Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110
§6313 Eligible School Attendance Areas
Title 20 › CHAPTER 70 — STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS › SUBCHAPTER I — IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED › Part A — Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies › subpart 1 — basic program requirements › § 6313
Summary
Local school districts must use these funds only in school areas that qualify as "eligible." A school attendance area is the neighborhood a school serves. An area is eligible if its share of low-income children 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 serve areas where more than 75% of the children are low-income, ranking them from highest to lowest and serving them in that order. For high schools, the district may lower that cutoff to 50%. After those areas are served, the district ranks and serves the remaining eligible areas by poverty level, either by grade span or for the whole district. Districts must use the same way to count low-income children for all areas — for example, census data for children 5–17 in poverty, free/reduced lunch counts, children in certain public assistance programs, Medicaid eligibility, or a mix of these. For secondary schools, districts may use an estimate based on feeder elementary schools if they tell the secondary schools and most agree. Districts with fewer than 1,000 students are exempt. The Secretary can waive some rules for schools under court- or state-ordered desegregation plans if at least 25% of children are low-income and approval helps the program’s goals. Districts may also choose extra options. They can treat areas or schools with at least 35% low-income as eligible, keep serving a school that was eligible last year for one more year, or serve a non-eligible school that has as high or higher poverty than a participating area. Money must be given to eligible areas in rank order based on how many low-income children live there. Each area’s per-student amount must generally be at least 125% of a district’s stated per-pupil poverty amount, unless the district only serves schools with 35% or more low-income students; the district can reduce that amount by other qualifying State or local funds already spent in the school. Districts must set aside funds needed to help homeless students, children in local institutions for neglected children, and when appropriate, children in institutions for delinquent youth. They may also reserve funds for teacher incentives in struggling schools (up to certain limits) and for early childhood education.
Full Legal Text
Title 20, §6313
Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Determination
(1)In general
A local educational agency shall use funds received under this part only in eligible school attendance areas.
(2)Eligible school attendance areas
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)Ranking order
(A)Ranking
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)Exception
A local educational agency may lower the threshold in subparagraph (A)(i) to 50 percent for high schools served by such agency.
(4)Remaining funds
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)Measures
(A)In general
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)Secondary schools
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)Measure of poverty
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)Exception
This subsection shall not apply to a local educational agency with a total enrollment of less than 1,000 children.
(7)Waiver for desegregation plans
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)Local educational agency discretion
(1)In general
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)Special rule
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)Allocations
(1)In general
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)Special rule
(A)In general
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)Exception
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)Reservation of funds
(A)In general
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)Method of determination
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)Homeless children and youths
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)Financial incentives and rewards reservation
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)Early childhood education
A local educational agency may reserve funds made available to carry out this section to provide early childhood education programs for eligible children.
Legislative History
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.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
20 U.S.C. § 6313
Title 20, Education
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110