The new federal stimulus law could stimulate federal involvement in middle and high schools.
The conference report accompanying the bill urges states to spend 40 percent of the $3 billion in Title I school improvement money on secondary schools. (Hat tip to this document on Learning Points Associates’ new page that’s chock-full of details on the stimulus.)
States and districts historically have followed Congress’ direction in concentrating Title I money on elementary schools, which receive three-quarters of the program’s money, according to this report from the U.S. Department of Education.
If states and districts grant Congress’ wish under the stimulus, they would make a $1.2 billion dent in the disproportionate distribution of Title I money between elementary and secondary schools.
And that might alter the discussion in NCLB reauthorization about where the money should go in the future.