Overview
Since the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) was reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, private school students and teachers have been eligible to participate in certain federal education programs (ESEA Sections 1117 and 8501). Educational services and other benefits provided for private school students, teachers, and other educational personnel shall be equitable in comparison to services and other benefits for public school students, teachers, and other educational personnel participating in the programs under ESEA.
ESEA Requirement
According to ESEA sections 1117 and 8501, equitable services applies to the following programs:
Title I, Part A
| Designed to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. |
| Title I, Part C | Support high quality education programs for migratory children and help ensure that migratory children who move among the states are not penalized in any manner by disparities among states in curriculum, graduation requirements, or state academic content and student academic achievement standards. |
| Title II, Part A | Provide private school teachers and school leaders with professional development opportunities to support effective instruction.
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| Title III, Part A | Services to benefit English Learners (ELs) children and Immigrant Children and Youth (ICY). |
| Title IV, Part A | Improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of HIDOE, schools, and local communities to: 1) provide all students with access to a well rounded education, 2) improve school conditions for student learning, and 3) improve the use of technology in order to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students. |
| Title IV, Part B | Create community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities for children, particularly students who attend high poverty and low-performing schools. |
To help ensure equitable services under ESEA are provided to eligible private school students, teachers, and other educational personnel, HIDOE shall designate an ombudsman to monitor and enforce the requirements of this section.
Federal Coronavirus Relief
CARES Requirement
In 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Section 18005 required HIDOE to provide equitable services in the same manner as provided under ESEA Section 1117.
Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) Program
The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA Act), signed into law on December 27, 2020, includes the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) Program for the purpose of providing emergency services or assistance to non-public schools in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). HIDOE is responsible for administering the EANS Program (Section 312(d)(1)(A)).
The CRRSA Act EANS funding allocation was determined using the Title I calculation of applying the low-income percentage of each participating public school attendance area to the number of private school children who reside in that school attendance area.
Equitable Services Complaint Forms
Equitable Services Informational Session Recordings
Resources
U.S. Department of Education ESSA Webpage
U.S. Department of Education Office of Non-Public Education Webpage
U.S. Department of Education CARES - ESSER Webpage
U.S. Department of Education Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools Webpage
