California Department of Education Releases Updated Program Requirements for American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act that was passed in December of 2020, Congress set aside $2.75 billion for private schools, including parochial schools, to assist with costs related to COVID-19.  This funding, known as Emergency Assistance to Non-Public School (EANS), was made available for non-public schools (NPS) to apply for between April 27, 2021 through May 12, 2021. For more information about the EANS program, see the April 1, 2021 LCW Special Bulletin, CA Dept. of Education Releases EANS Program Reference Application; Portal To Submit Application Opens April 12, 2021, and the April 2, 2021 LCW Private Education Matters post, U.S. Dept. Of Education Issues Revised EANS FAQs.

As part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), which was signed into law on March 11, 2021, Congress set aside $2.75 billion of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund specifically to provide further emergency assistance to students and teachers in NPS, [1] otherwise referred to as the ARP EANS funding.  The purpose of the ARP EANS funding is to provide services or assistance to NPS that enroll a significant percentage of students from low-income families and are most impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.[2]

On November 4, 2021, California received an ARP EANS award of $181,312,003, of which $180,405,443 may be allocated to eligible NPS.[3]

On December 3, 2021, the California Department of Education published a Reference Only Request for Application for the ARP EANS program on its website for eligible schools. The application window for a request for ARP EANS funding is December 13, 2021 through January 3, 2022. Schools must submit their applications by 5:00 p.m. on January 3, 2022. The CDE will review timely applications from January 3, 2022 through January 11, 2022, and will notify applicants of application status, award amount, and program requirements for the ARP EANS program by January 12, 2022.

The ARP EANS Program Application states that eligible NPS include those that enroll a “significant percentage” (defined as 20 percent) of students from low-income families and are most impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.[4]

For purposes of the ARP EANS program, an eligible NPS is an elementary or secondary school that is:

• A non-profit;[5]
• Accredited, licensed, or otherwise operates in accordance with California law;
• Was in existence prior to March 13, 2020, the date the President declared the national emergency due to COVID-19; and
• Did not, and will not, apply for and receive a loan under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) (15 U.S.C. 636[a]([7]) that is made on or after December 27, 2020.

The requirements for NPS funding from the ARP EANS program are the same as the prior EANS program under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, with two important exceptions:

• A State educational agency (SEA) may only provide services or assistance under the ARP EANS program to the NPS that enroll a significant percentage of students from low-income families (20 percent) and are most impacted by the COVID-19 emergency; and
• A SEA may not use ARP EANS funds to provide reimbursements to any NPS for costs the school incurred to address the impact of the COVID-19 emergency.

A school may use ARP EANS funds to apply for services or assistance from the CDE to address educational disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 emergency, including:

• Supplies to sanitize, disinfect, and clean school facilities;
• PPE;
• Improving ventilation systems, including windows or portable air purification systems to ensure healthy air in the NPS;
• Training and professional development for staff on sanitation, the use of PPE, and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases;
• Physical barriers to facilitate social distancing;
• Other materials, supplies, or equipment to implement public health protocols, including guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff during the COVID-19 emergency;
• Expanding capacity to administer coronavirus testing to effectively monitor and suppress coronavirus, to conduct surveillance and contact tracing activities, and to support other activities related to coronavirus testing for students, teachers, and staff at the NPS;
• Educational technology (including hardware, software, connectivity, assistive technology, and adaptive equipment) to assist students, educators, and other staff with remote or hybrid learning;
• Redeveloping instructional plans, including curriculum development, for remote learning, hybrid learning, or to address learning loss;
• Leasing of sites or spaces to ensure safe social distancing to implement public health protocols, including guidelines and recommendations from the CDC;
• Reasonable transportation costs; and
• Initiating and maintaining education and support services or assistance for remote learning, hybrid learning, or to address learning loss.

Notably, reimbursement for any purchases are not allowed under the ARP EANS program. Rather, eligible schools will need to request services or assistance directly from the CDE. Information regarding the process for requesting services will be shared with each NPS who receives an allocation under the ARP EANS program.

Like the prior EANS funding, schools should note that all services or assistance provided under the ARP EANS program must be secular, neutral, and non-ideological.

If an application is deemed ineligible or not approved for funding, schools may request an appeal within 10 calendar days following receipt of the letter of denial in a writing sent to EANS@cde.ca.gov. The request for appeal must clearly identify a violation of the application review process governing the ARP EANS program.

Eligible schools who plan to apply for the ARP EANS program should note the following timelines below.

Schools may find additional information about ARP EANS funding at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/eans.asp.

[1] California Department of Education, “Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools Program,” available at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/cr/eans.asp (last visited December 7, 2021).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] A for-profit non-public school is not eligible to receive services for its students and teachers under the EANS program. (See Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) Program, U.S. Department of Education, FAQs, C-1, p. 14.)

This Special Bulletin is published for the benefit of the clients of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore. The information in this Special Bulletin should not be acted upon without professional advice.