Two Arlington schools previously categorized as Title I campuses won’t be eligible for that designation in the fall, a change that some parents are concerned about the consequences of.
Abingdon and Hoffman-Boston elementary schools will no longer qualify for the extra federal funding that comes with the Title I designation. Seven Arlington Public Schools campuses will be Title I schools in the 2025-26 school year, according to the school district’s website.
Local news site ARL Now was first to report the changes.
Erin Mahaffey, Abingdon’s PTA president, said the Fairlington school has been Title I for years.
“The concerns lie in that our needs haven’t changed as a community,” Mahaffey said. “There haven’t been any major zoning changes or building changes that would impact our eligibility.”
Title I schools are those in which a specific portion of the school population is eligible for benefits, such as free breakfast and lunch meals. Those campuses traditionally receive extra federal funding for staff positions.
At Abingdon, Mahaffey said there are four-and-a-half teaching, ESL and support staff positions that are paid for with the extra funding. Students at Title I schools qualify for 10 free books every year, she said, and other “extras that county programs provide” could be in jeopardy.
For one, Mahaffey said Title I students get free transportation to and from field trips, and families get significant discounts on summer programming run through Arlington County.
The cause of the change is unclear, Mahaffey said. As of 2024, the school had a 29% eligibility rate for qualifying benefits. But as of April, Mahaffey said it fell to 20%.
That could be in part because of COVID-era waivers expiring, she said. During the pandemic, eligibility for federal programs expanded.
“There’s obviously concerns about documentation,” Mahaffey said. “Families that have undocumented people in their family do not want to file paperwork with counties or governments generally.”
Some teachers could leave the school, Mahaffey said, because educators at Title I schools are eligible for loan forgiveness programs.
Mahaffey said the community is working with the school district trying ”to secure funds and move funding around.”
According to the school division’s website, Title I funds supplement school budgets. Each campus crafts a plan, subject to Virginia Department of Education approval, for spending the funding.
WTOP has contacted Arlington Public Schools for comment on the changes.
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