Aug. 18, 2005 | Law and Policy | Education

CONTACT: Steven Goldsmith sgolds@u.washington.edu 206-543-2580

The nation's main program for educating the disadvantaged, Title I, is hampered by loopholes that prevent it from fulfilling its mission, according to a new study.

The $13 billion Title I program, now the major funding arm of President Bush's No Child Left Behind act, must close the loopholes if it is to ensure that school districts channel the money to needy schools, said lead author Marguerite Roza, a research assistant professor at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs.

The new research documents how current rules allow the federal funds intended for low-income schools to be shifted -- sometimes inadvertently -- to affluent schools within the same district.

"In some places," Roza said, "taxpayer money intended to help overcome the effects of poverty is actually diverted to schools in the wealthiest neighborhoods."