After intense negotiations, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) into law on Friday. The bill was passed out of the Senate 96-0, and the House passed it on a voice vote.
The law contains more than $2 trillion worth of direct aid or relief, including providing direct payments to millions of Americans, bolstering unemployment insurance, funding hospitals and research, and granting relief to small businesses and corporations. However, the law also contains $30.9 billion worth of funding for the Department of Education. The following education-related provisions are most relevant for CTE professionals and programs. In several places specific sections of the law are referenced in the event you are interested in more detail. You can view the bill text here.
State/Local Education Stabilization Fund: The vast majority of the funding for the Department of Education is targeted to help stabilize education at the elementary, secondary and postsecondary levels. Specifically, $13.5 billion is earmarked for elementary and secondary programs, and will be allocated to states based on the ESSA formula. An additional $14.25 billion is earmarked for postsecondary education. Within 30 days of the law’s passage (last Friday), the Secretary must issue a notice inviting applications for these funds. Applications must then be either denied or approved within 30 days. Funds will be made available through 9/30/2021, and are intended “to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.” Funds can be used to provide emergency support to local education agencies, institutions of higher education, and any other education-related entity within the state that the state’s governor deems essential. At least 90 percent of funds allocated to states for elementary/secondary education must then be sub-granted to local education agencies. Notably, local education agencies may use funds for any activity authorized by Perkins, as well as other federal education programs. At the postsecondary level, allocations are largely determined by enrollment of Federal Pell Grant recipients. IHEs must use at least half of their funds to “provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.” Any entity receiving funding under the stabilization fund must make the greatest possible effort to continue to pay employees and contractors. You can find the legislative text on the education stabilization fund beginning on the bottom of page 752 of the bill.
Health Care Workforce: The law directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan for health workforce programs. (§3403)
Federal Work Study: Work-study payments may be issued to students who are unable to work due to closures, and such payments may be in a lump sum or in regularly continued paychecks. (§3505) Work-study funds are permitted to be used for supplemental grants. (§3503)
Pell Grants: Coronavirus-related school dropouts do not count toward the lifetime limit on Pell Grant eligibility. (§3507)
Student Loan Issues: Coronavirus-related school dropouts do not count toward lifetime eligibility for subsidized student loans. (§3506) Students who drop out of school due to the coronavirus are not required to refund any federal Pell grants or student loans. (§3508) Coronavirus-related dropouts do not factor in to federal academic requirements for student aid. (§3509) The Secretary is required to defer federal student loan payments, principal, and interest through September 30, 2020 without penalty. (§3513)
TEACH Grants Teacher Loan Forgiveness: If teachers cannot finish the year as a result of the coronavirus, they will not be penalized and the partial year will count as a full year toward TEACH grant obligations or Teacher Loan Forgiveness. (§3519)
Workforce Response Activity: Local workforce boards were granted additional flexibility to use unobligated statewide activity WIOA funds for administrative costs, including moving to online-based resources. Governors may also use reserved workforce funds in responding to the coronavirus. (§3515)
Campus-Based Aid: The law waives institutional matching requirements for campus-based aid programs. (§3503)
Waiver Authority: The Secretary of Education was granted waiver authority for ESEA, with the exception of civil rights laws, as required to deal with the coronavirus. (§3511) The Secretary is also permitted to waive or modify allowable uses of funds for institutional grant programs, and for matching requirements in competitive grants.
You can continue to follow the latest coronavirus-related CTE news on this blog post, which will be updated as appropriate.