Title IV Funding

Title IV is a block grant that provides over $1 billion in funding for school safety, well-rounded education, and educational technology initiatives. Under the CARES Act, these funds can now be used to fund any of these three priorities: providing students with a well-rounded education, maintaining student health and safety, and the purchasing and implementation of educational technology and systems.

How Bark aligns with Title IV, Part A and B

• Because students with access to a Bark Phone are able to remain connected outside of traditional school hours, Title IV Part B-21st Century Community Learning Centers funds can be used to fund their purchase. A Bark Phone allows students to reach out to teachers and peers or use additional, approved online resources when support or guidance is needed on schoolwork, furthering students’ access to educational opportunities.
• A Bark Phone and its built-in monitoring solutions increase student health and safety by monitoring student activity online, protecting them from severe threats like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, acts of violence, and more.
• Bark Community Partner resources can be used to provide families of students served by community learning centers the opportunities for active and meaningful engagement in their children’s education. Through online courses, digital safety resources, and live parenting workshops, Bark provides parents the tools they need to keep their children safe online. 
• Bark for Schools increases student safety by monitoring their activity online and protecting them from severe threats like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, acts of violence, and more. Bark for Schools+ is designed for schools that want to respond to immediate student safety issues expeditiously.
• Bark for Schools is a technology solution that supports both student safety and a well-rounded education by facilitating safer and effective use of technology in schools.
• In an effort to keep schools and students safer, Bark offers Tips and Tips+, a service for schools that would like to receive anonymous text messages regarding suspicious, dangerous, or harmful activities from their community.

How Bark aligns with Title IV, Part E

• Bark Phones can provide continuity of safe, monitored internet access for all students, and Title IV, Part E funding can subsidize Bark Phones and assist with the costs of foster care maintenance for eligible children.
• The Bark app’s powerful monitoring tools have a demonstrated record of success in providing alerts and early warning indicators for bullying, violence, and self-harm or suicidal ideation among students using a Bark device, including those in foster care.
• Schools that become Bark Community Partners are provided resources to help educate families and foster parents about online safety. Through online courses, digital safety resources, and live parenting workshops, Bark provides foster parents with the tools they need to keep their children safer online.