Current Issues in Public Policy
Federal School Nutrition Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (DOA) issued new guidance that required all schools that participated in the federal school nutrition program to provide notice and post flyers that detailed their obligations regarding sexual orientation/gender identity. If schools were to use their religious exemption, they had first to submit a written request to DOA, citing explicit reasons, and wait for approval before acting on the exemption.
However, there is no statutory authority for an agency to require a request or to grant an exemption: the religious institution has only to claim its exemption, not request it.
This August, responding to a great deal of advocacy by faith-based groups and a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a Christian school in Florida, the UDSA agreed to revise its regulations.
The revision says:
- “USDA regulations do not require a religious educational institution to submit a written request for a Title IX exemption in order to claim that exemption.”
- The DOA advises: “Those that have neither sought nor received prior written assurance from USDA may still invoke their exemption after USDA receives a Title IX discrimination complaint or initiates Title IX compliance efforts.”
Federal Programs Guidance Documents
The documents below are the latest provided by the US Department of Education and supersede all prior guidance documents pertaining to equitable services.
Private school officials who engage in consultation with the public school officials for equitable services for students and educational personnel should be familiar with these documents and bring copies of them to the consultation meetings.
Title I, Part A: Providing Equitable Services to Eligible Private School Children, Teachers, and Families
The purpose of Title I of the ESEA is to provide all children with a significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps. (ESEA section 1001). Each LEA that receives Title I funds identifies public school attendance areas and schools that have high concentrations of children from low-income families as eligible to participate in Title I programs. (ESEA section 1113). ESEA section 1117 requires participating LEAs, in consultation with appropriate private school officials, to provide eligible children attending private non-profit elementary and secondary schools, their teachers, and their families with Title I services or other benefits that are equitable to those provided to eligible public school children, their teachers, and their families. Eligible private school children are children who reside in a participating Title I public school attendance area and are low achieving.
Title VIII: Equitable Services for Eligible Private School Children, Teachers, and Other Educational Personnel
This document contains the most up-dated guidance pertaining to equitable services for private school students and educational personnel under the following titles of ESEA:
- Title I, Part C - Education of Migratory Children
- Title II, Part A - Supporting Effective Instruction
- Title III, Part A - English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement
- Title IV, Part A - Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants
- Title IV, Part B - Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)
- Title IV, Part F, section 4631 - Project SERV. (ESEA section 8501(b)(1); 34 C.F.R. § 299.6(b))
Individual With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA Part B) 4 contains specific requirements regarding State and local responsibilities for equitable services for parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education (Department), Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) issues this Questions and Answers (Q&A) document to provide State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), parents, private school officials, advocacy organizations, and other interested parties with information regarding these requirements.
IDEA and 504
IDEA is a federal education law that provides services to some students in private schools, depending upon the funding available.
504 is a civil rights law that indicated the nature of a person's disability and the accommodations required. Private schools, even if they participate in the federal nutrition programs, are not required to write 504 plans — that is the responsibility of the local public school district.
The Catholic school accommodations plan is sufficient. See this article pertaining to 504 plans.