3/21/2025
Budgeting Strategies for Leaders: Maximize Title III Funding To Support Emergent Bilinguals
With the ending of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, many district leaders are looking for ways to continue the literacy successes they’ve experienced, particularly for English Learners or Emergent Bilinguals.
Emergent Bilinguals, who now make up more than 10% of the United States public school population, come to the classroom with varying degrees of English language proficiency. According to Lexia® Chief Learning Officer Dr. Liz Brooke’s white paper, “Understanding the Unique Instructional Needs of Emergent Bilinguals,” these students require specific instructional strategies, all rooted in the science of reading, to become successful readers, including:
Explicit and intensive instruction in phonological awareness and phonics to develop decoding skills
Speaking practice and vocabulary opportunities
Narrative and expository texts to practice comprehension strategies
Exposure to print and new vocabulary regularly to increase reading fluency
Structured, independent reading with purposeful content
Opportunities for academic discussion to develop verbal English skills
Supporting Emergent Bilinguals in 2025 and Beyond
District administrators can still access other federal funding sources to help Emergent Bilinguals build literacy and language skills. Title III funds, for example, are currently available to districts (through annual state distributions) through the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Funds support mostly local programs that assist students in acquiring English language proficiency and meeting academic achievement standards.
District leaders are required to use Title III funds for two required purposes: Professional development and providing a Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP), along with providing and implementing other effective activities and strategies that enhance or supplement their LIEPs, which must include parent, family, and community engagement activities, and strategies that serve to coordinate and align related programs. A Local Education Agency (LEA) may also use Title III funds to support community participation programs, family literacy services, parent outreach, and training aimed at supporting Emergent Bilingual students and their families.
How Do District Leaders Access Title III Funding?
In fiscal year 2024, the government allocated $890 million in Title III funding to states, which must allocate most of their share to eligible school districts based on student enrollment data and specific needs related to Emergent Bilingual education. (President Joe Biden had requested $940 million in Title III funds in his proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, a 5.6% increase.)
Once state leaders receive Title III funds from the DOE, they distribute money to LEAs on a formula based on the number of Emergent Bilinguals served, their level of need, and the goals outlined in the state's plan. LEAs must apply for and manage expenditures to support programs that improve the English language proficiency and academic achievement of Emergent Bilinguals. View copies of all current state plans.
Here are some rules SEAs and LEAs must follow:
According to USDOE policy, states may only reserve up to 5% of the total state grant for state activities; states must distribute 95% of Title III funds for districts.
States give districts enough time to spend Title III funds in a thoughtful and meaningful way during the school year for which the funds are intended to be used. (In some cases, states may reallocate funds made to districts.)
District leaders must also meet specific criteria and demonstrate how their plans align with Title III requirements in their applications, which typically include how they plan to spend Title III funds to support students and families.
What Can Title III Be Used For?
Generally speaking, Title III funds must support supplementary services as part of a language instruction program for Emergent Bilinguals in these ways:
Increase the English language proficiency of Emergent Bilinguals by providing effective language instruction programs
Provide effective professional development to classroom teachers, principals, and other school leaders, administrators, and other school or community-based organizational personnel
Provide activities and strategies that enhance educational programs for English Learners, which include parent, family, and community engagement
Title III funds cannot be used to satisfy core educational requirements that all students are entitled to receive under local, state, or federal law. For example, Title III funds wouldn’t be used to make an initial assessment of English language proficiency, if a student’s home survey indicated they were an Emergent Bilingual student.
What Should District Leaders Consider When Creating and Implementing Title III Strategies?
When considering how to best use your Title III funds, it’s important to take a strategic approach to most effectively meet the needs of Emergent Bilinguals. Here are some key questions to answer when looking at supplementary programs, tools, and professional development support:
Alignment With Title III Goals
Does the tool provide real-time insights into a student’s English language acquisition?
Does the program or tool adapt to meet student proficiency levels and learning paces?
Do programs or tools offer multilingual resources to support family engagement and community involvement?
Evidence-Based and Research-Backed
Are tools or programs validated by the What Works Clearinghouse or other entities that evaluate the efficacy of educational best practices?
Do programs support phonics, fluency, comprehension, academic vocabulary development, and other evidence-based components rooted in the science of reading?
Do tools and programs encourage native language use as a bridge to English proficiency?
Accessibility
Do programs provide scaffolded language supports, including speech recognition?
Do tools include text-to-speech, visual aids, or interactive features?
Do programs work on various devices to support school and home use?
Teacher Support and Professional Development
Do programs include self-paced teacher training, live webinars, and implementation coaching?
Do professional development tools include printable lesson plans, writing prompts, and/or discussion guides for teachers?
Compliance, Scalability, and Cost-Effectiveness
Do practices ensure compliance with federal and state English Language proficiency requirements?
Do programs support small-group or whole-class instruction, and can they be scaled for districtwide implementation?
Are programs affordable beyond the grant funding period, and do they include options for site licenses or per-student pricing?
By answering these questions, you can narrow down the solutions you consider to support Title III activities.
Title III Reporting Requirements
Administrators who receive Title III funds must also report to their state each year how funds helped Emergent Bilingual students progress academically. Title I already requires state leaders and LEAs to report on Emergent Bilinguals’ progress in achieving English language proficiency, attainment of English language proficiency, academic achievement, and high school graduation rates. Under Title III, state and district leaders must satisfy additional reporting requirements. For example, here’s what district administrators must report to their state leaders:
Title III programs and activities
Number and percentage of Emergent Bilinguals making progress toward English language proficiency
Number and percentage of Emergent Bilinguals who attain proficiency and exit LIEPs
Number and percentage of former Emergent Bilinguals who meet academic content standards (for four years)
Number and percentage of Emergent Bilinguals who have not exited LIEPs after five years as an English Learner
Any other information required by the state
Picking the right tool and remaining in compliance with Title III may seem daunting, but there are solutions built to meet students’ needs and give your district the data it needs to show literacy progress.
How Lexia Supports Emergent Bilinguals Under Title III
Lexia’s suite of programs—Lexia English Language Development™, Lexia® Core5® Reading, and Lexia® PowerUp Literacy®—can help your educators provide comprehensive support for Emergent Bilinguals while aligning with Title III requirements. Here’s how each solution supports English language acquisition and development.
Lexia English Language Development
Lexia English is an Adaptive Blended Learning program that supports Emergent Bilingual students’ English language acquisition through academic conversations. The program integrates speaking, listening, and grammar in the subjects of math, science, social studies, general knowledge, and biographies.
During the 2023–2024 school year, Lexia English was used by 162,100 students and 77,600 educators at 7,400 schools. With 4.3 million conversations practiced in the program last year, Lexia English helped thousands of students across the country improve their English language proficiency.
Here’s how Lexia English aligns with Title III.
Title III Requirement | Lexia English Alignment |
|---|---|
Monitors and reports the progress of English Learners | Provides adaptive learning to track progress in speaking, listening, and grammar skills, helping teachers understand which content students need to complete and prioritize instructional time. |
Improves instruction through educational technology | A blended learning program integrates speaking, listening, and grammar. It uses adaptive technology to personalize learning, offering students feedback through speech recognition and interactive lessons. |
Includes scaffolded and personalized instruction | Adjusts to student needs with standard and scaffolded instruction. Learners progress through content after demonstrating proficiency or receive targeted support when errors are made. |
Offers real-time progress monitoring and assessment | Educators receive actionable data on student performance via Assessment Without Testing®, enabling personalized instruction without waiting for standardized test results. |
Provides access to educational technology | Because Lexia English is an Adaptive Blended Learning program, it eliminates the need for hardware or installation costs. It offers scalability, automatic updates, and accessibility from any internet-enabled device. |
Supports elementary school students | Focuses on developing speaking and listening skills for K–6 students, providing immersive activities that naturally build language skills in academic contexts. |
Provides professional development for educators | Offers professional development through online sessions, live support, and self-paced eLearning opportunities. It also provides optional District and School Success Partnerships to enhance implementation and long-term English language goals. |
Engages parents and families | Includes resources for families, such as home-use letters in multiple languages and an informational video to help parents support their child’s learning. |
Coordinates and aligns with other federal and state programs | Can be integrated with funds from state and local sources, including Title I, Part A, Title IV, Part A, IDEA, Part B, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, and Comprehensive Literacy State Development Grants. |
Lexia Core5 Reading
Built on the science of reading, Core5 is a research-proven program that accelerates the development of literacy skills for students of all abilities, helping them make the critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn. While Core5 is designed to benefit general education students, it offers specific features that make it particularly effective for Emergent Bilinguals learning to read in English:
Native Language Support: Core5 provides interactive and engaging scaffolding in students’ native languages, helping them bridge the gap between their first language and English.
Culturally Responsive Texts: The program incorporates diverse, culturally relevant reading materials that resonate with students from various backgrounds.
These features ensure Emergent Bilinguals can more effectively engage with content, building their literacy skills while honoring their linguistic and cultural heritage. This chart shows how Core5 aligns with Title III.
Title III Requirement | Core5 Alignment |
|---|---|
Provides effective language instruction educational programs for Emergent Bilinguals | Research-based, Adaptive Blended Learning program personalizes reading instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. |
Demonstrates success in increasing English proficiency and academic achievement | Accelerates reading skill development, predicts student year-end performance, and provides data-driven action plans for differentiation. |
Research- and evidence-based | Backed by peer-reviewed research studies that meet the highest ESSA evidence standards (8 strong, 2 moderate, and 8 promising studies). It has been recognized by CASE, NCII, WIDA, LEAP Innovations, and FCRR. |
Monitors and reports Emergent Bilinguals’ progress in achieving proficiency and academic success | Features Auto Placement, Performance Predictors, and Prescription of Instructional Intensity to track progress and ensure targeted interventions. |
Offers regular assessment and progress monitoring | Built-in Assessment Without Testing feature gathers data without interrupting instruction, ensuring continuous monitoring of student performance. |
Supports data management and reporting | The myLexia® educator website provides detailed, interactive reports at the student, class, school, and district levels, helping educators make data-driven decisions. |
Emergent Bilinguals who use both Lexia English and Core5 have experienced statistically significant results. One study showed students using both Core5 and Lexia English showed the highest effect size (0.34) on the overall California English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPAC) compared to students who did not use any Lexia® products.
Both programs contribute to building a robust English vocabulary, with Core5 focusing on reading vocabulary and Lexia English emphasizing spoken academic vocabulary. While Core5 addresses grammar in the context of reading, Lexia English gives Emergent Bilinguals explicit instruction and practice in English grammar structures. Students get reading comprehension practice in Core5, while Lexia English supports their oral language comprehension, which transfers to reading comprehension.
Lexia PowerUp Literacy
PowerUp accelerates literacy gains for students in grades 6–12 who are at risk of not meeting College- and Career-Ready Standards. Rooted in the science of reading and proven to be up to five times as effective as the average middle school reading intervention, PowerUp enables students—including Emergent Bilinguals—to make substantial growth in a single academic year.
Recently, Emergent Bilinguals in a diverse Michigan district achieved literacy success using PowerUp. Kentwood Public Schools serves about 9,200 students, 23% of whom are Emergent Bilinguals, and another 6% who are former Emergent Bilinguals. In 2021, Kentwood educators piloted PowerUp to keep Emergent Bilinguals engaged in their literacy development.
According to the district’s midyear reading inventory, 46% of students had already hit their end-of-year Lexile® growth goal for the 2022–2023 school year after using PowerUp, illustrating the tool’s positive effect on this population.
Here's how PowerUp aligns with Title III.
Title III Requirements | PowerUp Alignment |
|---|---|
Monitors and reports Emergent Bilinguals’ progress in English proficiency and academic achievement |
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Improves instruction by acquiring or developing educational technology |
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Provides effective professional development for Emergent Bilingual instruction and assessment |
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Assists parents and families to become active participants in their child’s education |
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Looking Ahead
As a district administrator, you have many program choices to consider as you look to continue current programs and develop new strategies to meet the needs of Emergent Bilinguals in the next school year. Discover how Lexia can help support your plan with evidence-based solutions that improve literacy for all.
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