Congress has approved $1.1 billion in funding for the Title IV-A block grant in FY 2018, otherwise known as the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grants. This is a MASSIVE increase from the previous year’s $400 million allocation. At this funding level, Title IV-A will provide thousands of school districts the opportunity to invest in a well-rounded curriculum, which includes improving access to high quality music education taught by certified music educators.
Share YOUR Story!
FY 2018’s funds will be available for the 2018 – 2019 school year. If you have received Title IV-A funding previously or will receive funding for the upcoming school year, we want to hear YOUR story!
Visit bit.ly/TitleIVstories to tell us your Title IV story:
- How much funding did you receive?
- What was the funding used for?
- How has it benefited your students?
- How has it benefited you as an educator in providing a well-rounded education?
- By using these funds, are you closer to providing a “quality” music program, as outlined in the OTL standards?
Your stories are vital to helping NAfME advocate for music education! Although Title IV-A received a significant increase, the new funding number is still short of the grant’s authorized amount of $1.6 billion. This information will help us get closer to that goal!
What is Title IV-A?
Created through passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, the Title IV-A block grant provides supplemental funding to school districts in three broad areas:
- Providing students access to a well-rounded education (e.g. music and arts),
- Supporting safe and healthy students (e.g. comprehensive school mental health, drug and violence prevention, training on trauma-informed practices, health and physical education) and
- Supporting the effective use of technology (professional development, blended learning, devices).
How are funds distributed? – Title IV-A funds are distributed annually to each state, then to each district, through a funding formula that is based on the Title I-A allocations.
- Note, funds are spent at the district level, not at the individual school site level.
How does an educator apply for funds? – Title IV-A funds are applied for by your school district, not applied for by a single educator, music program, or specific school. As an educator, your role will be to participate in your district’s needs assessment to address the deficiencies within your district’s music programs. NAfME has developed a needs assessment tool for music education – the 2015 Opportunity to Learn (OTL) standards. The results of the needs assessment will be used as a part of your district’s Title IV application.
Contact your district’s arts coordinator or curriculum supervisor to find out how you can participate and who you can collaborate with on your school district’s needs assessment.
Title IV-A Resources by NAfME
- NAfME’s How Funding Works – Title IV (FY-2018)
- Archived Webinar: Supporting Music Education Locally with Title IV
- Archived Webinar: OTL’s, Title IV, and You!
- Title IV FAQ
Ronny Lau, Public Policy Advisor, May 2, 2018. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org).
