TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
John L. Winn
Commissioner
of Education
CARRYOVER PROVISIONS FOR TITLE I, PART A,
PROGRAMS
Introduction
A number of federal education grant programs operate under the “Tydings Amendment,”
which makes certain federal funds available for 27 months. As articulated in section
421(b) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), grant recipients (state education
agencies - SEAs) and subrecipients (local education agencies - LEAs) must obligate
funds during the 27 months extending from July 1 of the fiscal year for which the funds
were appropriated through September 30 of the second succeeding fiscal year. This
maximum period includes a 15-month period of initial availability plus a 12-month
period for carryover. However, section 1127(a) of Title I of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (ESEA) limits the amount of Title I, Part A, funds an LEA may
carry over from one fiscal year’s allocation to not more than 15 percent of the total Title
I, Part A, funds allocated to the LEA for that fiscal year.
Florida implements the “Tydings Amendment” for all entitlement programs such as Title
I, Part A, by making awards for an initial 12 to 14-month period and then allowing LEAs
to roll forward unexpended funds to the following project period either by estimating the
amount to be rolled forward as part of the project application for the subsequent period or
by amending the amount of the roll forward into the subsequent project after the amount
has been certified by the Comptroller’s Office. To ensure that LEAs receive the
maximum 15 months for expenditure of funds during the initial availability period, the
amount of Title I, Part A, funds eligible for roll forward is not calculated until after
September 30 of each year, including both expenditures from the initial project period as
well as any reported expenditures from the beginning of second period through
September 30.
The following example illustrates how the 27-month availability for Title I, Part A funds
and the carryover limitation operate for an LEA that received an allocation under the FY
2005 (2005-06) appropriation.
Technical Assistance Paper
September 2006
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, K12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND
FINANCE AND OPERATIONS
Refer questions to Martha Asbury, Chief, Bureau of Contracts, Grants, and Procurement, via
email at martha.asbury@fldoe.org or by phone at 850-245-0735.
Technical Assistance Paper
Carryover Provisions for Title I, Part A, Programs
EXAMPLE:
Federal FY 2005 Appropriation
(Title I, Part A, Funds Allocated to the LEA from Funds Made Available on July 1,
2005 - Total $1,500,000)
Total allocation
$1,500,000
Minimum amount LEA must obligate between July 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 to
avoid excess carryover (85 percent of total appropriation)
1,275,000
Amount LEA may carryover and obligate during October 1, 2006 – September 30,
2007 (carryover period provided under section 421(b) of GEPA)
225,000
During the first 15 months that the Title I, Part A, funds are available, the LEA must, by
September 30, 2006, obligate at least $1,275,000 (85 percent) of the total allocated to it.
The LEA may carry over a maximum of $225,000 (15 percent) into the next fiscal year
and must obligate those funds by September 30, 2007. Any funds that remain unobligated
after that date revert to the U.S. Treasury.
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Carryover Provisions for Title I, Part A, Programs
Questions and Answers on Carryover
1.
What actions must the Department of Education (DOE) take with respect to
an LEA that exceeds the 15 percent carryover limitation?
Unless it grants the LEA a waiver of the carryover limitation, the DOE must
reduce that LEA’s allocation by the exact amount it exceeds its 15 percent
carryover limitation. The following chart illustrates how much an LEA’s
allocation would be reduced because it exceeded its carryover limitation.
EXAMPLE:
Amount
Percent of Total
Allocation
1
Total FY 2005 allocation (funds become available on July
1, 2004)
$1,500,000
2
Minimum obligation for period July 1, 2005 – September
30, 2006
1,275,000
85%
3
Maximum amount an LEA may carry over into next fiscal
year (October 1, 2006 – September 30, 2007)
225,000
15%
4
Actual amount LEA obligated for period July 1, 2005 –
September 30, 2006
1,200,000
80%
5
Amount unobligated as of September 30, 2006
300,000
20%
6
Amount by which the LEA is over the 15% carryover
limitation and would be reduced (Line 5- Line 3) *
75,000
* This amount would be available for DOE to reallocate to other LEAs as
provided under section 1126(c) of Title I.
2.
On what amount is the 15 percent limitation on carryover based?
The percentage limitation is applied to the amount allocated to the LEA under
Title I, Part A, for the current year, plus any funds transferred into Title I, Part A,
under the authority in Title VI, Part A, Subpart 2. It does not include carryover
funds from the preceding year, excess funds that the SEA reallocated to the LEA
under section 1126(c) of Title I, or school improvement funds received under
section 1003.
3.
Does an LEA include funds carried over from the previous fiscal year in the
current year’s allocation base to determine statutory reservations?
No. Title I requires an LEA to reserve certain percentages of its Title I allocation
for specific purposes. For example, under section 1118(a)(3), an LEA must
generally reserve at least one percent of its allocation for parent involvement
activities. The base for calculating any of the reserves required under Title I is
only the current year amount allocated to the LEA for Title I, Part A, plus any
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funds transferred into Title I, Part A, under the authority in Title VI, Part A,
Subpart 2. The LEA would not include carryover funds from the preceding year
(or the other types of funds mentioned in Q2) when determining current-year
reservations.
4.
Do funds an LEA transfers into its Title I, Part A, program from other ESEA
programs under the transferability authority in Title VI, Part A, Subpart 2
of the ESEA affect the base on which the 15 percent carryover limitation is
calculated?
Yes. Because transferred funds are subject to the rules and requirements of the
programs to which they are transferred, the amount an LEA transfers into Title I,
Part A, from other ESEA programs increases the Part A resources available to the
LEA. Thus, the DOE must base the calculation of an LEA’s 15 percent carryover
limitation on the Title I, Part A, funds allocated to the LEA plus any funds the
LEA transferred into Part A from other ESEA programs. The following chart
illustrates how this would work:
EXAMPLE:
Amount
Percent of Total
Available for
Title I
1
Total FY 2005 Title I, Part A allocation *
$1,500,000
2
Other ESEA Funds transferred into Title I, Part A under
Title VI, Part A, Subpart 2 for SY 2005-06 *
50,000
3
Total (Lines 1 and 2)
1,550,000
4
Minimum obligation for period July 1, 2005 – September
30, 2006 (85% of Line 3)
1,317,500
85%
5
Maximum amount an LEA may carry over into the next
fiscal year (October 1, 2006 – September 30, 2007)
232,500
15%
* These funds became available on July 1, 2005.
5.
May DOE waive the 15 percent limitation on carryover funds?
Yes. Section 1127(b) of Title I provides that an SEA may, once every three years,
waive the 15 percent carryover limitation if—
• The SEA determines that the request of an LEA is reasonable and necessary; or
• Supplemental appropriations for Title I, Part A, become available.
[Section
1127(b)]
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6.
What happens to excess funds carried over by an LEA?
If an LEA does not have a waiver of the carryover limitation, the DOE will
reallocate the excess funds to other LEAs in accordance with the criteria
established under section 1126(c) of Title I.
7.
Does the carryover limitation apply to school improvement funds an LEA
may receive from the four percent DOE reserves under section 1003 of Title
I?
No. The carryover limitation applies only to funds an LEA is allocated under Title
I, Part A, plus any funds transferred into Title I, Part A, under the authority in
Title VI, Part A, Subpart 2.
8.
How does an LEA handle Title I, Part A, funds that are carried over when
allocating funds to school attendance areas?
Although an LEA may not use carryover funds to provide services to an ineligible
Title I school, an LEA has considerable discretion in handling carryover funds.
Some of these options include:
• Adding carryover funds to the LEA's current-year allocation and distributing
them to participating areas and schools in accordance with allocation
procedures that ensure equitable participation of private school children.
• Allocating to schools with the highest concentrations of poverty in the LEA,
thus providing a higher per-pupil amount to those schools, ensuring
equitable participation of private school children.
• Providing additional funds to any of the activities supported by the
reservations outlined in §200.77 of the Title I regulations. (Note that if an
LEA adds carryover funds to a reservation to which equitable services apply
(e.g., parental involvement), the LEA must also calculate and provide
equitable services from the carryover funds.)
9.
If an LEA is required in a given year to reserve a specific amount of funds
for a particular purpose but does not spend all of those funds in that year,
may the LEA carry over those unspent funds and spend them in accordance
with the flexibility noted in the answer to Question 8?
No. If an LEA is required to spend a specific amount of its Title I, Part A,
allocation in a given year for a particular purpose, the LEA must meet that
obligation. If it does not do so in the year for which the funds were allocated, it
must carry over the unspent funds and spend them for the specific purpose in the
following year. For example, under section 1116(c)(7)(A)(iii) of Title I, an LEA
that has been identified for school improvement must reserve and use ten percent
of its Title I, Part A, allocation for professional development activities. The LEA
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does not have any flexibility to spend less. Thus, an LEA that has been identified
for improvement in the 2005-06 school year must spend at least ten percent of its
2005-06 allocation, which first became available on July 1, 2005, within 27
months. Any funds that the LEA reserved for professional development in 2005-
06, but did not use that year, must be carried over into the 2006-07 school year
and used for professional development activities. These carryover funds may not
be used for other Title I purposes. In addition to the 2005-06 funds carried over
for professional development activities, the LEA, if it is still identified for
improvement in the 2006-07 school year, must also reserve ten percent from its
2006-07 Title I, Part A, allocation for professional development activities.
14. If an LEA reserves 20 percent of its Title I, Part A, allocation for
supplemental educational services (SES) and choice-related transportation,
but spends less than that amount, is the LEA required to carry over the
unspent funds for SES and choice-related transportation costs in the
following year?
It depends. There are several situations in which an LEA would need to carry over
unspent Title I, Part A, funds in this context. For example, if an LEA has
documented demand (e.g., parent applications) to absorb the full 20 percent on
choice-related transportation and SES but, for whatever reason, spends less than
20 percent, an LEA would be out of compliance and subject to enforcement
sanctions unless it reopens enrollment for SES and/or public school choice. If
reopening enrollment is impossible, the LEA must carry over to the following
school year the unexpended balance of the set-aside and use that balance for
choice-related transportation and SES in that year—in addition to spending an
amount equal to 20 percent of that year’s Title I, Part A, allocation. An LEA may
find itself in this position if there is a lower than expected enrollment rate among
eligible students that applied for SES, or if the student attendance levels in SES
tutoring sessions are lower than anticipated, but there is unmet demand for choice
or SES among other eligible students.
Another scenario in which an LEA would need to carry over unspent funds for
choice and SES is if the LEA initially prioritizes the students to whom it offers
SES—e.g., its lowest-achieving, low-income students—and demand from those
students does not absorb the full 20 percent. In this instance, the LEA would need
to reopen enrollment to all eligible students or carry over to the following year the
unexpended balance of the set-aside and use that balance for choice-related
transportation and SES in that year—again, in addition to spending an amount
equal to 20 percent of that year’s Title I, Part A, allocation, too.
On the other hand, if an LEA offers all eligible students the opportunity to
transfer to other schools and to receive SES and demand for those services does
not absorb an amount equal to 20 percent of the LEA’s allocation, the LEA may
use those funds for other allowable activities during the year in which the
reservation was made (pending DOE authorization to reallocate the funds) or
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carry over the unexpended balance and use those funds for any purposes for
which carryover funds may be used. If these funds are carried over, the equitable
participation requirements for private school children in Title I would apply.
[Section 1120; 34 CFR 200.64]
15. Are unspent funds from required reservations included in the carryover
limitation?
Yes. The 15 percent carryover limitation applies to the LEA's entire Part A,
Subpart 2, allocation and, therefore, includes any funds reserved but not spent.
For example, if the combination of unused funds reserved for professional
development and other unspent Part A funds exceeds 15 percent of an LEA's total
Part A, allocation, the excess funds must be returned to the SEA for reallocation
to other LEAs, unless the SEA grants the LEA a waiver. However, the LEA must
still meet its obligations with respect to the statutory reservations from funds
available for the subsequent school year.
16. Do funds carried over from reserves affect the amount of money an LEA
must reserve in the following year?
No. For example, an LEA identified for improvement reserves funds for
professional development in 2004-05 and carries over some of those funds into
2005-06. That LEA would still be required to reserve ten percent from its 2005-
06 Title I allocation for professional development if it were still in program
improvement status. The ten percent reserve taken from 2005-06 funds would be
in addition to the funds the LEA carried over from the previous year for this
purpose.
17. How does the carryover provision apply to equitable services to private
school children?
In general, if an LEA provided equitable services for private school students in
the first year, any carryover funds would be considered additional funds for the
entire Title I program in the subsequent year and would be part of the LEA’s Title
I resource base in the next year. Those funds would be used, along with any other
carryover funds, for serving both public and private school students on an
equitable basis. This situation might occur, for example, if private school students
did not fully participate in the federal program in the first year, even though an
equitable program was planned and offered for those students.
However, there may be a circumstance in which equitable services were not
provided. For example, there was a delay by an LEA in implementing an
equitable program for private school children because of consultation and
notification issues between private school officials and the LEA. As a result, the
LEA could not spend all the funds it had available for providing equitable
services to private school children and needed to carry over those funds and use
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them to provide services to private school children in the following year. These
carryover funds would be in addition to funds that the LEA would otherwise be
required to use to provide equitable services for private school students out of the
LEA’s current-year allocation.
Under either situation, the LEA retains control of the federal funds carried over
into the following year. No funds are provided directly to private schools.
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