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We now know the requirements if school districts want to get some of their federal grant funding unfrozen. It is possible, federal officials say, as long as district officials are willing to follow some guidelines that appear both pretty clear but also open to interpretation. 

We reported last week about the $6.8 billion in federal education grants that had been frozen as of July 1, withheld as the U.S. Department of Education did a “review” of how they were being used. On Friday, July 18, department officials sent out a letter saying that one portion, $1.4 billion in Title IV funds used for afterschool programs, would be released this week. And that did happen on Monday, July 21, with the allocations sent out to the different states, which in turn will provide it to their respective school districts.

But by accepting the money, federal officials said in that July 18 letter, districts are also agreeing to follow certain requirements. As mentioned, some of those spelled out in the letter seem pretty clear. It states that “recipients of the funds must not use the funds in ways that violate the U.S. Constitution or any of listed federal laws.” 

Those laws include Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, who protect against race and sex based discrimination in employment and program use. Title IX of the Education Amendments, which protects against sex-based discrimination; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects against disability-based discrimination; the Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act, which projects against discrimination against Boy Scout groups based on their policies and Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires higher education institutions to disclose foreign gifts. As you can tell, several of those do not apply to public school districts in this country. 

One more federal requirement 

And then there’s one more piece spelled out for districts. 

“The Department also intends to conduct reviews of grantees’ use of funds to ensure ongoing compliance with the above provisions and all other applicable laws and regulations,” states the July 18 letter, which is signed by Patrick Rooney, the U.S. Department of Education’s director of school support and accountability, and La’ Shawndra Scroggins, group leader for the department’s school support and accountability office.

The problem here is that there’s not a specific guideline stating what would or would not qualify as being in compliance to “all other applicable laws and regulations.” Department officials earlier this year told states and districts they couldn’t spend federal funding on anything related to DEI, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. The allegation was that DEI violated the six laws mentioned above.That was rejected by three judges in three different states as being unconstitutionally vague and overstepping the federal government’s authority in regards to the curriculum. The judges also argued that the U.S. Department of Education did not define DEI programs or any DEI practices that violated the six laws stated above. On the surface, at least, this appears to be another attempt to push through an anti-DEI policy, without providing clear guidelines to spell out what exactly that is. 

And without clear guidelines as to what qualifies as compliance with “all other applicable laws”, it becomes unclear what is and what isn’t allowed. It’s also unclear exactly how this is meant to impact the Title IV programs. Title IV Part A, for example, funds student support and enrichment projects such as afterschool programs. Part of this funds programs to help students of all ages improve in certain subjects that they’re struggling in both before and after school. Here in Prince Edward County, for example, that money pays a portion of a staff member’s salary and funds a character education program for students. The grant money also pays for social and emotional services at Fuqua School. 

Typically when a shift is made, it’s announced during the school year. That way, administrators have several months to run through requirements and help train staff, as well as make adjustments in regards to any impact the changes may have. At this point, it’s less than two weeks before teachers return and less than three weeks before students arrive for the fall semester. 

What about the rest of the money? 

The rest of the $6.8 billion is still frozen, with school districts unable to touch it or even learn when it might be available. In that July 18 letter, it states that “decisions as to other funds referenced in the June 30 notice have not been made at this time.” 

That includes money for Title II, Part A, which includes grants for educator development and helps pay for classroom size reduction efforts. These are the programs which impacted the most schools both in this region and across the country. 

According to new Prince Edward Superintendent Dr. Chip Jones, the district uses Title II, Part A funds to help attract teachers. That’s done through sign-on incentives for hard-to-staff positions, things such as tuition reimbursement for provisionally licensed teachers and professional learning opportunities for staff. 

We also highlighted earlier the need to understand the federal guidelines and policies. Title II also funds a portion of both the federal programs coordinator and assistant positions in Prince Edward County schools. 

The other two grants are what some educators believe triggered the review, due to the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, although it’s unclear why they couldn’t have been pulled out on their own. 

The final two grants are Title I, Part C, which is funding for migrant education and Title III, Part A, which funds programs for those who have English as a second language. In Prince Edward, Title II funds are used for instructional supplies and bilingual parent resources. Then Title V money is used to help supplement instructional supplies at Prince Edward High and provide tuition reimbursement for teachers.