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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rep. Mike Lawler Introduces Bill to Extend Emergency Assistance to NY’s Non-Public Schools

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By:  Ilana Siyance

On Thursday, Rep. Mike Lawler introduced a bill that would extend a year to the expiring emergency federal funds provided to non-public schools.

As reported by The Yeshiva World, the legislation, if passed, would greatly benefit many Orthodox Jewish schools.  Congressman Lawler, represents NY’s 17th district, including Hudson Valley, since 2023.  The 36-year-old had previously been a member of the New York State Assembly since 2021, for the 97th district which includes Rockland County.   The Republican was contacted bynumerous schools regarding the issue.  A program known as the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS), which was in effect for 2020 and 2021, had allocated funds to state authorities for distribution to private and parochial schools.  The deadline for using the funds was to end in Dec. 2023.  Lawler’s proposed legislation would extend the expiration date of the first round of EANS funds to the end of the 2023-2024 school year, and the second round of funds to the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year.

“I’m proud to introduce this important piece of legislation that will extend authorization of funding for emergency aid to non-public schools.” said Lawler. “The New York State Education Department has indicated that an extension would be of great assistance, and so this legislation will prove an important step in ensuring that all students and schools receive the resources they need to succeed.”  He added, “I look forward to finding additional ways in which we can support students, teachers, parents, and families in Congress.”

Similar to many other federally funded projects, EANS made the schools and businesses which were providing the educational services put out the funds to start with, saying they would later be reimbursed through the program. Now, though the 2022-2023 school year is almost coming to an end, but numerous private schools have reported that they have yet to be reimbursed with those funds – and the expiration date is rapidly approaching.

The EANS program was initially created in late 2020 as part of the economic stimulus package as relief for the Coronavirus.  Overall, $5.5 billion in federal funding was allocated throughout the 50 states, of that $200 billion to independent, private and nonpublic schools.  From the first round, New York State received $251.2 million to dole out to private schools across the state.  The funds were meant to help recover from the pandemic and could be used for cleaning and sanitizing materials and costs, improving ventilation systems, personal protective equipment, creating physical barriers in classrooms, education technology, redeveloping instructional plans to address learning loss, and training for teachers and school leaders, per the government website.

Schools were required to submit applications, but the states were slow in distributing the funds.  In April, the NY Post estimated that throughout the US, roughly  $736 million in federal EANS funding was never paid out to schools, with about 27 states failing so far to payout the funds to private schools.

Per Yeshiva World, it is likely that the bill will successfully pass in Congress, as the funds were already allocated.  Numerous Orthodox Jewish schools and other private schools, particularly those who enroll a significant percentage of low-income students,  stand to benefit from the funds, if the bill passes.

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