A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Participation Of Children Enrolled In Private Nonprofit Schools


An LEA must provide Title VI services to children enrolled in a private non-profit school within the LEA if, after consultation with private school officials, the officials of the private school indicate that they wish the children in that school to participate. Services, materials and equipment provided to participating private school students must be secular, neutral and non-ideological. The LEA must contact the private schools within the LEA annually to determine which schools wish their children to participate. The LEA must consult with the officials of interested private schools to determine the types of Title VI services each school desires its students to receive. If the services requested by the private school are authorized under Title VI, the LEA must provide those services on an equitable basis to those children whether or not the services desired are the same Title VI services the LEA provides to the public school children. The expenditures for such services, however, shall be equal (consistent with the number of children served) to Title VI services provided to public school children taking into account the needs of the children and other factors. The title to any and all equipment and materials purchased for a private nonprofit school to use in providing Title VI services to its students must be retained by a public agency.

Example:

An LEA contacts all the private nonprofit schools in the LEA and receives positive responses from four. In consultation with the officials of one of the schools, the LEA determines that the private nonprofit school wishes to use Title VI funds for a program to train teachers to use instructional computer hardware and software previously provided under Chapter 2 on loan to the private school. The LEA does not use its Title VI funds for such training nor for the grade levels the private school plans to serve. Since such a program of professional development is allowable under Title VI, the LEA is expected to arrange for these services.

Supplemental Guidance

  • Benefit to Students - If Title VI funds are used to provide services for children enrolled in private, nonprofit schools, these services must primarily benefit the children, not the schools. (See section 6402(a)(1), 20 USC 7372(a)(1), which states that an LEA shall provide for services for the benefit of the children in private schools.) A question has arisen as to whether this precludes an LEA from providing reform-oriented Title VI services to private school children because of the likelihood that such services would benefit the private schools, rather than the children. The Department's interpretation is that if the LEA can show that the private school students will receive the primary benefit of reform-oriented Title VI services, the LEA may provide those services for the private school students, even if the private schools also happen to benefit. If the primary benefit of the reform-oriented Title VI services would fall to the private schools, however, the Department believes that the LEA would not be able to provide reform-oriented Title VI services for the private school children.

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