President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law in December 2015, which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).  ESSA reflects the civil rights tradition of ESEA, which reflects our nation’s long-standing commitment to equity of opportunity for all students.  The ultimate goal is to provide all students -regardless of zip code, race, ethnicity, religion, family income, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, disability, language status, gender, or migrant status with a high-quality education.

Districts receiving Title I funds are required to identify and provide services to eligible, at-risk students who live within the boundaries of their Title I schools and attend private schools​.  Title I funds are to provide supplemental instructional services to those students identified as most at risk of failing to reach state defined academic achievement standards. Services provided to private school students must be equitable to those provided to public school students residing in the district​. 

Poverty is not a criterion​ for student participation; it is determined by family residence in a Title I public school area and educational need​.  Students identified as at-risk of failing to meet state-defined academic achievement standards or standards relevant to private school students​ as well as students identified as at-risk for other reasons include being homeless, participated in migrant education program, Head Start, etc.​ are eligible to participate and receive services. 

Title I services must: 

• Meet the educational needs of identified Title I, private school students and not the general needs of the students enrolled in the private school or the private school itself
• Be secular, neutral, and non-ideological   
• Supplement, not supplant the core curriculum and services provided by the private school 
• Be equitable to the program and services provided to public school students 

President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) into law in December 2015, which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).  ESSA reflects the civil rights tradition of ESEA, which reflects our nation’s long-standing commitment to equity of opportunity for all students.  The ultimate goal is to provide all students -regardless of zip code, race, ethnicity, religion, family income, sex (including gender identity), sexual orientation, disability, language status, gender, or migrant status with a high-quality education. 

Newly authorized, Title IV, Part A of ESSA, the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program is intended to help meet these goals by increasing the capacity of districts, schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well-rounded education, 2) improve school conditions for learning, and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. (ESEA section 4101).