Identifying Funding Sources

Overview: How do you source and sustain funding for High-Impact Tutoring?

Significant funding is available to fund tutoring programs. This section outlines funding sources district leaders can consider as they determine how to financially support their tutoring program as well as key considerations that can help district leaders decide how to approach funding.

How do you build a sustainable funding model?

While a significant amount of ARPA and other COVID-19 recovery funding that can support tutoring programs is available to districts, funding is also available through other programs unrelated to COVID-19.

Tutoring programs are more difficult to sustain if they depend on a single budget line item that is in question every year. More sustainable programs are supported by multiple funding sources. Consider more than just COVID recovery funding to support your program. One-time funding sources (e.g, ARPA) should be dedicated towards one-time startup and infrastructure costs for your program (e.g., capacity-building resources such as tutoring curriculum, technology, etc.) rather than operational costs that will be incurred every year (e.g., annual salaries).

You may need to tradeoff between existing initiatives and a new High-Impact Tutoring program. Cost and availability of funding is likely to be the main driver of making these tradeoffs. Independent of funding, too many programs also can result in fatigue and ineffective practice for both students and teachers. Consider viewing COVID recovery funds as providing an opportunity to adopt best practices by determining how to support a High-Impact Tutoring program through integrating with existing programs or shifting resources (e.g., staff, supplies, etc.) from less effective programs to High-Impact Tutoring.

Bucketing by Restrictedness

Regardless of what funding sources you use, consider organizing all your funding into buckets by restrictedness. Funding sources in the “very restricted funding” bucket (i.e., funding that must be used in the short-term and/or on very specific items) should be spent prior to funding in “relatively unrestricted funding” buckets (i.e., funding that can be used in the medium-long term and/or can be spent on a wide range of items). Next, match your funding sources to your costs over a multi-year time horizon (e.g., 5 years). Visualizing and organizing your funding and costs this way can help you maximize your available funding and ensure your program’s long-term sustainability.

What federal COVID-19 recovery funding is available?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government has invested over $200 billion in K-12 education. The most recent round of recovery funding related to the pandemic, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), includes over $120 billion in funds dedicated to K-12 education and has been described as the “federal government’s largest-ever single investment in our schools” (source). Specific details on K-12 COVID-19 recovery funding are outlined in the table below:

Federal Investment in Public K-12 Education since the Beginning of the Pandemic ($200.1 billion Total)
Funding Source Amount Use of Funding Spending Timeline
CARES Act $13.2 billion
  • Prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19
  • Address learning loss, prepare for school reopening including building enhancements to improve air quality in the school building (Source)
Funds must be obligated by September 30, 2022

(Source)

Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations $54.3 billion Funds must be obligated by September 30, 2023

(Source)

ARPA: E-rate $7.2 billion
  • Internet connectivity and technology devices for schools and libraries
Funds must be obligated by September 30, 2024

(Source)

ARPA: K-12 Education $125.5 billion
  • At least 90% of the money awarded to State Education Agencies (SEAs) must be allocated to Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
  • At least 20% of funding allocated to LEAs must address learning loss through “evidence-based” interventions. See this resource for more information on what qualifies as “evidence-based”
  • The remaining LEA funding can be used on a wide array of activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • For a more detailed breakdown of ARPA funds, see this interactive graphic (Source)
Funds must be obligated by September 30, 2024

(Source)

What recurring federal funding is available?

COVID-19 recovery funds are a great option to fund one-time investment costs for your tutoring program. Recurring funding is needed to ensure your program will be sustainable in the long-term. A number of existing federal programs that provide recurring funding to districts can be used to support tutoring programs. Because of misconceptions about how money from these existing programs can be used, these recurring federal dollars are often underutilized to support tutoring programs (source). Examples of specific federal programs you may want to access to fund your tutoring program in the long term are outlined in the table below:

Funding Source Notes

Title I

In addition to funding supplemental reading and math instruction, Title I dollars can support extended or additional instructional time, including tutoring. Many districts may have remaining School Improvement Grants (authorized under section 1003(g) of Title I) from 2017, and can use these funds for tutoring as well, as long as the tutoring program meets the ESSA standards (source).

Title II

If your tutoring program is designed such that it improves teachers’ overall instructional practice, Title II funding could be used to support your tutoring program.

Title IV

Title IV, Part B, also establishes funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLCs). Any public or private organization is eligible to apply for these funds to support after-school activities, including tutoring. See FAQ G-1 in the U.S. Department of Education Non-Regulatory Guidance (source).

IDEA

If a tutoring program supports both students with IEPs and students without IEPs, a district can fund the portion of the program supporting students with IEPs with IDEA funding (source). Districts also can also use up to 15% of their IDEA, Part B funds for coordinated early intervening services. These are services for students with no disability classification who struggle to succeed in the general education environment. The U.S. Department of Education has specifically mentioned tutoring as a coordinated early intervening service (source).

School Improvement Grants

School Improvement Grants can also be used to support tutoring programs when targeting high-needs populations. This document notes how they can be used for ELL students specifically.

Key tips to keep in mind when considering the use of other federal funding programs:

  • Blending and braiding federal funding can be an effective way to use existing federal dollars to fund a High-Impact Tutoring program (learn more here and here).
  • Tutoring should not replace mandated services for specific student populations (i.e., ELLs and students with IEPs or 504s), and it should be accessible to all students (including these special populations).
  • Most federal funds available to Local Education Agencies are allocated by State Education Agencies, which may not be accustomed to allocating certain types of federal funding to tutoring programs.
  • You may need to advocate to use existing federal funds to support your tutoring program. If your SEA is hesitant to authorize using existing federal funding on your tutoring program, updating them with current federal guidance or consulting legal counsel with expertise in governmental education funding can help.

In addition to federal funding, other funding may be available to your district to ensure program sustainability after one-time funding sources dry up:

Funding Source Notes
State and Local Government Grants State and local grants may be available to your district that can be used to fund your tutoring program. Grants do not need to be explicitly earmarked for tutoring to provide support for your program. Depending on the structure of your program, you may be eligible for state and/or local grants that support tutoring inputs such as technology, after-school programs, and High-Quality Instructional Materials.
Institutional Philanthropy Your district may also secure regional or national philanthropy to fund your tutoring program. Consider exploring foundations that support education initiatives as a possible funding source (learn more at Foundation Center (Video Overview)).