The U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued guidance this week addressing how grantees can use Title II-A funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to support “innovative teacher workforce strategies.”
In the letter, ED states that most Title II-A funds are not used in an effective manner and do not support activities that “substantially improve” professional development for, recruitment of, or compensation for educators and school leaders. While mentioning other allowable uses of funds, ED specifically encourages grantees to use Title II-A funds to support “strategic staffing models” to improve the return on investment. The letter describes strategic staffing as a “team-based approach” in the classroom, as opposed to having only one teacher per classroom. Under that approach, more than one educator would be assigned to a classroom or roster of students and would support students based on their specialized knowledge, which can also provide for more flexible schedules for educators.
In the letter, ED outlines some of the allowable uses of funds under Title II-A that can support these strategic staffing models. For example, ED says that State educational agencies (SEAs) can, with their optional set-aside to support principals and school leaders, use funds to support professional development for school leaders that addresses how to establish and implement strategic staffing models. In addition, local educational agencies (LEAs) can use Title II-A funds to provide differential pay to educators who may be taking on additional, specialized roles as part of strategic staffing, like leading instructional teams, as well as to support related induction and mentoring activities. State-level activity funds may also be used to modify teacher pipelines in a way to expand strategic staffing.
ED emphasizes the requirement to use evidence-based activities and meet the statutory definition of professional development where required under Title II-A, and to “plan for sustainability” when determining how to use Title II-A funds. Finally, the letter notes that in a Title I schoolwide school, consolidated funds or Title I funds may be used to support some of the activities outlined by ED, as long as those activities address issues identified in the school’s comprehensive needs assessment.
The letter on strategic staffing models is available here.
