How Do New York Schools Fund English Language Learner Programs?

English language learner (ELL) programs in New York’s public schools are paid for through three layers of money: a federal grant called Title III, Part A; New York State aid, chiefly through the Foundation Aid formula; and local school district funds. The federal layer is the easiest to see, because the New York State Education Department (NYSED) publishes a dollar amount for every district and charter school that receives it. But the federal grant is designed to supplement, not replace, the state and local money that does most of the work. State regulation requires districts to provide services to English language learners whether or not a federal grant arrives.

The three funding layers

1. Federal: Title III, Part A

Title III, Part A is the main federal funding stream for English learners under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). NYSED publishes a school-year allocation for each local education agency (LEA) — a term that covers both traditional school districts and charter schools. The 2025-26 list is posted under NYSED’s ESSA pages, alongside the ESSA Consolidated Application that districts use to apply for the money. Amounts on that list range from a few hundred dollars for small districts to hundreds of thousands for large urban ones. Under ESSA, a state may also reserve part of its Title III allotment for immigrant children and youth activities, a separate use of the same federal title.

2. State: Foundation Aid

New York’s largest state aid stream is Foundation Aid, calculated per district using enrollment, regional costs, and a pupil-need measure. In that formula, English language learners are counted alongside students from low-income families in a combined extraordinary needs factor, so districts with higher shares of both generally receive more aid per pupil. Foundation Aid is not an ELL program grant; it is general operating aid that districts may use across their budgets. Its weights and funding levels are set through the state budget process and change from year to year, so any single-year description is a snapshot. Families should confirm current details with NYSED’s formula documentation.

3. Local funds

Districts also pay for ELL services out of their own budgets — local property tax revenue, and in New York City a combination of city and state funds. Because Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education sets standards for identifying and serving English language learners, a district’s obligation to serve those students does not depend on whether it receives a Title III grant at all.

How a federal Title III dollar reaches a New York district

1. Congress appropriates money for Title III, Part A as part of the federal education budget.
2. The U.S. Department of Education allocates funds to states using a formula tied to counts of English learners and immigrant children.
3. NYSED receives the state allotment and administers it under ESSA, including the ESSA Consolidated Application process.
4. NYSED calculates each LEA’s share and publishes the result. The 2025-26 list shows a BEDS code (New York’s Basic Educational Data System identifier for a school or district), a project code, the LEA name, and the dollar allocation.
5. Districts apply and budget the money for allowable activities, typically through the consolidated application.
6. Districts spend and report, and NYSED monitors compliance.

What the 2025-26 allocations look like

NYSED’s published list for 2025-26 covers hundreds of LEAs. The table below is a small extract, chosen to show the range of amounts rather than to rank anyone.

The full list, including every LEA and its exact allocation, is on NYSED’s site. The extract above is not a complete accounting of ELL spending in any of these communities.

Why the amounts vary so much

Title III allocations follow student counts. A district or charter school with few English learners receives a small allocation; a district with thousands receives a large one. Two other features of the list are worth noticing. First, charter schools appear alongside traditional districts — in New York, charter schools are LEAs for federal grant purposes and receive their own allocations. Second, the smallest amounts are genuinely small: a few hundred dollars does not fund a teacher. That is one reason the federal grant is best understood as supplemental. It supports materials, professional development, tutoring, family engagement, and similar activities on top of the core program that state and local money pays for.

What the money has to buy: Part 154

New York’s requirements for English language learners sit in Part 154 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s audit of ELL programs, Part 154 specifies standards for identifying and providing educational services to English language learners, and students are generally entitled to receive an education in the district where they live, regardless of the language they speak. That includes the right to receive all core content instruction and to learn English and other subjects at the same academic level as other children. Within NYSED, the Office of Bilingual Education and World Languages (OBEWL) enforces Part 154 and provides guidance, professional development, and resources to schools.

In practice, this means a district must identify English learners, place them in an appropriate program such as English as a New Language or a bilingual education program, staff that program with appropriately certified teachers, and assess students’ English proficiency each year until they exit ELL status. Federal Title III money can pay for parts of that work, but it is not supposed to be the reason the work happens.

Oversight: what the state comptroller examined

The Office of the New York State Comptroller audited the State Education Department’s oversight of ELL programs, with the objective of determining whether SED adequately oversees whether school districts provide services to English language learners as required. The audit covered July 2019 through November 2023 and was issued on September 18, 2024 as report 2022-S-30. SED filed a 180-day response, published alongside the report.

The audit’s background section notes two context points that help explain why the topic draws scrutiny. SED data show ELL enrollment rising in New York, with the number of ELL students outside New York City increasing 8 percent from 2019-20 to 2022-23. And the U.S. Department of Education has documented a persistent achievement gap between students learning English and their English-proficient peers, measured through lower test scores and lower graduation rates.

What the numbers can and cannot tell you

• An allocation is not total spending. Title III amounts show one funding stream. They do not include Foundation Aid, local spending, or other state programs.
• Comparisons need denominators. A $30,000 allocation means something different in a district with 200 English learners than in one with 2,000. Per-pupil comparisons require current ELL counts from separate state reporting.
• Figures are nominal. The 2025-26 allocations are stated in that year’s dollars. Comparing them with earlier years without adjusting for inflation or funding changes will mislead.
• Small numbers are real, not missing. A $134 allocation is a published value, not a suppressed one; it generally reflects a small English learner count in that district.
• Funding and outcomes are not the same thing. Spending levels alone cannot show whether services are effective. That requires program and outcome data.

Questions parents and families can ask

• How does the district identify students as English language learners, and when are families notified?
• Which program model does my child’s school use — English as a New Language, bilingual education, or another approved model — and what does the daily schedule look like?
• What certifications do the teachers in that program hold?
• How is my child’s English proficiency measured each year, and what are the criteria for exiting ELL status?
• Does the district receive a Title III, Part A allocation, and how is it used? The amount is public on NYSED’s allocation page.
• What supports exist for families who speak a language other than English at home, including interpretation at meetings?
• If I disagree with a placement or exit decision, what is the review process?

Sources and methodology

This article draws on two primary sources: NYSED’s published 2025-26 Title III, Part A ELL allocations, and the Office of the New York State Comptroller’s September 18, 2024 audit of English Language Learners Programs (report 2022-S-30), which covers July 2019 through November 2023. The allocation table above is a partial extract from the NYSED list; the full list is the authoritative record for any individual district or charter school. Descriptions of Foundation Aid and Part 154 reflect the general structure of New York’s aid formula and state regulation; because formula weights and budget levels change annually, readers should confirm current details with NYSED documentation. Source-check date: October 14, 2026.