outcomes?
7. Can we sustain recurring costs after the grant period?
8. Have federal programs, finance, procurement, IT, and instruction reviewed the plan together?

This process may be less exciting than an end-of-year shopping spree, but it is considerably more useful during an audit.

What About Unspent Title I Funds?

Federal law generally limits carryover to 15% for a local education agency that receives $50,000 or more in Title I, Part A funds. A state education agency may waive that limit once every three years when it determines a waiver is reasonable and necessary. Agencies receiving less than $50,000 are not subject to the statutory 15% limitation.

Because state processes and grant timelines vary, districts should review projected balances early with their federal programs and finance teams. A rushed purchase is not automatically a strategic—or allowable—one.

Can Title I Funds Support Student Hotspots?

They may, when the district can demonstrate that the devices and service address a documented academic need, benefit the appropriate Title I students or schoolwide program, meet federal cost principles, and comply with state and local requirements.

Kajeet SmartSpot® provides portable student internet access with integrated, customizable filtering, centralized device and data management through the Sentinel® platform, and support for major U.S. wireless carriers. For a Title I-supported program, those controls can help districts manage access, enforce program policies, and document device use.

The district and its state or local Title I administrators make the funding decision. Kajeet can help districts design a right-sized connectivity pilot, estimate recurring costs, and define the management and measurement plan needed for internal review.

Think Outside the Box

Not all school districts have the same financial needs, let alone the individual schools within those districts. When it comes to any leftover Title I funds, remember there’s a lot more latitude for how you use those precious dollars than you might realize.

And don’t forget to think a little outside the box.