Page 87 - Security Today, April 2021

"For campus facilities managers, the innumerable challenges of keeping students, faculty, and staff safe while requirements fluctuate have been staggering."
By Dian Schaffhauser
• Running assessments;
• Doing school facility repairs and improvements including purchas-
es for improving air quality;
• Any activity referenced under ESSA, the Perkins career and techni-
cal education, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act or subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act; and
• Other elements needed, including COVID testing.
Unlike the first CARES Act, the second round of funding gives
states an out regarding their maintenance-of-effort requirements, which said that they were expected to fund schools at the same level they've maintained over the last three years. Although the hope with Act 2 was that schools wouldn't be forced to use the funding to replace new budget shortfalls imposed by the states, states are now allowed to request a waiver from that stipulation if they're experienc- ing a decline in revenues.
In this ESSER round, private schools are locked out. However, they're eligible to receive GEER funding, which has set aside $2.75 billion of the $4 billion specifically for their needs. (More on that below.)
Also, although former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos did her best to tie the new K-12 funding to the return of teachers and stu- dents to the classroom, that didn't happen. Schools will not have to reopen for in-person instruction in order to receive their money.
Like ESSER version 1, funding under ESSER 2 will be calculated based on a Title 1 formula, meaning overall that school districts with more lower-income students will receive more money.
Further details about the ESSER program are available on the Department of Education website. Emergency assistance for non- public schools gets its own landing page.
Funding for Higher Ed
Colleges and universities received $14 billion in the first CARES Act legislation, about 60 percent less than higher ed will receive in CARES Act 2. Most of the nearly $23 billion will go to public and private nonprofit institutions; but HEER also covered $1.7 billion specifically for minority-serving institutions and $680 million for for-profit colleges.
As was true in K-12, higher ed advocates have suggested that the latest funding is just a "down-payment" on what's really needed. For example, the American Council on Education, backed by numerous education associations, proposed $120 billion as a more realistic esti- mate.
As with CARES 1, schools will be expected to dedicate a hefty share to student emergency aid, equal to the same amount they dedi- cated in round 1. According to the text of the law, funds can be used for defraying expenses associated with coronavirus, including:
• Lost revenue;
• Reimbursement for expenses already incurred;
• Technology costs associated with a transition to distance education; • Faculty and staff training;
• Payroll; and
• Student support activities related to the virus;
The grants for students can cover college expenses such as tuition as well as emergency costs such as food, housing, healthcare and
advocated for $175 billion.
This round of funding will be available to public schools through a
formula payout through Sept. 30, 2022. That tacks on an extra year compared to when districts are expected to spend their first round of CARES Act money.
The money can be applied to a number of uses:
• Coordinating and responding to the health emergency; • Activities for supporting special populations;
• Sanitization and cleaning supplies and related training; • Providing meals and technology to students;
• Providing mental health services;
• Running summer and supplemental learning programs; • Addressing learning loss;
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