§6313 — Title 20 Education | U.S. Code

§6313 Eligible school attendance areas

Title 20 › Chapter CHAPTER 70— - STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED › Part Part A— - Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies › Subpart subpart 1— - basic program requirements › § 6313

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

School districts must spend the program money only in school attendance areas that meet the program’s poverty rules. An attendance area is where the children who go to a school live. An “eligible” area is one where the share of children from low‑income families is at least as high as the district’s overall share. If money is not enough to help every eligible area, the district must first rank and serve areas with more than 75% low‑income children from highest to lowest (for high schools the district may use 50% instead). After those are served, the district ranks and serves the remaining eligible areas from highest to lowest either by grade span or districtwide. The district must use the same poverty measure for identifying, ranking, and allocating funds. That measure can be census counts of children ages 5–17 in poverty, free/reduced lunch eligibility, children in families getting TANF, children eligible for Medicaid, or a mix of these. For secondary schools, a district may, after outreach and approval by a majority of its secondary schools, use an accurate feeder‑pattern estimate instead. A district with fewer than 1,000 students is not covered. The Education Secretary can waive some rules so a school under a state or court desegregation plan can be treated as eligible if at least 25% of its students are economically disadvantaged and the Secretary agrees it helps the program. Districts may also choose to treat any area or school with at least 35% low‑income children as eligible, serve a noneligible school whose low‑income share equals or exceeds a participating area, or continue serving a previously eligible area for one more year. A district can decline to serve a higher‑poverty school if that school is comparable, is getting state or local funds used under the program rules, and those funds equal or exceed what the program would give. Money must be allocated in rank order based on the total number of low‑income children. Each area’s per‑student funding must be at least 125% of the district’s per‑student amount under its plan, unless the district only serves schools with 35% or more low‑income students; the district may reduce that amount by supplemental state or local funds spent in the school. Districts must set aside necessary funds to serve homeless children, children in neglect or delinquency institutions, and similar groups; the homeless set‑aside can be based on a needs assessment and used for things like a liaison and transportation. Districts may also reserve funds from certain other parts of the program, and up to 5% of funds from a specified subpart, to pay incentives for teachers in identified schools, and may reserve funds for early childhood programs.

Title 20, §6313

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)A local educational agency shall use funds received under this part only in eligible school attendance areas.

(2)For the purposes of this part—

(A)the term “school attendance area” means, in relation to a particular school, the geographical area in which the children who are normally served by that school reside; and

(B)the term “eligible school attendance area” means a school attendance area in which the percentage of children from low-income families is at least as high as the percentage of children from low-income families served by the local educational agency as a whole.

(3)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), if funds allocated in accordance with subsection (c) are insufficient to serve all eligible school attendance areas, a local educational agency shall—

(i)annually rank, without regard to grade spans, such agency’s eligible school attendance areas in which the concentration of children from low-income families exceeds 75 percent from highest to lowest according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and

(ii)serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order.

(B)A local educational agency may lower the threshold in subparagraph (A)(i) to 50 percent for high schools served by such agency.

(4)If funds remain after serving all eligible school attendance areas under paragraph (3), a local educational agency shall—

(A)annually rank such agency’s remaining eligible school attendance areas from highest to lowest either by grade span or for the entire local educational agency according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and

(B)serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order either within each grade-span grouping or within the local educational agency as a whole.

(5)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a local educational agency shall use the same measure of poverty, which measure shall be the number of children aged 5 through 17 in poverty counted in the most recent census data approved by the Secretary, the number of children eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), the number of children in families receiving assistance under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.], or the number of children eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid Program, or a composite of such indicators, with respect to all school attendance areas in the local educational agency—

(i)to identify eligible school attendance areas;

(ii)to determine the ranking of each area; and

(iii)to determine allocations under subsection (c).

(B)For measuring the number of students in low-income families in secondary schools, the local educational agency shall use the same measure of poverty, which shall be—

(i)the measure described under subparagraph (A); or

(ii)subject to meeting the conditions of subparagraph (C), an accurate estimate of the number of students in low-income families in a secondary school that is calculated by applying the average percentage of students in low-income families of the elementary school attendance areas as calculated under subparagraph (A) that feed into the secondary school to the number of students enrolled in such school.

(C)The local educational agency shall have the option to use the measure of poverty described in subparagraph (B)(ii) after—

(i)conducting outreach to secondary schools within such agency to inform such schools of the option to use such measure; and

(ii)a majority of such schools have approved the use of such measure.

(6)This subsection shall not apply to a local educational agency with a total enrollment of less than 1,000 children.

(7)The Secretary may approve a local educational agency’s written request for a waiver of the requirements of subsections (a) and (c), and permit such agency to treat as eligible, and serve, any school that children attend with a State-ordered, court-ordered school desegregation plan or a plan that continues to be implemented in accordance with a State-ordered or court-ordered desegregation plan, if—

(A)the number of economically disadvantaged children enrolled in the school is at least 25 percent of the school’s total enrollment; and

(B)the Secretary determines on the basis of a written request from such agency and in accordance with such criteria as the Secretary establishes, that approval of that request would further the purposes of this part.

(b)(1)Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), a local educational agency may—

(A)designate as eligible any school attendance area or school in which at least 35 percent of the children are from low-income families;

(B)use funds received under this part in a school that is not in an eligible school attendance area, if the percentage of children from low-income families enrolled in the school is equal to or greater than the percentage of such children in a participating school attendance area of such agency;

(C)designate and serve a school attendance area or school that is not eligible under this section, but that was eligible and that was served in the preceding fiscal year, but only for 1 additional fiscal year; and

(D)elect not to serve an eligible school attendance area or eligible school that has a higher percentage of children from low-income families if—

(i)the school meets the comparability requirements of section 6321(c) of this title;

(ii)the school is receiving supplemental funds from other State or local sources that are spent according to the requirements of section 6314 or 6315 of this title; and

(iii)the funds expended from such other sources equal or exceed the amount that would be provided under this part.

(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(D), the number of children attending private elementary schools and secondary schools who are to receive services, and the assistance such children are to receive under this part, shall be determined without regard to whether the public school attendance area in which such children reside is assisted under subparagraph (A).

(c)(1)A local educational agency shall allocate funds received under this part to eligible school attendance areas or eligible schools, identified under subsections (a) and (b), in rank order, on the basis of the total number of children from low-income families in each area or school.

(2)(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the per-pupil amount of funds allocated to each school attendance area or school under paragraph (1) shall be at least 125 percent of the per-pupil amount of funds a local educational agency received for that year under the poverty criteria described by the local educational agency in the plan submitted under section 6312 of this title, except that this paragraph shall not apply to a local educational agency that only serves schools in which the percentage of such children is 35 percent or greater.

(B)A local educational agency may reduce the amount of funds allocated under subparagraph (A) for a school attendance area or school by the amount of any supplemental State and local funds expended in that school attendance area or school for programs that meet the requirements of section 6314 or 6315 of this title.

(3)(A)A local educational agency shall reserve such funds as are necessary under this part, determined in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C), to provide services comparable to those provided to children in schools funded under this part to serve—

(i)homeless children and youths, including providing educationally related support services to children in shelters and other locations where children may live;

(ii)children in local institutions for neglected children; and

(iii)if appropriate, children in local institutions for delinquent children, and neglected or delinquent children in community day programs.

(B)The share of funds determined under subparagraph (A) shall be determined—

(i)based on the total allocation received by the local educational agency; and

(ii)prior to any allowable expenditures or transfers by the local educational agency.

(C)Funds reserved under subparagraph (A)(i) may be—

(i)determined based on a needs assessment of homeless children and youths in the local educational agency, taking into consideration the number and needs of homeless children and youths in the local educational agency, and which needs assessment may be the same needs assessment as conducted under section 11433(b)(1) of title 42; and

(ii)used to provide homeless children and youths with services not ordinarily provided to other students under this part, including providing—

(I)funding for the liaison designated pursuant to section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of title 42; and

(II)transportation pursuant to section 11432(g)(1)(J)(iii) of such title.

(4)A local educational agency may reserve such funds as are necessary from those funds received by the local educational agency under subchapter II, and not more than 5 percent of those funds received by the local educational agency under subpart 2 of this part, to provide financial incentives and rewards to teachers who serve in schools eligible under this section and identified for comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d) of this title for the purpose of attracting and retaining qualified and effective teachers.

(5)A local educational agency may reserve funds made available to carry out this section to provide early childhood education programs for eligible children.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(5)(A), is act June 4, 1946, ch. 281, 60 Stat. 230, which is classified generally to chapter 13 (§ 1751 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1751 of Title 42 and Tables. The Social Security Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(5)(A), is act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, 49 Stat. 620. Part A of title IV of the Act is classified generally to part A (§ 601 et seq.) of subchapter IV of chapter 7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1305 of Title 42 and Tables.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 6313, Pub. L. 89–10, title I, § 1113, as added Pub. L. 103–382, title I, § 101, Oct. 20, 1994, 108 Stat. 3532; amended Pub. L. 104–193, title I, § 110(j)(1), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2172; Pub. L. 106–78, title VII, § 752(b)(10), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1169, related to eligible school attendance areas, prior to the general amendment of this subchapter by Pub. L. 107–110.

Amendments

2015—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(1)(A), added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “If funds allocated in accordance with subsection (c) of this section are insufficient to serve all eligible school attendance areas, a local educational agency shall— “(A) annually rank, without regard to grade spans, such agency’s eligible school attendance areas in which the concentration of children from low-income families exceeds 75 percent from highest to lowest according to the percentage of children from low-income families; and “(B) serve such eligible school attendance areas in rank order.” Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(1)(B), added par. (5) and struck out former par. (5). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The local educational agency shall use the same measure of poverty, which measure shall be the number of children ages 5 through 17 in poverty counted in the most recent census data approved by the Secretary, the number of children eligible for free and reduced priced lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the number of children in families receiving assistance under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, or the number of children eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program, or a composite of such indicators, with respect to all school attendance areas in the local educational agency— “(A) to identify eligible school attendance areas; “(B) to determine the ranking of each area; and “(C) to determine allocations under subsection (c) of this section.” Subsec. (b)(1)(D)(i). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(2), made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 6321(c) of this title. Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(3)(A), added par. (3) and struck out former par. (3). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “A local educational agency shall reserve such funds as are necessary under this part to provide services comparable to those provided to children in schools funded under this part to serve— “(A) homeless children who do not attend participating schools, including providing educationally related support services to children in shelters and other locations where children may live; “(B) children in local institutions for neglected children; and “(C) if appropriate, children in local institutions for delinquent children, and neglected or delinquent children in community day school programs.” Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(3)(B), substituted “comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 6311(d)” for “school improvement, corrective action, and restructuring under section 6316(b)”. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 114–95, § 1007(3)(C), added par. (5).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2015 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive programs and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title.