![]() ![]() "If a school district chooses to not follow that guidance I would suggest they consult with their local school attorney and understand the risks associated with a different interpretation." "We would advise no school corporation to blatantly ignore the U.S. The American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten and national school superintendents association executive director Dan Domenech urged schools to ignore it and use the Title I formula to determine private schools' share regardless of what the feds say.īut Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association cautions schools from ignoring the latest directive outright. Some education leaders have pushed back more than others on the new guidance. "It really hits us twice, because we're going to be working with more schools that we have to work with than before and there's more money that we're going to have to be processing," she says. Some private schools already work with the district to work out Title I funding and special education resources during the regular school year.īut with the additional schools now eligible to use up a larger chunk of emergency funding processed through the district, Stockman says the new guidance doubles the challenge. "If they want to purchase computers or materials or whatever it is they want to purchase, we have to process the purchase order, make the payments all of that," she says. Fort Wayne Community Schools spokesperson Krista Stockman says 33 private schools fall within the district's boundary. The fund sharing is not automatic, but Costerison says more private schools are likely to request their share since the new federal guidance was handed down.Īnd when they do, public schools are in charge of handling the funding. The CARES Act says money from the ESSER fund can be used for a multitude of items, including purchasing cleaning supplies, wifi or laptops for students, and to support professional development for staff, among other things. And if you look at the allowable uses for that funding it kinds of makes that clear,” he says.Įlcessor says it's likely the Title I formula was written into the law as a quick and efficient way to get the emergency funding to schools. "It's not technically education funding – it's for emergency relief. He says the additional support for private schools is just as critical as they adapt to the pandemic alongside public schools. John Elcesser is the executive director of the state's association of nonpublic education. READ MORE: Governor Holcomb Outlines How – And Why – The State Will Reopen ![]() "It was definitely a surprise, definitely not anticipated by anybody," he says.Īccording to the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), the guidelines will triple the amount of funding available to support private schools in Indiana, while reducing funding available for low-income public schools. But the new, unexpected guidance contradicts that idea and says the limited pot of funding going to school districts should be shared with private schools based on total enrollment instead.Įxecutive director of the Indiana Association of School Business Officials, Denny Costerison, says it took a lot of people off guard. ![]() Department of Education's recent directive means private schools will get a larger share of emergency aid funding – while low-income schools will get less.Īs written into the federal CARES Act, financial support from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund is supposed to go to schools – public and private – based on their number of low-income students, also known as Title I formula. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's latest guidance on emergency relief money for K-12 schools has education leaders puzzled. ![]()
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