This paper provides an analysis of the basis for and clarity and restrictiveness of the program requirements applicable to local school districts applying for grants under Title I of ESEA. Specifically, this paper, which is the first of 5 papers to be prepared by the Legal Standards Project, is concerned with the following: (1) the basis for the requirements which local educational agencies (LEAs) must comply with in order to receive benefits under Title I (LEA program requirements), (2) whether the language of the federal legal framework setting forth the basic LEA program requirements is sufficiently clear, (3) whether the basic LEA program requirements restrict LEAs in the design of innovative programs for and the delivery of services to educationally deprived children residing in low-income areas, and (4) whether the legal frameworks developed by the states are sufficiently clear and whether they restrict the design of innovative programs. The paper is divided into three parts. Parts I and II set forth the general purposes, basic definitions, and the conclusions and recommendations concerning the necessity, clarity and restrictiveness of the overall federal legal framework. Part III includes an in depth analysis of the necessity, clarity, and restrictiveness of each major program requirement. Descriptions of the relevant sections of the existing federal legal framework, the legal frameworks developed by the states included in the survey, and the project's analysis concerning the efficacy of the existing federal legal framework are included. (Author/AM)