Texas Education Agency tells public school districts to follow guidance on CARES Act funds

The Texas Education Agency told school districts to follow the guidance from Betsy Devos and the U.S. Department of Education, the Houston Chronicle reported. 

“Until, and if, Congress or the federal courts require that the U.S. Department of Education change its present guidance, Texas will follow that guidance, in order to ensure that critically needed federal funds are not jeopardized through noncompliance,” a TEA spokesman told the Houston Chronicle.

The controversy focuses on the how the federal relief funds - $1.3 billion allocated to Texas – should be distributed. The question is whether the allocations to school districts should be based on the number of low-income students they enroll or the total number of students they serve.

The relief funding is supposed to be distributed in the same way as money is allocated to both public and private schools through Title 1, according to the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. The current process requires public schools receiving Title 1 funding to provide a portion of that money to private schools for secular services, based on their enrollment of low-income students.

But in April, the Department of Education said funds from the CARES Act should be allocated to private schools based not on low-income student enrollment figures, but based on their total student enrollment.

A letter sent to the Council of Chief State School Officers, in which DeVos wrote her critics’ interpretation of the law “would improperly discriminate against an entire class of children," according to the Houston Chronicle.

“A growing list of non-public schools have announced they will not be able to re-open, and those closures are concentrated in low-income and middle-class communities,” DeVos wrote. “I would encourage educators everywhere to be as concerned about those students and teachers as they are with those in public schools.”

In 2018-2019, Texas public schools allocated approximately $13.2 million to private schools for services to low income students.

Because the state does not know how many private schools will request funds through the CARES Act, it’s not clear how much of a boost those schools will get. There are about 250,000 students in private schools throughout the state, compared to the 5.5 million who attend public schools.  

Many members of the Texas Private Schools Association told Executive Director Laura Colangelo in a recent survey they expected to see a drop in enrollment of up to 15%, and more than two dozen school leaders expected to close by August.

“It’s significant to us for sure,” Colangelo told the Houston Chronicle of the CARES Act funding. “It could mean the difference between schools staying open or not.”

Some public school advocates, however, said DeVos’ interpretation of the law improperly directs money away from lower-income students who will need the most support once campuses reopen.

“Hopefully, there’s going to be a fix there, either through Congress or the courts, that gives much more clear guidance,” Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, told the Houston Chronicle. “I think the legislation is very confusing and hopefully it can be cleaned up and clarified quickly.