Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students Pgrm

Funding Source

U.S. Department of Education (ED)

Program Description

Under the Emergency Impact Aid program, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will award grants to eligible state educational agencies (SEA) on the basis of quarterly counts of displaced students. SEAs will then provide payments to eligible local educational agencies (LEA) to assist with the cost of education students who were displaced by a covered disaster or emergency during the 2017-18 school year and who were enrolled in public schools, including charter schools, and nonpublic schools. States apply for grants based on the data that they collect from LEAs and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) funded schools that have provided educational services for displaced students. The LEAs and BIE schools must submit applications to the LEAs.

SEAs will submit enrollment data for all for quarters of the 2017-18 school year, which may include estimated data for the fourth quarter. ED will use the enrollment data that are included in the initial and final SEA applications and make payments under the Emergency Impact Aid program.

• $9,000 for each displaced student who is an English learner
  
• $10,000 for each displaced students who is a child with a disability
  
• $8,500 for each displaced student who is not reported as a child with a disability or as an English Learner

Payments may be ratably reduced if there is not enough funds to pay the full amounts. In addition, the total amount of a payment on behalf of a displaced student enrolled in a nonpublic school may not exceed the lesser of the above per pupil amounts or the cost of tuition and fees (and transportation expenses, if any) at the nonpublic school for the 2017-18 school year.

If parents have submitted applications on behalf of displaced students who are attending eligible nonpublic schools, LEAs will make payments to accounts at the nonpublic schools on behalf of those students. The remainder of the funds LEAs receive will be used to provide educational services for displaced students attending their public schools. Payments received must be used for expenses for the 2017-18 school year only.

Assistance for Homeless Children and Youth

Under the Assistance for Homeless Children and Youth program, Congress has appropriated $25 million for LEAs to address the needs of homeless students displaced by a covered disaster or emergency. The Department will award funds to SEAs, which will then award subgrants to LEAs, on the basis of demonstrated need and the number of homeless children and youth enrolled as a result of displacement by a covered disaster or emergency. LEAs will use the funds awarded under this program to support activities that are allowable under section 723 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Projected Allocation

Up to $2.5 billion for two separate programs: (1) the Restart Program; and (2) the Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students (Emergency Impact Aid) program. The ED will determine the amount to allocate to the respective programs based on information provided by state educational agencies in applications for the Restart and Emergency Impact Aid programs.

Eligible Recipients

LEAs (which include local school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools), nonpublic schools, and private schools.

Definition of Displaced Student

The term "displaced student'' means a student who enrolled in an elementary school or secondary school (other than the school that the student was enrolled in, or was eligible to be enrolled in, on the date that is one week prior to the date that the major disaster or emergency was declared for the area) because such student resides or resided on the date that is one week prior to the date that the major disaster or emergency was declared for the area, in an area for which a major disaster or emergency declared by the President in accordance with section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), related to a covered disaster or emergency.

Application Process

On behalf of impacted LEAs, nonpublic, and private schools, the California Department of Education (CDE) applied for Emergency Impact Aid and Assistance for Homeless Children and Youth funding from the ED in July 2018. The CDE is awaiting a notice of award and will provide information to qualified LEA and nonpublic/private school applicants as soon as more information becomes available.

Resources

U.S. Department of Education Disaster Information Web page .

Emergency Impact Aid Statute