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Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students

Hurricane Education Recovery Act
Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students
Guidelines

Printable Version (66 kb PDF)

Timelines:

Purpose:
The Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program provides funds to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to assist with the cost of educating students displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are being served by LEAs during the school year 2005-2006, and to make immediate impact aid payments to accounts established on behalf of displaced students who are attending eligible nonpublic schools located in areas served by LEAs.

Project Period:
September 1, 2005 – July 31, 2006

Definitions:
Eligible Local Educational Agency (LEA): A local educational agency that serves:

• an elementary or secondary school in which there is enrolled a displaced student; or
• an area in which there is located an eligible nonpublic school.

EligibleNonpublicSchool: A nonpublic elementary or secondary school that:

• is consistent with the definition of “nonpublic school” found in N.J.S.A 18A:46-19.2(b) - an elementary or secondary school within the state, other than a public school, offering education for grades kindergarten through 12, or any combination of them, wherein any child may legally fulfill compulsory school attendance requirements and which complies with the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352);
• was in existence on August 22, 2005; and
• serves at least one displaced student whose parent or guardian has submitted an application for assistance under the program.

Note:  The nonpublic school must waive tuition or reimburse tuition paid in order to receive funds under this program.

Displaced Student: A student for whom LEAs may receive payments is one who:

• on August 22, 2005, resided in and was enrolled or was eligible to be enrolled in a school in an area for which the Federal Government later declared a major disaster related to hurricanes Katrina or Rita*; and
• as a result of his/her displacement by the storm, is enrolled in a different school on a date on which an enrollment count is taken for the purpose of this program.

Note:  A nonpublic school student must have been enrolled in the eligible nonpublic school prior to December 30, 2005.

* The affected counties include:

Alabama:
Baldwin, Bibb, Choctaw, Clarke, Colbert, Culliman, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Marengo, Marion, Mobile, Monroe, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Wilcox, and Winston Counties

Florida:
Bay, Broward, Collier, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties

Louisiana:
All parishes

Mississippi:
Adams, Alcorn, Amite, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Claiborne, Clarke, Clay, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, Franklin, George, Grenada, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issequena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Kemper, Lafayette, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Leake, Lee, Leflore, Lincoln, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Walthall, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wilkinson, Winston, Yalobusha, and Yazoo Counties

Texas:
All counties

Application Process:

LEA Requirements:

Quarters One and Two:
By January 26, 2006, the LEA must identify the number of eligible students displaced by hurricanes Katrina or Rita, including separate counts of the number of students without disabilities and the number of students with disabilities, who are enrolled in both public schools and eligible nonpublic schools as of October 1, 2005 and December 1, 2005. 

• LEAs must notify each eligible nonpublic school within its boundaries of the availability of Temporary Emergency Impact Aid funds.
• Parents or guardians of a displaced student who is attending an eligible nonpublic school must submit an application to the LEA requesting the LEA make payments to a Temporary Emergency Impact Aid Account on behalf of the displaced student. 
• LEAs must verify that the nonpublic school students meet the definition of displaced students, were enrolled in the eligible nonpublic school prior to December 30, 2005 and the students’ parents chose to enroll the students in an eligible nonpublic school.  In order to meet these tight timelines, LEAs should report the counts in the application, which is due by January 26, 2006 and verify the eligibility of the students by February 10, 2006. 
• LEAs will be allowed to revise the counts of both public and nonpublic school students if they collect more accurate data not available at the time of initial submission.

Note:  Failure to meet the January 26, 2006 submission deadline will result in the LEA’s becoming ineligible for funding under the Hurricane Education Recovery Act.

Quarter Three:
By February 10, 2006, the LEA must identify and report, using a copy of the original application, the number of eligible displaced students who are enrolled in both public schools and eligible nonpublic schools as of February 1, 2006.  LEAs should also include revised counts for the first and second quarters, if appropriate.

Quarter Four:
By April 10, 2006, the LEA must identify and report, using a copy of the original application, the number of eligible displaced students who are enrolled in both public schools and eligible nonpublic schools as of April 1, 2006.  LEAs should also include any revised counts through the third quarter, if appropriate.

NonpublicSchool Requirements:

Quarters One and Two:

• Parents or guardians of eligible displaced students who were enrolled in an eligible nonpublic school as of October 1, 2005 or December 1, 2005 must complete a Parent Application and submit the application to the eligible nonpublic school no later than January 24, 2006. 
• The eligible nonpublic school must forward the original Parent Application, a copy of the registration form and the original Nonpublic School Certification form to the LEA by January 25, 2006.  In order to meet the deadline, copies of these documents may be faxed to the LEA and hardcopies mailed.

Quarter Three:

• A parent or guardian who has enrolled an eligible displaced student in the eligible nonpublic school after December 1, 2005, but prior to December 30, 2005, must complete a Parent Application and submit the application to the eligible nonpublic school no later than February 8, 2006. 
• The eligible nonpublic school must forward the original Parent Application, a copy of the registration form and the original Nonpublic School Certification form to the LEA by February 9, 2006. 

Quarter Four:

• The eligible nonpublic school must forward the original Parent Application, a copy of the registration form and the original Nonpublic School Certification form to the LEA by April 7, 2006.

Note:  The eligible nonpublic school must maintain, on file, a copy of the Parent Applications, the original registration forms and a copy of the Nonpublic School Certification forms.

Verification of Status as a Displaced Student:
LEAs must document that on August 22, 2005, each such student resided in, and was enrolled or eligible to be enrolled in a public or eligible nonpublic school within the disaster areas covered by the declarations for hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Examples of documentation include, but are not limited to, a transcript from the student's former school, a student registration form with a former address within the disaster areas, verification of enrollment from an SEA, a utility bill, or a copy of a parent's driver's license.

The nonpublic school should encourage parents or guardians of eligible nonpublic school students to cooperate in meeting all applicable program requirements by promptly providing the required data and supporting documentation to the nonpublic school.  The nonpublic school must forward the required data and supporting documentation to the LEA in a timely manner.

Amount and Uses of Funds:
Amount of Funds:
The maximum amount of emergency impact aid available for the 2005-2006 school year is based on the following:
LEA:

• $6,000 for a student who is not reported as a child with a disability; or
• $7,500 for a student who is reported as a child with a disability.

EligibleNonpublicSchool Students:  
The lesser of:

• $6,000 for a student who is not reported as a child with a disability; or
• the cost of tuition and fees (and transportation expenses, if any) at the nonpublic school for the 2005-2006 school year.

OR

• $7,500 for a student who is reported as a child with a disability; or
• the cost of tuition and fees (and transportation expenses, if any) at the nonpublic school for the 2005-2006 school year.

The NJDOE will make quarterly payments to the LEAs only for each quarter that the displaced students are enrolled in the schools in the LEAs or the eligible nonpublic schools.  If the amount of available funding to the NJDOE for each quarter is insufficient to make the payments in full, the NJDOE will proportionately reduce each LEA’s payment.  The LEAs must make payments to all accounts established for displaced students enrolled in eligible nonpublic schools within fourteen (14) days of receiving its allocation. 

Note: Additional information regarding accounts for displaced students enrolled in eligible nonpublic schools will be published by January 24, 2006.

Note: The NJDOE will retain one (1) percent for administration of the program.

Obligation Period:

• Funds received under this program must be obligated by July 31, 2006 and liquidated by October 30, 2006.  Any unexpended funds must be returned to the NJDOE.  THERE IS NO CARRY OVER PERIOD FOR THESE FUNDS.
• Funds may be used for pre-award costs incurred during the 2005-2006 school year, including the reimbursement of expenditures incurred prior to the receipt of funds.

Uses of Funds:
Program funds may be used for expenses incurred only for the school year 2005-2006.  These funds may be used to provide instructional opportunities for eligible displaced students and for expenses the LEAs and/or eligible nonpublic schools incur in serving these students. Examples of allowable expenses include:

• paying the compensation of personnel, including teacher aides, in schools enrolling displaced students;
• identifying and acquiring curricular material and classroom supplies;
• acquiring or leasing mobile educational units or leasing sites and spaces (to the extent those costs are not met by FEMA);
• providing basic instructional services for displaced students, including tutoring, mentoring, or academic counseling;
• paying reasonable transportation costs;
• providing health and counseling services; and
• providing education and support services.

An LEA may use up to two (2) percent of its allocation for administration of the program.

Funds received under this program for students with disabilities may be used only to pay for special education and related services consistent with IDEA.

Funds may NOT be used for construction or major renovation of schools.

Recordkeeping:
LEA Requirements:

• LEAs must maintain adequate written records to support the amount of payments received and the allowable expenditures made under the program for the school year 2005-2006. 
• At a minimum, LEAs must keep auditable records documenting the enrollments of the displaced public school and eligible nonpublic school students whom they claimed as the basis for receiving payments and evidence the students claimed met the definition of a displaced student. 
• LEAs must maintain, on file, the original Parent Application, a copy of the registration form and the original Nonpublic School Certification form. 
• For payments made to accounts for displaced nonpublic school students, LEAs must record (such as in a ledger or spreadsheet) the names of the displaced students, the funds provided for each student and the disbursement of those funds to a particular eligible nonpublic school.

NonpublicSchool Requirements:

• At a minimum, an eligible nonpublic school must maintain adequate written records to support the amount of funds received and the allowable expenditures made under the program for the school year 2005-2006. 
• Eligible nonpublic schools must keep auditable records documenting the enrollments of the displaced children on whose behalf the nonpublic school received payments for displaced students. 
• Eligible nonpublic schools must maintain, on file, a copy of the Parent Application, the original registration form and a copy of the Nonpublic School Certification form.
• Eligible nonpublic schools must record (such as in a ledger or spreadsheet) the names of the displaced students, the funds provided for each student and the disbursement of those funds for each student.

Final Reports:
An eligible nonpublic school must submit a Final Report to the LEA, which will be incorporated into the LEA’s Final Report.

LEA Requirements:
LEAs must submit a Final Report:

• detailing the uses of the funds on a NJDOE form to be supplied;
• verifying the count of the displaced students it enrolled as of each of the quarterly count dates, based on the definition of a “displaced student;” 
• verifying the count of the number of students enrolled in eligible nonpublic schools whose parents or guardians applied for assistance under the program; and
• verifying the allowable expenditures.

NonpublicSchool Requirements:
Eligible nonpublic schools must submit to the LEA a Final Report:

• detailing the uses of the funds on a NJDOE form to be supplied;
• verifying the count of the displaced students it enrolled as of each of the quarterly count dates, based on the definition of a “displaced student;”  and
• verifying the allowable expenditures.

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