The Eisenhower professional development program and the class size reduction program have been consolidated into a single, flexible program, providing local school districts with greater freedom and resources than ever before to pursue the goal of placing a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, reducing class size and providing quality teacher activities.

The program requires that every newly hired teacher must be "highly qualified" and all existing teachers must meet the same standard. Almost fifty million dollars has been allocated to train and retrain skilled educators for Tennessee.

LEA's must maintain adequate progress toward meeting state goals. If adequate yearly progress is not maintained, local agencies may be required to prohibit hiring paraprofessionals and channel additional Title funds toward meeting goals.

Local distribution of Title funds is determined by a needs assessment developed by each school and then combined for a county-wide assessment. Consideration is given to schools that have the largest class size average or are identified as a candidate for Title I School Improvement.

Title II - Part A funds may be used for professional development, class size reduction or teacher and principal recruitment/retention. It can also fund signing bonuses, financial incentives, mentoring, merit pay, teacher testing, educational assistant testing (ParaPro Assessment) and pay differentiation initiatives.