We previously posted about the Interim Final Rule the U.S. Department of Education (USED) issued detailing exactly how school districts must share CARES Act funding and equitable services with private schools. The controversial rule carries the force of law, took effect immediately and would reroute millions of dollars in coronavirus aid money to K-12 private school students. While the rule took effect immediately, there will be a 30-day comment period. We encourage school leaders to offer comments about the interim final rule.
To help you provide comments, here are talking points from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) as well as the link to submit comments online. Please consider submitting comments on the rule.
According to an analysis by the Learning Policy Institute, DeVos’ interpretation of the CARES Act could increase the share of CARES Act funding directed to private schools from about $127 million to over $1.5 billion.
As we noted in an earlier post, with public schools across the nation likely facing severe funding cuts, Congress responded by passing the CARES Act in late March. That Act provided about $13 billion in aid to public schools to be distributed to districts according to their allocation of federal Title I monies. Title I funds are distributed to public schools on the basis of how many low-income students are enrolled in a district or school.
Title I funds also carry with them an obligation to support “equitable participation” in which private schools choosing to take advantage of services supported by Title I funds must work together with school districts to decide how best to use the funding. The sharing of those Title I funds is based on the number of low-income students served by the private school.
In April, however, Sec. DeVos issued non-binding guidance that public schools needed to use that money to provide services to all students in private schools not just low-income students.
