Title II-A of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which focuses on supporting effective instruction, provides formula-based federal grants to states and school districts to improve the quality of teachers and school leaders. However, while districts routinely use these dollars for mentoring, recruitment and content-area training, SETDA researchers found that few direct them toward the kind of sustained, technology-focused learning that today’s classrooms demand.
Conducted in partnership with nonprofits International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the Learning Forward conference and the education symposium FullScale, with support from Google.org, MagicSchool AI, edWeb and the Center for Digital Education, the research outlines how states and districts currently spend Title II-A funds and offers guidance for using them to better meet educators’ digital learning needs.
AN UNDERUSED FEDERAL RESOURCE
According to the law, Title II-A was designed to prepare, train and recruit high-quality teachers, principals and other school leaders in support of student achievement.
The U.S. Department of Education allocates funds annually to state education agencies based on population and poverty data, and states may reserve up to 5 percent for statewide initiatives — but at least 95 percent must be distributed to public school districts through subgrants, as stated in the legislation.
In practice, however, technology training has represented only a small portion of how Title II-A funds are used. According to a U.S. Department of Education report summarizing state and district use of Title II-A funds in 2022-2023, 39 percent of districts reported using the funds for technology-related professional development, but only 5 percent listed technology as one of their two largest expenditures. As well, only nine states formally prioritized these funds for educator training on integrating technology into curricula and instruction.
PRIORITIZING SUSTAINABLE, IMPACTFUL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
SETDA’s research found that while Title II-A is among the most flexible sources of federal education funding, many states and districts have yet to tap its full potential for digital learning. The report identifies several system-level barriers that limit its impact, including inconsistent definitions of what effective technology-enabled instruction looks like, and a tendency to equate one-off “training” sessions with professional learning.
Ji Soo Song, SETDA’s director of projects and initiatives, helped lead the study and contributed to the 2024 National Education Technology Plan during the Biden administration. He said one of the most urgent challenges is ensuring that teachers receive the kind of sustained, supported development needed to translate technology access into meaningful classroom practices.
“The digital design divide is a new topic that we introduced in this latest iteration,” Song said. “We’ll be talking about what kind of support our educators need in order to translate that access into active use of technology for transformative teaching and learning … that’s all professional learning and coaching. And we know that Title II-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act can be one of the most flexible sources of federal dollars to do that kind of work.”
The distinction between short-term workshops and continuous coaching is central to SETDA’s recommendations. The organization calls for states and districts to invest in job-embedded coaching, peer collaboration and instructional leadership programs that help educators integrate technology into daily teaching, rather than treat it as an add-on.
Song said the timing is critical as AI enters more classrooms.
“It’s really important in this context right now, as educators struggle with, how do I deploy AI power tools responsibly, ethically and effectively into my classrooms?” he said.
FOUR AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Song referred to four major areas listed in SETDA’s research where state and local education leaders can refine how they invest Title II-A professional learning funds.
First, Song said states and districts need standardized, well-communicated definitions of effective instruction that uses technology and/or AI. A definition in a state AI policy, he said, is only useful if it is transmitted and implemented at the district level.
Districts also need to prioritize sustained learning over isolated training meetings. According to Song, too many efforts funded by Title II-A consist of brief sessions focused on specific ed-tech tools. SETDA urged a shift toward ongoing, evidence-based professional learning cycles that emphasize pedagogy, not products.
“It’s often these one-off tool-based trainings rather than sustained professional learning that are grounded in evidence-based frameworks for good teaching and learning,” Song said. “So there’s a gap there.”
Song also emphasized a need for better data on outcomes. States often track Title II-A use through compliance metrics, such as the number of teachers trained or sessions held, he said. SETDA’s research recommends collecting richer qualitative data on how educators’ instructional practice changes over time.
Lastly, there is no consistent system for disseminating successful professional learning models between districts, Song said. He added that building networks to engage in cross-district sharing could strengthen collective learning capacity.
“How can we build systems that allow for that kind of interdistrict sharing of good practices when it comes to threshold learning and coaching?” he said.
LOOKING AHEAD
Song said it’s incumbent upon education leaders to think differently about how they deploy Title II-A dollars, especially as districts navigate an ongoing government shutdown and the uncertainty of future education funding.
“What can we do to rethink how we invest these dollars to meet the needs of educators that are calling for more AI-related supports and other ed-tech tools?” he said.
The aims of Title II-A — improving educator effectiveness and ensuring equitable access to skilled teachers — align closely with ongoing efforts to close digital divides. And, according to SETDA, the flexibility in funding allows states and districts to target money toward emerging needs, such as developing AI literacy, improving data ethics, or building teacher capacity for blended and personalized learning.
