NOTE: Information found on this page does not reflect all recent updates. This page will remain on the WCRIS website as a reference while COVID relief programs are ending. If you have questions about pandemic aid programs, please contact WCRIS.
Emergency Aid for Non-Public Schools (EANS) I is part of the new law called the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSA). Thanks to our colleagues in CAPE, here’s what is known about the law, which was signed Dec. 27 in a whopping 5,500 pages of legalese.
This second COVID relief law (CRRSA) does three things for K-12 private schools and their supporters:
- It authorizes emergency funding exclusively for private schools.
- It authorizes another round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
- It extends for one year a universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers.
Emergency funding for private schools comes in the form of a second round of GEER (Governors Emergency Education Relief) Fund (GEER II) which includes $2.75 billion in dedicated aid for private schools to be administered by a public agency.
Wisconsin will get $77.4 million in EANS funds. But the law requires a state’s Governor to apply for the funds by Feb. 8. WCRIS has sent a letter to Gov. Evers requesting he apply.
A private school must choose between EANS or the new round of PPP. Private schools may not participate in both. Further, the new law does not include equitable services for private schools or students under its second round of funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. So there’s no help there for our schools.
Key Points about EANS Funds:
- The state education agency (SEA) will be the public agency to administer EANS.
- The SEA must “prioritize” assistance to private schools that “enroll low-income students and are most impacted by the qualifying emergency.”WCRIS is working with our state counterparts and CAPE staff to determine and influence how this vague language will be administered.
- The SEA must notify private schools about the program and schools must apply for relief. Once the USDE approves a governor’s “certification and agreement,” the USDE will award the state its EANS funds within one business day. SEAs then have 30 days to create an application for private schools to use and give them time to apply.WCRIS is already discussing this application form with DPI and providing input on how it can be written to be user friendly for private schools.
- EANS funds must be obligated within six months of an approved state application. Unobligated funds revert to the governor’s GEER fund which does not require private sector school assistance. We believe this creates an incentive for Gov. Evers to apply because the public sector will get any unused funds. Everyone wins.
- Private schools may apply EANS funds to 12 uses authorized in the law (see below).
- The law requires a public agency to maintain control of the funds in a fashion similar to the use of equitable services in existing federal programs. This suggests schools should not become recipients of federal financial assistance under EANS.
- The law allows EANS to be used for reimbursements of past expenses of private schools for the uses allowed in the law. That process may implicate a school’s becoming a recipient of federal financial assistance. Schools will want to be aware of this. Also note:
- A private school cannot be reimbursed with EANS funds for expenses it has already paid for with a PPP loan.
- The bill specifies what EANS may be used for, but not all uses may be reimbursed.
- Whether or not reimbursement will be considered federal financial assistance is unclear and further federal guidance is needed.
- The law bans any use of GEER II for school choice measures such as scholarship tax credits, vouchers, and the like.
- A private school may not participate in both EANS and the new round of PPP. Schools that received a PPP loan prior to December 27, 2020, remain eligible for EANS.
Allowable Uses For EANS Funds:
Here are the following allowable uses for Emergency Aid for Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds:
(A) supplies to sanitize, disinfect, and clean school facilities.
(B) personal protective equipment.
(C) improving ventilation systems, including windows or portable air purification systems to ensure healthy air in the non-public school.
(D) training and professional development for staff on sanitation, the use of personal protective equipment, and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
(E) physical barriers to facilitate social distancing.
(F) other materials, supplies, or equipment to implement public health protocols, including guidelines and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff during the qualifying emergency.
(G) 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 non-public school.
(H) educational technology (including hardware, software, connectivity, assistive technology, and adaptive equipment) to assist students, educators, and other staff with remote or hybrid learning.
(I) redeveloping instructional plans, including curriculum development, for remote learning, hybrid learning, or to address learning loss.
(J) leasing of sites or spaces to ensure safe social distancing to implement public health protocols.
(K) reasonable transportation costs.
(L) initiating and maintaining education and support services or assistance for remote learning, hybrid learning, or to address learning loss.
Note on reimbursements: The law allows EANS funds to be used to reimburse schools for purchases already made for these purposes, except for the items in paragraphs C, D, I, and L which are not eligible for reimbursement (with the further exception that allows reimbursement for portable air purification systems). Again, it is unclear whether reimbursements constitute federal financial assistance.
EANS II
A third COVID relief bill was passed, called the American Rescue Plan signed by President Biden on March 11. It provides more EANS funding (EANS II) for the same uses but does not allow reimbursements, as in EANS I. You can read about EANS II here.
