May 2020 | Number 455
US Department of Education Releases CARES Act Guidance
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed COVID-19 relief legislation that, among things, established two programs to help K-12 schools cope with the coronavirus pandemic:

Section 18002 Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER): $3 billion for governors to provide emergency support to schools most impacted by coronavirus.

Section 18003 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER): $13.5 billion in grants to states for K-12 schools to use in the twelve ways described here in the legislation.

Under Section 18005 of the law, private schools are eligible for equitable services through these two programs. However, important details as to the provision of those equitable services needed to be filled in by the US Department of Education (USDE).

On April 30, 2020, USDE released the highly anticipated guidance. It is, in a word, outstanding, and private schools should communicate their thanks to the Administration. The crucial points from the guidance:

  • LEAs are required to reserve funds for equitable services based on the number of students in private schools that choose to participate. LEAs will determine the overall number of children who are enrolled in public schools and in participating non-public schools, and reserve the proportionate share based on those enrollment numbers. Equitable services will NOT be based on a Title I allocation. The only time that Title I comes into play is in allocating funds from the federal government to the states, and from the states to LEAs.

  • An LEA must offer to provide equitable services under these two programs to students and teachers in all non-public schools located in the LEA, even if a non-public school has not previously participated under Title I, Part A or Title VIII of the ESEA.

  • All students and teachers in a non-public school are eligible to receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs.

  • A non-public school whose students and teachers receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs is not a “recipient of Federal financial assistance.”

  • Private schools are not limited to the same uses of funds chosen by LEAs for their own schools.

  • Nonpublic schools can pool funds.

  • Since the CARES Act is not a Title I program, private schools do not need to tie requests to specific student needs, but instead can use the funds for general school needs.

Consultation is the next step, LEAs are required to reach out to all private schools in their jurisdiction. Private school leaders should be sure to bring a copy of the guidance and a copy of Sections 18002, 18003, and 18005 of the CARES Act (pages 284-288) to their consultations.
Highlights from the USDE Guidance
The following excerpts are taken from the USDE equitable services guidance summarized above. Italics represent emphasis added by CAPE Outlook. You can read the full guidance here.

6. Who is responsible for initiating the consultation process and how should it begin?

Similar to how an LEA provides equitable services under the ESEA, an LEA is responsible for initiating the consultation process. It must contact officials in all non-public schools in the LEA to notify them of the opportunity for their students and teachers to obtain equitable services under the CARES Act programs...If non-public school officials have not been contacted, they may contact the LEA or the State ombudsman to inquire about equitable services under the CARES Act programs. If non-public school officials want equitable services for their students and teachers, the LEA must consult with those officials during the design and development of the LEA’s programs and before the LEA makes any decision that affects the opportunity of non-public school students and teachers to participate in the activities funded under the CARES Act programs...

7. How does an LEA that receives funds under the CARES Act programs provide equitable services “in the same manner as provided under section 1117 of the ESEA”?

...The services that an LEA may provide under the CARES Act programs are clearly available to all public school students and teachers, not only low-achieving students and their teachers as under Title I, Part A. Similarly, there is no limitation on residence in a participating Title I public school attendance area for services provided in public schools under the CARES Act programs. For CARES Act services to be equitable in comparison to public school students and teachers, it follows that the same principles must apply in providing equitable services to non-public school students and teachers...

...Because an LEA determines the proportional share based on enrollment in public and non-public schools under the CARES Act programs, the LEA need not collect poverty data from non-public schools...

8. Must an LEA offer to provide equitable services under the CARES Act programs to students and teachers in all non-public schools located in the LEA, even if a non-public school has not previously participated in equitable services under Title I, Part A or Title VIII of the ESEA?

Yes. An LEA must offer to provide equitable services under the CARES Act programs to students and teachers in all non-public schools located in the LEA, even if a non-public school has not previously participated under Title I, Part A or Title VIII of the ESEA.

9. Are all students and teachers in a non-public school eligible to receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs?

Yes. All students and teachers in a non-public school are eligible to receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs, unless a Governor (under the GEER Fund) or an SEA (through the SEA reserve under the ESSER Fund) targets funds for a specific purpose or population of public and non-public school students. Unlike Title I, Part A, equitable services under the CARES Act programs are not based on residence in a participating Title I public school attendance area and are also not limited only to low-achieving students and their teachers.

10. How does an LEA determine the proportional share of funds that must be reserved to provide equitable services to non-public school students and teachers under the CARES Act programs?

... an LEA must use the total allocation it receives under each CARES Act program to determine the proportional share available for equitable services before reserving funds for other purposes.

An LEA uses enrollment data in non-public schools whose students and teachers will participate under the CARES Act programs compared to enrollment in public schools in the LEA to determine the proportional share. Under the CARES Act programs, services are available for all students—public and non-public—without regard to poverty, low achievement, or residence in a participating Title I public school attendance area...

To calculate the proportional share for equitable services under the CARES Act programs, an LEA determines the overall number of children who are enrolled in public schools and non-public schools in the LEA that wish to participate under one or both CARES Act programs. Using the proportion of students who are enrolled in participating non-public schools, the LEA determines the amount of funds available for equitable services based on that proportional share of the LEA’s total allocation under each CARES Act program separately...

13. Is a non-public school whose students and teachers receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs a “recipient of Federal financial assistance”?

No. A non-public school whose students and teachers receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs is not a “recipient of Federal financial assistance.” A public agency must control and administer the CARES Act funds; in other words, no funds may go directly to a nonpublic school. (See Question #5). Thus, a non-public school is not a recipient of Federal financial assistance by virtue of its students and teachers receiving equitable services from an LEA under a CARES Act program. As a result, certain Federal requirements that apply to a recipient of Federal financial assistance are not directly applicable to a non-public school whose students or teachers receive equitable services under the CARES Act programs, unless the school otherwise receives Federal financial assistance for other purposes.

14. What services and benefits under the CARES Act programs are available to non-public school students and teachers?

In sum, equitable services permitted under sections 18002(c)(1) or (3), as applicable, and 18003(d) of the CARES Act must be available to best meet the needs of non-public school students and teachers, as determined through timely and meaningful consultation and consistent with any specific purposes established by a Governor under the GEER Fund or SEA through the SEA reserve under the ESSER Fund, regardless of the specific uses determined by the LEA to meet its own students’ and teachers’ particular needs.
Taxpayer Implications of Private School Students Switching to Public Schools
In a release titled "The K-12 Financial Cliff: What States Could Face If Students Switch Schooling Sectors," EdChoice shines a light on what a surge of private school students into public schools would mean for the taxpayers.

"If only 10 percent of private school students return to the public system, the combined state and local cost would be $6.7 billion, with $3.3 billion falling to the states. If 30 percent of private school students have to be reabsorbed into the public system, that cost jumps to roughly $20 billion, with states responsible for just over $10 billion. Given that state leaders already are preparing for significantly reduced revenue and a strained economic recovery post-pandemic, these numbers are staggering and should worry every education advocate in America."

The report breaks out the numbers by state as well. This is an important subject for policymakers to ponder, as the economic and employment fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has brought private schools to the brink of what Neal McCluskey at the Cato Institute has called an " existential threat."
Private Schools Stepping Up to the Plate
EdChoice has been busy. They also have a report out with Hanover Research on how private schools have adjusted to the crisis. Of note: "Private schools are communicating a lot with their families. As we’ve seen in prior parent satisfaction research, this is an area where private schools often receive high marks, and they continue to excel at staying in touch with parents during the pandemic. Eighty-five percent of schools reported communicating multiple times per week or more."

Private schools nationwide have demonstrated the agility and adaptability that comes with having to respond to customers who have other options. This video about Catholic schools in California gives a taste of how private schools are meeting the needs of students and families in these challenging times.
Ministerial Exception Cases to Have Their Day in Court
The January 2020 edition of CAPE Outlook covered two important "ministerial exception" cases being taken up by the US Supreme Court, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and  St. James School v. Biel. Originally scheduled to be heard on April 1, the consolidated cases will now be argued on May 11 by teleconference, an extraordinary development given the high Court's extreme reluctance to change its traditional mode of operating. Oral arguments will be broadcast live, another change for the Court.
Polarization and Civil Disagreement
The Brookings Institution has published a piece on civic formation by new CAPE board member Ashley Berner. "In a polarized America, what can we do about civil disagreement?" highlights data from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy's School Culture 360 survey, and is worth a read.
Also from the CARES Act: Section 18001 Grants
Section 18002 (the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund) and Section 18003 (the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) of the CARES Act have received most of the attention from private schools, as well as the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program, but Section 18001 is also worth keeping an eye on.

On April 27, USDE announced that $180 million under Section 18001 would be made available for a “Rethink K-12 School Models Grant” program. These “ESF-REM” grants are intended to “provide support to State educational agencies (SEAs) in States with the highest coronavirus burden to address specific educational needs of students, their parents, and teachers in public and non-public elementary and secondary schools."

The notice inviting applications references equitable services for private schools: applicants “must ensure equitable access (as defined in this notice) for non-public school students.” In this case, SEAs are the eligible applicants.

Remember, this is a separate program from those covered by the equitable services guidance for Sections 18002 and 18003 described above.

Confused? Reach out to the experts at your State CAPE for advice.
Coronavirus Relief: Next Steps
CAPE has been hard at work these last two months fighting to ensure that federal relief efforts include private schools.

When an effort arose in the US Senate to cut private schools out of the CARES Act, CAPE and our private schools allies worked with friends on Capitol Hill to ensure that would not happen.

When guidance was needed to ensure that the CARES Act would not be interpreted to limit private school participation, CAPE was there again on your behalf. The resulting guidance was as good as federal guidance gets.

Congress is turning its attention to the next round of COVID-19 relief. Rest assured that the organizations and people that together constitute CAPE will again be doing everything possible to advocate for the students and teachers at America's private schools.

In the meantime, private school leaders should be ready for the call from their LEA on the ESSER program (Section 18003). If you are not contacted, you should reach out to them.

With respect to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (Section 18002), governors have considerable discretion in the expenditure of these funds. Whatever funds they send to LEAs will be subject to the equitable services requirements described above. Governors have other options, however. They can use the funds for higher education, for example. Child care and early childhood education are also authorized uses. Or they can get creative and "provide support to any other...education related entity within the State that the Governor deems essential for carrying out emergency educational services to students."

CAPE has discussed the possibility of governors in states with tax credit scholarship programs potentially directing some of those funds towards scholarship granting organizations. Excel in Ed has expanded upon this concept, suggesting the following:

1. Creatively use Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds to serve all students, regardless of where they attend school, and keep the state’s most vulnerable students top of mind.

2. Use some portion of GEER funds to support private schools with large concentrations of low- and middle- income students.
a. If the state has a tax-credit scholarship program, reserve some GEER funding for non-profit scholarship granting organizations.
b. If the state does not have a scholarship program, create a temporary scholarship fund designed to serve students who are no longer able to pay tuition at their school of choice.
c. If the state has an education scholarship account or voucher program, GEER funds can supplement these programs to help families and schools ensure continuity of learning.
d. Consider sending some portion of GEER funds to families who live at or below 300% of the poverty line to spend on allowable education expenses, including supplemental services, remote learning technologies, educational therapies and private school tuition.

The clock is ticking. Once again, the best way to work with your governor's office is through your State CAPE.
Private Education: Good for Students, Good for Families, Good for America
CAPE member organizations:

Agudath Israel of America

American Montessori Society

Association Montessori
International–USA

Association of Christian Schools
International

Association of Christian
Teachers and Schools

Association of Waldorf
Schools of N.A.

Christian Schools International

Council of Islamic Schools
in North America
Council on Educational Standards
and Accountability

Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America

Friends Council on Education

Islamic Schools League of America

Jesuit Schools Network

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod

National Association of
Episcopal Schools

National Association of
Independent Schools
National Catholic
Educational Association

National Christian School
Association

Office for Lasallian Education
Christian Brothers Conference

Oral Roberts University
Educational Fellowship

Seventh-day Adventist
Board of Education

United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod Schools
Affiliated State Organizations a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12

Executive Director:
Michael Schuttloffel

Outlook is published monthly (September to June) by CAPE.
ISSN 0271-145

1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
#190-433
Washington, DC 20004
Tel: 844-883-CAPE

www.capenet.org
Michael Schuttloffel
Executive Director
Phone: 844-883-CAPE