What Is Title IV-A?
Title IV-A refers to Title IV, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) — formally named the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) Grants program. It is one of the most flexible federal education funding streams available to public K-12 schools, and it is the most commonly used source for funding school counseling tools, SEL programs, and student mental health resources.
Unlike competitive grant programs, Title IV-A is a formula grant — meaning funds flow automatically from the federal government to states, and then from states to local education agencies (LEAs, i.e., school districts), based on enrollment and Title I eligibility data. There is no competitive application. Your district almost certainly already has an active Title IV-A allocation right now.
Title IV-A is not a grant you apply for — your district already has these funds. The question is simply whether your district has allocated them, and whether your proposed tool meets the allowable uses. Both answers are almost always yes.
The program was established under ESSA (2015) and replaced the previous Safe and Drug-Free Schools program with a broader, more flexible funding structure. It is authorized under 20 U.S.C. §§ 7111–7122 and annually funded through the federal appropriations process. For FY2025, Congress appropriated approximately $1.4 billion for Title IV-A — distributed to every eligible LEA in every state.
The 3 Funding Pillars
Title IV-A funds must be allocated across three statutory "pillars." School counseling and SEL tools fall under Pillar 2.
Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities
Arts, music, STEM, college/career readiness, foreign languages. Minimum 10% of LEA allocation if receiving ≥$30,000.
Safe & Healthy Students
Mental health, SEL, school counseling, substance abuse prevention, bullying prevention, physical/mental wellbeing. Minimum 10% if receiving ≥$30,000.
Effective Use of Technology
Ed-tech infrastructure, digital learning, blended/online instruction. No more than 15% of LEA allocation if receiving ≥$30,000.
If your LEA receives less than $30,000 in Title IV-A funds, the 10%/15% allocation minimums do not apply. You may spend the entire amount on any single pillar — including Safe & Healthy Students.
What Title IV-A Can Fund
Under the Safe & Healthy Students pillar, ESSA §4108 explicitly authorizes a wide range of school counseling and mental health expenditures.
Explicitly Authorized Uses Under ESSA §4108
- •School counseling services and programs
- •Student mental health and wellbeing
- •Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs
- •Bullying, harassment & violence prevention
- •Drug and substance abuse prevention
- •Trauma-informed practices and tools
- •Early intervention programs
- •Family engagement in student wellbeing
- •Construction or major renovations
- •Supplanting (replacing existing budget items)
- •General instructional tools unrelated to SEL/mental health
- •Any tool that can't demonstrate alignment with the 3 pillars
Supplanting rule: Title IV-A cannot be used to replace spending your district was already making. It must fund new or expanded activities. A new tool like Story Time Builders that wasn't previously budgeted clearly meets this requirement.
Who Qualifies for Title IV-A?
The short answer: virtually every public school in the United States. Title IV-A is available to all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that receive Title I funding — which is the vast majority of public school districts. There is no competitive application or minimum poverty rate required to access Title IV-A.
Eligibility Requirements
Contact your district's Title IV-A Coordinator or grants office and ask: "What is our current Title IV-A allocation, and what is the remaining unobligated balance for this fiscal year?" Most districts have unspent Title IV-A funds available — especially in the Safe & Healthy Students pillar.
How Much Funding Is Available?
Title IV-A allocations vary significantly by district size and Title I funding level. Here are typical ranges to help you gauge what your district may have available:
| District Size | Typical Title IV-A Allocation |
|---|---|
| Small (<1,000 students) | $10,000 – $30,000 |
| Medium (1,000–5,000) | $30,000 – $150,000 |
| Large (5,000–20,000) | $150,000 – $600,000 |
| Very Large (20,000+) | $600,000 – $5M+ |
Story Time Builders Counselor Pro costs $99/year. A School plan is $499/year. Even a small district with $10,000 in Title IV-A funds has more than enough. Most counselors fund Story Time Builders with less than 1% of their district's Title IV-A allocation.
Why Story Time Builders Qualifies
Here is the exact language to use when justifying this purchase to your district grants coordinator.
"Story Time Builders directly supports the Safe and Healthy Students pillar of Title IV-A (ESSA §4108) by providing an evidence-based school counseling tool that generates personalized therapeutic stories for K-8 students. The platform addresses student mental health, social-emotional learning, and family engagement — all explicitly authorized uses under 20 U.S.C. §7118. It aligns with all six CASEL competency domains and integrates with MTSS Tier 1 and Tier 2 frameworks, supporting the district's existing SEL and student wellness goals."
The 4-Step Procurement Process
Follow these steps in order. We provide every document mentioned. Most districts approve in 4–6 weeks.
Confirm your district has Title IV-A funds available
Email your district's Title IV-A coordinator or grants office: "What is our current Title IV-A allocation, and what is the unobligated balance in the Safe & Healthy Students pillar?" In most districts, there is unspent Pillar 2 money available, especially mid-year.
Request your free procurement package from Story Time Builders
Email schools@storytimebuilders.com or use the form at the bottom of this page. We'll send your complete bundle within 24 hours, including the sole-source justification letter already written and ready to submit.
Submit the procurement bundle to your grants coordinator
Forward the full packet to your district's grants or purchasing coordinator. The key document is the sole-source justification letter, which explains why Story Time Builders can be purchased without a competitive bid. Most coordinators recognize this immediately as a standard software procurement.
Issue a Purchase Order and we onboard you within 48 hours
Once approved, your district issues a PO. We accept all standard purchase orders and offer Net 30 invoicing. After PO receipt, your school or district account is activated and your onboarding call is scheduled within 48 hours.
Complete Document Checklist
Every document your district will ask for — and exactly what's included in the free procurement package we send within 24 hours.
Delivered within 24 hours · schools@storytimebuilders.com
Handling District Objections
Here are the most common pushbacks from district purchasing and grants offices — and exactly how to respond.
Response: Story Time Builders is the only AI-powered bibliotherapy platform that generates fully personalized, clinically-grounded K-8 therapeutic stories mapped to all six CASEL domains, integrated with MTSS Tier 1 and Tier 2, and compliant with FERPA and COPPA — in under two minutes. Because no comparable product offers these specific combined features, a sole-source procurement is appropriate under standard competitive procurement exceptions. The sole-source justification letter in our procurement package documents this in detail.
Response: ESSA §4108(b) explicitly authorizes LEAs to use Title IV-A Safe & Healthy Students funds for "school counseling and mental health programs" and "social and emotional learning programs." Story Time Builders provides an AI-powered school counseling tool that is CASEL-aligned and peer-reviewed. Our Title IV-A Eligibility Memo cites the specific statutory authority and explains the alignment in detail.
Response: Counselor Pro is only $99/year. Even a small district with $10,000 in Title IV-A funds has the equivalent of 100 Counselor Pro licenses available. If Pillar 2 funds are exhausted, we can also be funded under Title II-A (Supporting Effective Instruction) as a counselor professional development tool, or Title I-A for high-need schools. We're happy to provide eligibility memos for all three programs.
Response: Our FERPA DPA and SOC 2 Type II report (available under NDA) provide the documentation district IT departments typically need for approval. We are also happy to schedule a 20-minute call with your IT security team to walk through our data handling practices. Most district IT reviews are completed in 1–2 weeks once documentation is provided. We've never had a tool fail district IT review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Software subscriptions and licensing fees are allowable Title IV-A expenditures when the software serves an authorized purpose under the three pillars. Annual SaaS subscriptions like Story Time Builders are procured the same way as other district software — via purchase order, with a sole-source justification if bypassing competitive bid.
Title IV-A is a formula grant — your district receives funds annually based on enrollment data, without a competitive application. Your district submits a consolidated plan or amendment to include Title IV-A activities, but this is typically an administrative update, not a full new application. Once Story Time Builders is in your district's Title IV-A plan, renewing it each year is straightforward.
Title IV-A (Student Support & Academic Enrichment) is the most flexible and covers SEL, mental health, and student wellbeing — the primary funding path for Story Time Builders. Title II-A (Supporting Effective Instruction) covers counselor professional development and training — applicable if you're framing Story Time Builders as a tool for counselor skill-building. Title I-A (Improving Academic Achievement) is restricted to schools with high concentrations of students in poverty (40%+ free/reduced lunch) but offers larger allocations for those schools. We provide eligibility documentation for all three.
Based on our experience with 2,400+ schools, the typical timeline is 4–6 weeks from initial submission to PO issuance. Large districts with formal approval committees can take 6–8 weeks. Small districts with more streamlined processes sometimes approve in 2–3 weeks. The biggest variable is IT security review — we've found that providing the FERPA DPA and SOC 2 summary upfront reduces IT review time significantly.
Yes — we offer a free 30-day Counselor Pro trial so you can start using the platform immediately while the procurement process runs. There is no credit card required to start the trial. Once your district approves and issues a PO, your trial seamlessly transitions to your funded annual plan.
First, confirm this with your grants coordinator — many districts underutilize their Pillar 2 allocation. If funds truly are exhausted for this fiscal year, we can help you plan ahead: get the sole-source letter and DPA approved now, and have a PO issued at the start of the next fiscal year when new Title IV-A funds are allocated. Alternatively, Title II-A or state-level SEL/mental health grants may be available as backup sources.