Title III

Learn more about the federal money for English-language acquisition, including how much money there is and how it's administered

Explainer

Title III Funding for English Learners, Explained
As the nation’s English-learner population continues to grow , researchers look to the Title III for how to best support these students.
Billy Lopez and Indica Beckham read together during kindergarten class at Fairview Elementary in Carthage, Mo., on Nov. 26, 2018. The Carthage School District, along with three other Missouri districts, is participating in a $2.6 million five-year grant project that seeks to bolster its English Language Learners program. The grant will provide ELL training to teachers in the Carthage, Kansas City Public, Bayless and Columbia school districts.
Billy Lopez and Indica Beckham read together during kindergarten class at Fairview Elementary in Carthage, Mo., on Nov. 26, 2018. The Carthage School District, along with three other Missouri districts, is participating in a $2.6 million five-year grant project that seeks to bolster its English Language Learners program.
Roger Nomer/The Joplin Globe via AP
English Learners Federal Funding for English Learners Has a New Home. What Do Educators Hope This Means?
$890 million in Title III grants moved to the federal office of English language acquisition in December.
Ileana Najarro, January 30, 2024
4 min read
High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. Some districts have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate migrant students, who often come to join relatives, sometimes escaping criminal gangs or extreme poverty. San Francisco International High School rewrote young-adult novels at a basic level to spark the newcomers' interest in reading.
High school teacher Tara Hobson talks with a student in the school cafeteria at San Francisco International High School in San Francisco on April 19, 2016. The quality of education for English learners, including migrant students in San Francisco, has evolved over the last years in part due to landmark civil rights Supreme Court decision.
Jeff Chiu/AP
English Learners How a 1974 U.S. Supreme Court Case Still Influences English-Learner Education
Fifty years ago Lau v. Nichols required schools to provide language support to English learners to ensure access to public education.
Ileana Najarro, January 19, 2024
7 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education, Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington. A new federal rule threatens to cut federal money to college programs that consistently leave graduates with low pay or unaffordable debt. The gainful employment rule finalized by the Biden administration on Wednesday applies mostly to for-profit colleges, along with certificate programs at traditional universities.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office at the Department of Education, Sept. 20, 2023, in Washington. Cardona requested that the management of English-learner federal aid return to the office of English language acquisition earlier this year.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
English Learners $890 Million in English-Learner Aid Is Under New Management. Why Researchers Are Hopeful
The office of English language acquisition will once again manage Title III formula grant funds.
Ileana Najarro, December 19, 2023
4 min read
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks with students during a visit to Towson University to discuss antisemitism on college campuses on Nov. 2, 2023, in Towson, Md.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks with students during a visit to Towson University on Nov. 2, 2023, in Towson, Md.
Julia Nikhinson/AP
English Learners Here's Why Miguel Cardona Is Pushing Multilingual Education
The education secretary outlines how the Education Department is investing in language learning. Will it work?
Ileana Najarro, November 17, 2023
4 min read
Business woman with a laptop sitting on top of a large magnifying glass that is centered over a stack of money.
DigitalVision Vectors
English Learners Q&A English Learners Could Gain Support and Clout Under Ed. Secretary's Plan, Expert Says
Kathleen Leos directed the Office of English Language Acquisition in the U.S. Department of Education when George W. Bush was president.
Ileana Najarro, March 17, 2023
6 min read
English Language Learners 032023 1305725500
E+/Getty
English Learners Education Secretary Wants to Change the Way Funding for English Learners Is Managed
Researchers praise the proposal to move management of federal language acquisition funding to the Office of English Language Acquisition.
Ileana Najarro, March 13, 2023
5 min read
Conceptual image of the shadows of people cast across a United States flag
Alxey Pnferov/iStock
English Learners Is Federal Funding for Immigrant Students Falling Short?
Title III's strict eligibility requirements may hamper efforts to support immigrant students, a new report contends.
Ileana Najarro, September 20, 2022
6 min read
Federal For Schools With Child Immigrants, What Resources Are Available?
School districts that absorb large numbers of recently-arrived immigrants can use a key stream of federal funding for support.
Lesli A. Maxwell, July 28, 2014
3 min read
Federal Obama Budget Proposes Modest Bump for English-Learner Programs
Spending on English-language acquisition programs would get a slight increase under President Barack Obama's proposed budget for fiscal 2015.
Lesli A. Maxwell, March 4, 2014
1 min read
Federal English-Language Acquisition Gets Boost in Federal Spending Bill
Title III would receive a 4 percent increase under the spending bill unveiled this week by Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.
Lesli A. Maxwell, January 15, 2014
1 min read
Federal Sequestration and Aid to ELLs: What Happens to Title III?
Like all discretionary federal programs, Title III aid to states and districts for English-language learners would be cut if Congress and President Obama don't act to avert sequestration.
Lesli A. Maxwell, February 26, 2013
1 min read
Federal House GOP ESEA Bill Would Give Districts Leeway on Spending for English Learners
The draft legislation merges spending for English learners under Title III with spending for all disadvantaged students under Title I.
Lesli A. Maxwell, January 9, 2012
1 min read
School & District Management Study Calls for Better Identification of ELLs for Federal Funding
A long-awaited national study calls for a more comprehensive approach to identifying English-language learners when awarding federal grants.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 10, 2011
2 min read
Education Still Confused about 'Supplement Not Supplant' Under Title III?
Staff of the U.S. Department of Education are scheduled to answer questions about permissible uses of Title III funds at a webinar on Dec. 11 hosted by the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition. Title III is the section of the No Child Left Behind Act that authorizes funds for English-language acquisition programs. But the money may not be used in place of money from other local, state, or federal sources that would otherwise be spent on programs for ELLs. It's a tricky matter.
Mary Ann Zehr, November 26, 2008
1 min read