With the passage of the American Rescue Plan, Congress and President Biden implemented a second round of federal funding specifically to help private schools address the impact of COVID-19.  For all intents and purposes, EANS (Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools) 2.0 is identical to the EANS 1.0 with two important exceptions: 

  1. Non–public schools may only use the EANS 2.0 funds for expenses going forward; they may not use it for any reimbursement.
  2. The funding priority of EANS 2.0 is for non-public schools with 40% of students from low-income families.  However, an SEA may request to use an alternative percentage such as:
    • The State’s average percentage of students from low income families in public and non-public schools
    • The average percentage of students from low income families in non-public schools that applied for EANS 1.0
    • Other factors that the State demonstrates support an alternate significant poverty percentage.

How FACTS is responding 

FACTS is currently working with the schools it serves to expand their current programs to address the learning loss due to COVID-19’s impact.  In addition to purchasing items such as PPE and plexiglass, EANS 2.0 is also available to schools for teacher professional development, remapping curriculum, extended school day programs, summer school programs, etc.  At FACTS, we believe that non–public schools have this once in a lifetime opportunity to use federal funds to provide their teachers with education, programs, and technology to help students address the learning challenges brought on by COVID-19.    

Next steps schools should take 

Every state that applied for and received EANS funds must prioritize how non–public schools will use them.  This will vary from state to state.  Non–public schools will be asked to complete the state’s EANS Intent to Participate Form to provide the state with basic information about the school. This includes the percentage of students it serves that live in poverty, how COVID-19 has impacted the school, how the school plans to use the EANS funds to address the impact of COVID-19, etc.  Once the state determines its funding priorities, it will notify the non–public schools of its EANS allocation and compliance process.   

I would recommend school leaders contact their  FACTS RVP and ask for assistance.  We will consult with any FACTS school seeking advice on how to complete their state’s EANS Intent to Participate Form so that the school can best address the mounting challenges facing our families, teachers, and students, as well as the teaching and learning environment they will face when everyone fully returns to the school building.   You can also watch this webinar on-demand where we discuss EANS 2.0 and answer many questions we are receiving from schools.