USED Grants Waiver To Indiana Schools With Late Title I Funds

The U.S. Department of Education wrote a letter to the Indiana Department of Education Tuesday to allow schools that received Title I funds from the DOE later than normal to use those funds in the following school year.

U.S. Republican Congressmen Luke Messer and Todd Rokita wrote a letter to Secretary of Education John King that requested this last June.

The USED informed Indiana in February that “the State was making several errors in the process, including but not limited to, how IDOE was applying the hold harmless to charter school LEAs.”

Some charter schools were receiving less money, which we reported in September 2015.

Money to make up for this miscalculation became available in March, which many schools said was too late to use for that school year.

That’s when the IDOE and Congressmen Messer and Rokita asked the USED to extend this money offered to schools in March.

“This is the best possible outcome for thousands of Hoosier public school students,” said Congressman Luke Messer in a statement. “Title I money makes sure the most at-risk kids get a fair chance to succeed.  Without the ability of schools to carry over these funds, instruction would have suffered.”

Title I is a federal program that serves kids who generally come from low-income families, and therefore haven’t always had access to the same resources as some of their peers.