Education secretary Betsy DeVos
Elizabeth (Betsy) Dee DeVos Hill Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Trump turns to immigration; Delays are expected on the first day of the week. This week: Congress will face police reform legislation Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer says Trump is right in China but not at WHO; CDC Releases New Guide for Large Meetings MORE issued a new rule Thursday that advances a policy that requires public schools to share more coronavirus relief funds with private schools than federal law currently requires.
The new rule directs school districts to assign their aid to private institutions based on their total number of private school students. Public school officials argue that funds should be shared based on the number of low-income students in local private schools, the basis for distribution of funds under other federal rules.
The Department of Education maintains that coronavirus-related aid funds are separate from federal aid and must be used to benefit students in all schools, regardless of the guidelines established for normal government funds.
“The CARES Act is a special appropriation related to the pandemic to benefit all American students, teachers and families affected by the coronavirus,” DeVos said in a press release. “There is nothing in the law passed by Congress that allows districts to discriminate against children and teachers based on private school attendance and employment.”
“In this new rule, we recognized that the CARES Act programs are not Title I programs. There is no reasonable explanation to debate the use of federal funds to serve public and private K-12 students when federal funds, including the funds of the CARES Law, flow to public and private higher education institutions. ”
The Department of Education argues that the new rule is necessary to help struggling private schools that have seen their sources of income shrink during the pandemic. The agency says an increase in funding for private institutions will help them keep their doors open, preventing a potential flood of students to public schools if private schools are closed.
The department issued the rule through a process that has historically been used in emergencies and gives policies the power of law.
DeVos has openly voiced his defense of private institutions, and has received criticism from Democrats and public teacher unions that he is using his hanger as a way to expand private school funding. Among other things, DeVos has tried to grant tax credits for scholarships that send students to private schools.
The rule issued on Thursday largely reflects a similar guidance issued earlier this year regarding the disbursement of coronavirus funds to private institutions with one key difference: The new rule allows public schools to use the regular low-income formula if His own help is dedicated exclusively to incoming students in the district.
The new rule also discourages wealthier schools from accepting support from local districts, noting that the funds should not go to “boarding schools and day schools with tuition and fees comparable to those charged by more selective post-secondary institutions.”
The new rule relies on language in the $ 2.2 billion CARES Act passed earlier this year that says public schools must allocate funds to private institutions “in the same way” as they do under Title I, a funding program. for low-income schools.
Democrats and public school officials have said the legislation clearly indicates that the same low-income formula normally used should apply to coronavirus relief, challenging the Department of Education’s interpretation of the law.
“Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government agree that the Department’s interpretation of the equitable services requirement of the CARES Act violates both the letter and the spirit of the law,” said the Representative. Bobby scott
Robert (Bobby) Cortez Scott Am I a racist? Coronavirus crisis has reduced childcare sector Lack of childcare poses a major hurdle as companies reopen MORE (D-Va.), President of the Chamber Education Committee. “[T]The Department’s new rule still requires them to divert valuable resources for low-income students to serve private school students, regardless of their wealth. “
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