NCEA Public Policy Activities

NCEA’s Director of Public Policy serves NCEA and its members in policy analysis and advocacy regarding national education policy issues impacting Catholic schools. NCEA collaborates with lobbyists for Catholic and private education associations, such as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Council for American Private Education (CAPE) and other private and faith-based organizations, to advance Catholic and private school interests in legislative activities on Capitol Hill and with the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies regarding education policy issues impacting private schools, such as school choice, federal resources for health, violence prevention and equitable services for Catholic and private school students and teachers.

Current Issues

COVID-19 Relief Aid for Schools
The latest relief package is EANS II (Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools) provide $2.75 billion in funding reserved to serve private schools. This is in addition to the $2.75 billion in EANS I dedicated to private schools. Advocacy activities for EANS II include efforts to ensure that the US Department of Education guidance that will be issued for applying for the funding replicates that which the previous administration issued to expedite the process and avoid confusion for both the state education departments and the private schools.

Homework Gap Program
Congress appropriated more than $7 billion for the FCC to create an E-rate program that will give schools funds to provide telecommunications connectivity as well as devices such as tablets, hotspots and other devices that will allow low-income students to be able to participate in virtual learning and keep up with their peers. The FCC will be developing protocols in the near future and they will be posted on the E-rate section of the NCEA website as they become available.