Funding · For federal programs & curriculum directors
Instructional coaching is a named, allowable use of several federal funding streams — the same dollars your district already receives each year. Stroll doesn't require new money; it fits inside funding you're already allocating. Here's which streams apply, why Stroll qualifies, and language you can lift straight into your application.
The primary fit
Title II-A is the federal government's main dedicated source for professional development, and instructional coaching is one of its most clearly allowable uses. If you fund coaching anywhere in your district, this is almost certainly the line Stroll belongs on.
ESEA §2103 · Local use of funds · $2.19B appropriated for FY 2026
Title II-A funds may be used to provide high-quality, personalized professional development that is evidence-based — including job-embedded instructional coaching. Stroll is the system districts use to run that coaching: it structures every cycle around one specific, followed-through change in teaching practice, and produces the documentation of coaching activity that the grant's evaluation requirement expects.
Title II-A also requires that funded activities be evidence-based under ESSA. That's Stroll's foundation, not an afterthought — see the evidence section below.
The evidence foundation
Every federal stream on this page requires funded activities to be evidence-based. ESSA defines four tiers. Stroll is designed around the strongest evidence in the coaching literature, and gives your district a clean, honest way to justify the spend.
At least one well-designed randomized controlled trial.
At least one well-designed quasi-experimental study.
At least one correlational study with statistical controls.
A logic model grounded in rigorous research, plus ongoing study of effects.
The honest version: the practice Stroll delivers — instructional coaching focused on sustained follow-through — carries Tier 1–2 evidence. Kraft, Blazar & Hogan's 2018 meta-analysis of 60 causal studies found coaching improved instruction by 0.49 SD and student achievement by 0.18 SD. As a specific tool, Stroll supports a Tier 4 justification: a research-grounded logic model plus the coaching records your district collects as it runs. Cite the coaching research base to meet the evidence requirement, and let Stroll's own documentation build your local case over time.
Source: Kraft, Blazar & Hogan (2018), Review of Educational Research.
Other streams that apply
If Title II-A is committed elsewhere, coaching is allowable under several other federal streams. Which fits depends on your schools and student population — your federal programs coordinator will know which lever is cleanest.
Supplemental funds for schools serving high concentrations of students from low-income families.
Why Stroll qualifies
In a schoolwide program, Title I-A can fund professional development — including coaching — that improves instruction for all students. Stroll fits where coaching is part of your Title I schoolwide plan.
Best for Title I schoolwide campuses tying coaching to a school improvement plan.
The flexible block grant for a well-rounded education, safe & healthy students, and effective use of technology.
Why Stroll qualifies
Coaching that strengthens well-rounded instruction or supports the effective use of instructional technology is allowable. Stroll's flexibility makes it a fit where Title IV-A dollars need a defensible, instruction-focused home.
Best for districts with uncommitted Title IV-A and a tech-integration or well-rounded angle.
Formula funds for rural districts, spendable across Title I, II, III, and IV allowable activities — with added flexibility through the Alternative Fund Use Authority.
Why Stroll qualifies
The Department of Education names instructional coaches to provide high-quality, school-based professional development as an allowable use of REAP funds. For small and rural districts, this is often the simplest, most flexible path.
Best for small & rural LEAs — check the REAP Master Eligibility Spreadsheet for your SRSA/RLIS status.
Federal special-education funds supporting services and personnel for students with disabilities.
Why Stroll qualifies
IDEA can fund professional development for staff who serve students with disabilities. Where coaching targets teachers of students with IEPs, Stroll is an allowable, documentable use.
Best for special-education-focused coaching; the use must connect to services for students with disabilities.
Putting it to work
They already know which of your Title streams have room. Bring them the paste-ready justification above — it's written to drop into a consolidated application.
Most districts build the next year's federal budget and consolidated application between January and spring. Coaching decided then funds the following school year.
Federal funds supplement, not supplant, existing spending. Stroll adds a new coaching capability rather than replacing a locally funded one — which is exactly how these dollars are meant to be used.
No demo required to see the price. $1,500 per school, everything included — a rounding error inside most districts' Title II-A allocation.
Funding information current as of July 2026. This page is general guidance to help districts identify allowable funding, not legal or financial advice. Federal appropriations and allowable-use rules change from year to year, and Title II-A in particular is subject to annual federal appropriations — confirm current-year availability and allowability with your federal programs coordinator or state education agency before budgeting. Program citations are provided as starting points for that conversation. Stroll is a coaching-management platform; it does not administer grants or guarantee any funding outcome.