American Rescue Plan (ARP) Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) Grant Program

The American Rescue Plan Act, which passed in March 2021, created the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) grant within the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) III Fund. The $2.75 billion program will provide funding for emergency assistance to nonpublic schools with $28,709,729 allocated to Colorado.

Under this provision, state education agencies (SEAs) will administer the funds. Nonpublic schools can apply for these funds for “secular, neutral, and non ideological” services and assistance, including sanitization, personal protective equipment, COVID testing, educational technology, and connectivity. State education agencies must provide these services directly or under contract, and retain control of funds and title to equipment. SEAs are required to prioritize services or assistance to nonpublic schools that enroll low-income students and are most impacted by the qualifying emergency. The U.S. Department of Education issued an FAQ document (PDF) that provides additional information regarding this grant program.

On September 9, 2021 the Governor’s Office submitted Colorado’s application for the American Rescue Plan Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) grant, which will bring close to $28 million to provide emergency Coronavirus relief for nonpublic schools in the state. Under this program, nonpublic schools can apply for these funds for “secular, neutral, and non-ideological” services and assistance, including sanitization, personal protective equipment, COVID testing, educational technology, and connectivity.

CDE was awarded funds on January 28,2022.

Funds are available to non-public schools that meet the following definitions below:

• K-12 Non-profit non-public school. Standalone Pre-K schools are not eligible to apply for funding;
• School that is accredited, licensed, or otherwise approved to operate in accordance with State law;
• School that existed and operated prior to March 13, 2020;
• Schools that have a minimum of 21% of its students from low-income families;
• Schools that are most impacted by the novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency. (see Identification of Eligible Non-Public Schools)

Non-Governing Consortia Applicants

Applications will be accepted from non-profit organizations that aggregate support for a group of non-public schools but do not have governing authority over the schools it represents. A non-public school within that consortium must be named as the applicant/fiscal agent, and the consortium lead must collect Consortia Sign-Over agreement from each participating school to work on behalf of the schools included in the application.

The Consortia Sign-Over agreement must be submitted to [email protected] by March 28, 2022.

Identification of Eligible Non-Public Schools

Under section 2002(a) of the ARP Act, services or assistance to non-public schools under the ARP EANS program are limited to “non-public schools that enroll a significant percentage of [students from low-income families] and are most impacted by the [COVID-19] emergency.” CDE set the poverty percentage at 21% and worked with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to identify areas that have been most impacted by COVID-19. The information below provides a list of areas that have been most impacted by COVID-19 by county. Non-public schools that are located in the counties areas listed below and have a significant percentage of students from low income families and have a poverty percentage of 21% will be eligible to participate in the ARP EANS program.

• Counties determined to be significantly impacted by COVID-19 by infection rates
• Counties determined to be significantly impacted economically by COVID-19

Note: To be eligible to participate, non-public schools must satisfy the poverty requirement and one of the COVID-19 impact requirements.

Determining Low Income Students

Applicants will be required to report the number of students from low-income families enrolled in a non-public school. To identify low-income students, the applicant may use one or more of the following sources of data, provided the poverty threshold is consistent across sources and does not exceed 185 percent of the 2020 Federal poverty level:

• Data from student eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch;
• Data from a different course, such as scholarship or financial assistance data

Eligible applicants must indicate in its application the source that is used to determine poverty. This information must be maintained by the non-public school and made available to CDE upon request.

CDE will calculate a per pupil allocation to determine final award amounts for each school/applicant. For preliminary application and budget purposes, the per pupil allocation will be capped at an amount not to exceed the other supplemental per pupil allocation ranges for the state from similar funding sources. Based on this, eligible non-public schools will have the opportunity to request $1,900 per student.

FACTS Education

Section 312(d)(7) of the CRRSA Act states that the role of the State Education Agency (SEA) may be done through contract to provide services to non-public schools. CDE has entered into an agreement with FACTS Education to support the ARP EANS II program. FACTS Education Solutions is a Nelnet company that is supporting governors across the country with the distribution of EANS funds. FACTS Education Solutions can provide Tier I/III research-based instructional services, provide support as well as services, training/professional development and individual or group coaching for teachers and leaders, and redeveloping instructional plans to address learning loss. Applicants will work with FACTS Education staff to purchase allowable goods and services and hire eligible staff.

Purchases of goods, goods/services and or projects  greater than $25,000

CDE will continue to manage the following purchases:

• purchases of goods with a single vendor over $25,000
• purchase of related goods over $25,000, when a vendor has not been identified (laptops, licenses, monitors)
• purchases where the total for goods and related services exceeds $25,000 (display boards, mounts and installation)
• projects over $25,000 (cannot be capital improvement projects)

 Applicants will need to complete and submit the “ARP EANS Goods, Goods/Services and or Projects Over $25,000”  form with their application for each request.

CDE and or FACTS Education will procure items or enter into contracts for services that are listed in the grantee's approved grant application. CDE purchases are subject to state procurement and fiscal rules, as well as the timelines for obligations that are part of the federal statute. Please note that, in these instances, the department along with FACTS Education will make every effort to procure goods and services within the timelines specified in the grant but must also follow state procurement protocols--which can be time-consuming.

Allowable Uses Include:

• Supplies to sanitize, disinfect, and clean school facilities
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Improving ventilation systems, including windows or portable air purification systems
• Training and professional development for staff on sanitization, the use of PPE, and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases
• Physical barriers to facilitate social distancing
• Other materials, supplies, or equipment recommended by the CDC for reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain health and safety
• Expanding capacity to administer coronavirus testing to effectively monitor and suppress the virus
• Educational technology
• Redeveloping instructional plans for remote or hybrid learning or to address learning loss
• Leasing sites or spaces to ensure social distancing
• Reasonable transportation costs
• Initiating and maintaining education and support services or assistance for remote or hybrid learning or to address learning loss

All costs included in the application must be allowable, reasonable, and allocable to the grant purpose (i.e., necessary in order for the non-public school to respond to, prepare for, or prevent the spread of COVID-19).

EANS funds shall not be used

• to provide direct or indirect financial assistance to scholarship granting organizations or related entities for elementary or secondary education; or
• to provide or support vouchers, tuition tax credit programs, education savings accounts, scholarships, scholarship programs, or tuition-assistance programs for elementary or secondary education.; or
• for services, instructional materials and other materials that are non-secular, ideological and/or faith based; or
• for payroll, salary, benefits, etc. for any existing school staff providing regular instructional services, or costs/payments to contractors providing services within their existing contractual obligation with a school; or
• Construction and/or capital improvement to the building; or
• Services, subscriptions or warranties that exceed the ARP EANS performance period; or
• Supplemental disinfecting systems, such as peroxide or bi-polar ionization.

Review Process and Timeline

Applications will be reviewed by CDE staff to ensure they contain all required components. Applicants will be notified of awards as soon as possible.

Submission Process and Deadline

Applications were required to be completed (including all elements outlined below) and submitted through the online application on the CDE Website by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2022. 

Application resources and required documents to include in the submission are available on the CDE website. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. Applicants should receive an automated confirmation email from the online system upon submission. If you do not, please email [email protected].

EANS Application Training

• Tuesday, February 22, 2022 | PowerPoint | Webinar Recording

Weekly Office Hours

CDE and Facts Education will hold weekly office hours every Tuesday at 8:00 am. Office hours will continue through March 22, 2022.

• March 1st, 2022:  ARP EANS II FACTS Education Workbook Review | Recording
• March 8th, 2022:  ARP EANS II FACTS Education Services Review | Recording
• March 15th, 2022:  ARP EANS II Program | Recording
• March 22nd, 2022: ARP EANS II Application Recap | Presentation Slides | Recording