“Highlights from recent research.”   81% of districts use Title IIA funds for professional learning Title IIA of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides funding for the preparation, recruitment, and training of educators. A report from the U.S. Department of Education examined how states and districts spent Title IIA funds in 2019-20, based on surveys of district and state leaders.   Almost 60% of the funding was spent on professional learning, with 81% of districts allocating funding to that purpose, compared to 34% of districts that applied the funding to teacher recruitment and 21% to class size reduction, among other uses. Although 93% of districts used funding for “short-term training,” 77% also applied it to “longer term training and education” and just over half (52%) used