Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools Program

American Rescue Plan (ARP) Emergency Assistance to Non-public Schools (EANS) Program Requirements

As part of the ARP 2021, Public Law 117-2, Public Law 117-2, Congress set aside $2.75 billion of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund specifically to provide emergency assistance to students and teachers in NPS, as defined below, through the ARP EANS program. The purpose of the ARP EANS program is to provide services or assistance to NPS that enroll a significant percentage of students from low-income families and are most impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency.

On September 9, 2021, Governor Newsom applied for California’s EANS award. California received an ARP EANS award on November 4, 2021, of $181,312,003, of which $180,405,443 may be allocated to eligible NPS. The California Department of Education (CDE) is responsible for the administration of the ARP EANS program.

Additionally, following the approval of the ARP EANS application, a State Educational Agency (SEA) is required to publish on its web page the state’s approved:

• Minimum percentage to determine whether an NPS enrolls a significant percentage of students from low-income families.
• Sources of poverty data to be used in determining counts of students from low-income families in an NPS.
• Factors to determine whether an NPS is most impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.

Based on this requirement, an NPS interested in submitting a request for application, must meet the minimum requirements listed below:

• 20 percent has been identified as the threshold the State will use to determine if an NPS enrolls a significant percentage of students from low-income families. In order to arrive at this threshold, the CDE calculated the aggregated sum of students who reported low income counts by the total enrollment across the CRRSA EANS schools. This percentage would provide emergency assistance and services to more students by allowing a larger number of private schools in California that have been impacted by the COVID-19 emergency to apply under the ARP EANS program.
• The CDE will accept one or more of the following data sources regarding the number and percentage of low-income families enrolled in the NPS for the 2019–20 school year, provided the poverty threshold is consistent across sources and does not exceed 185 percent of the 2020 federal poverty level:
  • Data on student eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
  • Data from the E-rate program administered by the Federal Communications Commission.
  • Data from a different source, such as scholarship or financial assistance data.
• COVID-19 Impact - In order to determine the impact COVID-19 has had on an NPS, the CDE will use the number of COVID-19 infections per capita in the community or communities served by the non-public school to measure impact.

ARP EANS Needs Assessment

Vendor Selection and Services (XLSX)
Excel Workbook to be completed by ARP EANS recipients to provide the CDE with a needs assessment in order to assist the department in identifying potential vendors and give schools an opportunity to make preliminary selections.

ARP EANS Program Application

Reference Only - ARP EANS Program Application (DOCX)
This is a Reference Only version of the ARP EANS request for application (RFA). The ARP EANS RFA was submitted via the online portal during the open application period from December 13, 2021 through January 3, 2022.

ARP EANS Online Application

The ARP EANS application link was live during the open application period from December 13, 2021 through 5:00 p.m., January 3, 2022 only.

Schools may only apply for the ARP EANS program via the online portal during the open application period.

ARP EANS Cover Sheet (PDF)
ARP EANS Cover Sheet that is required to apply for ARP EANS funding.

ARP EANS Multiple Schools List (XLSX)
Multiple schools list that is required to be uploaded with the ARP EANS Coversheet.

ARP EANS Webinar

The CDE conducted a one hour webinar to review the requirements and RFA process under the ARP EANS program on December 8, 2021 from 11 a.m. to noon. If you would like a copy of this webinar, please email EANS@cde.ca.gov.

ARP EANS Funding Profile

ARP EANS Funding Profile
Link to the ARP EANS Funding Profile.

ARP EANS Funding Results

ARP EANS Funding Results (XLSX)
Link to the Funding Results web page.

CRRSA Act EANS Information

As part of the CRRSA Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260, Congress set aside $2.75 billion of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund specifically to provide emergency assistance to students and teachers in non-public schools through the EANS program.

The purpose of the EANS program is to provide services or assistance to eligible non-public schools to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on non-public school students and teachers in the state. Non-public schools were eligible to apply for funding under EANS provided that the school was in existence prior to March 13, 2020 and was not applying for or receiving a second round of the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) on or after December 27, 2020.

Non-public schools were required to submit an application to receive services or assistance through the EANS program.

For purposes of the EANS program, an eligible non-public school is an elementary or secondary school that is:

• Non-profit;
• Accredited, licensed, or otherwise operates in accordance with State law;
• Was in existence prior to March 13, 2020, the date the President declared the national emergency due to COVID-19; and
• Did not, and will not, apply for and receive a loan under the PPP (15 United States Code 636[a][37]) that is made on or after December 27, 2020.

Based on the eligibility criteria, non-public private schools were eligible to apply for EANS funding.

Application for Funding

On February 22, 2021, Governor Newsom submitted a signed certification and agreement for California’s EANS award. An application for funding was posted to this webpage within 30 days of California’s receipt of the EANS funds. The application period was April 1 through April 26, 2021. Qualified applicants were notified of the individual award amount on May 12, 2021.

EANS Program Funding

This is a Reference Only version of the EANS RFA. The EANS RFA was only completed and submitted via the online portal during the open application period from April 1 through April 26, 2021. If you would like a copy of the RFA, please email EANS@cde.ca.gov.

EANS Funding Results

EANS Funding Results (XLSX)
The CDE web page to the EANS Funding Results.

EANS Expense Report Survey

The EANS Expense Report Survey link was emailed to all eligible recipients on October 8, 2021. It closed at 5:00 p.m. on October 31, 2021.

Category 3, Item 2 Resources

Under the EANS program, Category 3, Item 2 includes “Staff training and professional development on sanitization, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and minimizing the spread of COVID-19”. To provide these services to EANS schools, the CDE Emergency Response Team and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) have partnered together to provide a comprehensive toolkit that provides resources and support under Category 3, Item 2.

This toolkit focuses on staff training and professional development in the following areas in accordance with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH):

• Sanitization
• The use of PPE
• Minimizing the spread of COVID-19

The CDE will continuously update this toolkit as new information and guidance emerges.

Sanitization

The following resources provide guidance to sanitize, disinfect, and clean school facilities:

Best Practices for Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting at Schools (Video; 10:39)
The CDPR provides a video demonstrating cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting practices performed by school employees to keep schools clean. The video provides guidance on when each is typically used, proper PPE required, and steps needed to safely and effectively apply pesticide cleaners.

Mejores prácticas para limpiar, desinfectar y desinfectar en las escuelas (Video; 11:23)
The CDPR provides a video demonstrating cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting practices performed by school employees to keep schools clean. The video provides guidance on when each is typically used, proper PPE required, and steps needed to safely and effectively apply pesticide cleaners (video in Spanish language).

Cleaning, Disinfecting, and Ventilation
The CDC provides guidance for cleaning, disinfecting, and ventilation of public spaces to reduce the risk of infection, including using sprayers, foggers, misters, or vaporizers.

When and How to Clean and Disinfect a Facility
The CDC provides guidance on cleaning buildings in community settings (such as offices, gyms, businesses, and community centers).

Use of PPE

The following resources address the proper use of PPE and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases:

Guidance for the Use of Face Coverings
The CDPH provides information on requirements and provides guidance on the use of masks, including mask requirements and exemptions.

Use Masks to Slow the Spread of COVID-19
The CDC provides information on the best use of face masks including who should wear a mask, types of masks, and why masks are essential.

Minimizing the Spread of COVID-19

The following resources provide guidance on how to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and maintain a safe environment:

K–12 Schools Guidance 2021–2022 Questions & Answers
The CDPH provides overall safety guidance for K–12 schools, including vaccination, masking, quarantine, and school based extracurricular activities.

Safe Schools for All Hub
The State of California provides access to key resources and information related to COVID-19 and schools. New resources are added to the hub on a routine basis.

COVID-19 Guidance for Safe Schools
The American Academy of Pediatrics provides guidance in assisting stakeholders in creating policies for safe schools during the COVID-19 pandemic that foster the overall health of children, adolescents, educators, staff, and communities and are based on available evidence.

EANS Webinars

The CDE conducted a webinar on September 21, 2021, from noon to 1:00 p.m. to describe the options that schools will have in order to request services and assistance for items outlined in Category 3 of the EANS program. Note: Category 3 funds are available for services and will not expire until September 2023. The webinar link was emailed to all eligible recipients and posted on the EANS web page.

The CDE conducted a webinar on August 12, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to provide information on how to submit an Expense Report to the CDE for items outlined in EANS Categories 1 and 2 on the RFA for reporting period 2. Reporting period 2 is from July 1 through August 15, 2021. The completed Expense report must have been submitted to the CDE by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 31, 2021. The webinar link was emailed to all eligible recipients

Dates of the first quarter reporting period for the EANS Categories 1 and 2 were March 13, 2020 through June 30, 2021. The completed Expense Report must have been submitted to the CDE by 5:00 p.m. on July 31, 2021.

If you would like a copy of the September 21, August 12, July 1, April 5, or April 7, 2021 webinars, email EANS@cde.ca.gov.

Additional Links

U.S. Department of Education (ED) EANS Program
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education EANS implementation and award resources.

ED Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): EANS Program (PDF)
ED document to answer FAQs about the EANS and CRRSA Act Programs.

CDE CRRSA Act Funding
Information on the CRRSA Act, including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) II, and the GEER II fund.

CDE Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding
Information on the CARES Act and associated funds and waivers, including the ESSER I, and the GEER I fund.