CARES Act Resources

Regarding Federal Funding

We asked a Christian attorney for some thoughts on accepting federal funding. He wrote:

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina clearly communicated that the CARES Act includes churches and Christian nonprofits. Senator Scott helped write this bill.

Nothing in the CARES Act conditions receipt of federal funds on a waiver of religious freedom rights.

What does continue to control is a bona fide, sincere religious belief, such as some religions opposing homosexuality, and believing that marriage is solely the union of one man and one woman.

True, United States Supreme Court cases like Hosanna-Tabor confirm, before the coronavirus, that a school has a better chance of asserting a free exercise of religious defense if it does not accept federal funds. However, the Cares Act is an emergency measure, and is not a waiver of First Amendment free exercise of religion protections.

Resources

• CAPE’s Overview of the CARES Act (44 pgs)
• Top 10 Questions Nonprofits Are Asking About the CARES Act (ECFA)
• An Overview of the CARES Act for Churches by Richard Hammar (regularly updated)
• The CARES Act & Your Church Staff: What you Need to Know & 4 Steps to Take Now – Christianity Today
• U.S. Department of Labor: COVID-19 and the American Workplace
  • Paid Sick Leave Poster
  • FAQs

Education Stabilization Fund (Money for Schools)

A portion of the CARES Act money is allotted to each state. H.R. 748 included these sections with funds for schools:

• Section 18002 Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER)
• Section 18003 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)
• Section 18005 Assistance to Nonpublic Schools

Steps to take: Contact your local education agency. Let them know you are aware of the existence of these funds. Request your equitable share. Make a list of items you’d use the funds for. See this PDF for the allowable uses: H.R. 748.pdf

• The relevant section of the bill text: CARES_SEC_18003_d_.pdf
• Q&A regarding Equitable Services for the CARES Act: QAEquitableServicesfortheCARESAct.pdf
• Guidance on GEER and ESSER from the US Department of Education: US Department of Education Releases CARES Act Guidance
• See the ACCS Forum discussions here and here for additional updated information.

Charitable Contributions

Paycheck Protection Program

The latest update on PPP loan forgiveness for the original program that ended on August 8th is found here. FAQs from August 4th are here.  Information about the new EZ loan forgiveness application is here, the link to the actual EZ application is here, and the regular loan forgiveness application is here. You may apply for forgiveness now or wait for the inevitable changes that will come as this program evolves.  If you have not gotten back up to your original FTE employee count, it may make more sense to wait.

About the Program

• Paycheck Protection Program (Overview, How to Apply, Loan Details and Forgiveness, etc.)
• PPP Application Form
• Treasury Department Information for Borrowers
• SBA Interim Rule (April 3, 2020)
• FAQs from Faith-Based Organizations (by Barbara E. Molargik-Fitch of Brotherhood Mutual)

Corresponding Resources

Church Law & Tax:

• SBA Updated Guidance: Religious Liberty Protections Will be Provided with Loan Program

Keiter Advisors:

• Slides about the Paycheck Protection Program (3/31/2020)

Vanderbloemen:

• School Resources for Navigating COVID-19 (Video)

FAQs:

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

Virus Information

CDC Guidance For Schools: Plan, Prepare and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019

John Hopkins Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases  (provides a map and stats on cases and results)

Virginia Department of Health Handwashing Poster

Third Party Articles:

• Risk Alerts: Coronavirus — What You Need to Know (Church Mutual)
• Healthy Schools, Healthy People
• World Meter Statistics
• Five Reasons You Don’t Need to Panic About the 
  COVID-19 Coronavirus
• Why Christians Should Not Panic Over the Coronavirus
• A Balanced Response to the Coronavirus

School Responses

This “worksheet” is really a list of considerations and examples of policy areas to consider around Covid-19. If you’re out right now, you’ll need to go back into session at some point. When you do, you’ll need some written policies to help everyone feel better about the decision to restart school. When schools resume, the epidemic may not be past. So, we may be managing cases of Covid-19 for some time.

• Bayshore Christian School Coronavirus Plan 
• Bayshore Christian School Letter to Parents
• Providence Classical School Letter to Parents
• Providence Classical School Parent Survey
• Sequitur Classical Academy Coronavirus Plan
• Sequitur Classical Academy Coronavirus Questions and Answers
• Whitfield Coronavirus Email to Parents

Communication of Confirmed and Presumptive Positive Tests (TEPSAC)

• • Staff Member Confirmed COVID-19 (sample letter) 
  • Student Confirmed COVID-19 (sample letter) 
  • Staff Member Presumptive Exposure (sample letter)
  • Student Presumptive Exposure (sample letter) 

• Virtual Tour of Westminster Academy

Plans for Reopening

• CDC Issues New Back-to-School Guidance with Emphasis on In-Person Learning 7/12/21
• Back-To-School FAQs for Educational Institutions during the COVID-19 Era by Fischer Phillips
• Comparison of FERPA and HIPAA Privacy Rule for Accessing Student Health Data – ASTHO – This is a helpful resource for building policies around student and community management of COVID given the privacy laws.  It’s also a useful guide for educational privacy issues in general.
  • “Public health agencies view schools and education agencies as important partners in protecting children and adolescents from health threats. Sharing data between schools and public health agencies may, in some instances, be the only realistic and reliable method for getting the information necessary to conduct public health activities, such as tracking immunization rates. Federal privacy protections for student education records have created confusion and difficulties for public health efforts to conduct ongoing and emergency public health activities in schools. This document compares key aspects of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule related to the use and disclosure of information. The following chart provides only a snapshot of the rights, duties, and limitations imposed by FERPA and HIPAA.”

Plans shared by member schools:

Protocols and Procedure Documents

A Guide for Re-opening Campus – Trinitas Christian School

14-Point Safety Protocol for Re-opening Campus – Trinitas Christian School

COVID-19 Protocols – Providence Christian School

Safety Protocols in Action – Providence Christian School

COVID-19 Staff Quarantine Procedures – Providence Christian School

COVID-19 Plan and Procedures – Oak Hill Classical

Health Risk Policies and Procedures – Oak Hill Classical

Intake Form – Cary Christian School

Response Matrix – Cary Christian School

Response Protocol – Cary Christian School

Release/Agreement Forms

COVID-19 Student & Parent Release from Liability Form

COVID-19 Family Commitment – Providence Christian School

COVID-19 Staff Agreement – Providence Christian School

ACCS COVID Survey Report

This is the updated report from our weekly survey on COVID from our member schools. This has been tracked over the past 18 weeks. The report is general, showing the trends thus far overall. There is no school-specific data. We are monitoring trends and will adjust the reports over time to reflect anomalies we see.

The purpose of this tracking and reporting is threefold: First, to help calm parents who feel that your school is not taking COVID seriously enough, or that you’re taking it too seriously. Second, you can see how your school compares to the average, so you know where you stand with your response. Third, we hope, as an association, to spot early trends and notify our schools if we’re seeing problems.

Thank you for those who are participating in the tracking. It will help your school and others.

Click on the link below to view the latest report:

ACCS COVID Survey Report and Dashboard