Plugged In To Education

March 9, 2021

Coverage of updates in lower education, higher education & human services.

What’s Inside Plugged In To Education

  • Public Facing Non-Profit Workers Eligible for Vaccines
  • $29 Million Available to Support Essential Workers and First Responders Through the Empire Pandemic Grant Program
  • HECAP Board to Meet
  • New York City High Schools Set to Re-Open
  • DOB Approves Tuition Rate Methodology for Special Education Programs
  • Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Program Announced
  • OCFS Provides Guidance on Background Checks
  • SUNY Announces Comprehensive 25-Point Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan
  • Max SNAP Continues Through March & USDA Announces Extension of Summer Meals
  • New COVID-19 Guidance
  • NYS Register
  • Funding Opportunities
  • Coming Up 

Public Facing Non-Profit Workers Eligible for Vaccines

Governor Cuomo announced today a new expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility in New York. Beginning March 10, all New Yorkers 60 years of age and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. In addition, the following essential workers will now be eligible to begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine on March 17:

  • Public-facing government and public employees
  • Not-for-profit workers who provide public-facing services to New Yorkers in need

Essential in-person public-facing building service workers

$29 Million Available to Support Essential Workers and First Responders Through the Empire Pandemic Grant Program

Governor Cuomo announced $29 million is available to support essential workers and first responders through the Empire Pandemic Response Reimbursement Fund program coordinated by the Office of Children and Family Services. The program is designed to reimburse out-of-pocket childcare, transportation, lodging and other qualifying expenses that enabled workers to perform their duties. The funding comes from private donations from individuals, charitable trusts and businesses made during the COVID crisis. Qualifying applicants include first responders, health care, and many multi-industry workers. Up to $1,000 is available per household. Workers should be referred by employers, unions or social service providers who can verify employment during the COVID emergency. Families who earn up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level – or $125,470 for a family of four – are eligible to apply for the funds to cover expenses.

HECAP Board to Meet

The Higher Education Capital (HECap) Matching Grant Program provides $300 million in matching capital grants to private, not-for-profit colleges and universities for projects that create construction jobs and drive investment in communities across the state. The HECap program is governed by the HECap Board. The Board will meet to announce a new round of awards on March 12, 2021 t 10:00 AM.

New York City High Schools Set to Re-Open

The New York City Department of Education announced yesterday that high schools will be reopened for in-person learning on Monday, March 22, 2021. The following conditions must be met:

  • All schools will have 20% of students and staff randomly tested on a weekly basis.
  • All students who have not already done so are required to provide consent for testing by their first scheduled in-person learning day in order to learn in person.

Families are encouraged to submit consent through the NYC Schools Account prior to their child’s first day of in-person learning.

DOB Approves Tuition Rate Methodology for Special Education Programs

Late last month, the Division of the Budget approved a number of proposals in relation to the tuition rates of school-age and preschool special education programs. The approvals include the provision of 2019-20 reconciliation rate waivers via a streamlined approval process to hold providers harmless for the impact of reduced care days due to the 10-month session operation less than 180 days as a result of COVID-19 closures.

Emergency Assistance to Nonpublic Schools Program Announced

The State Education Department has announced a total of $248.9 million will be made available for New York State’s religious and independent schools through the federal Emergency Assistance for Nonpublic Schools (EANS) program. Unlike last year’s CARES Act, which required local school districts to provide equitable services to nonpublic schools, these EANS funds will be directly administered by the New York State Education Department (NYSED). A Letter of Intent must be submitted to NYSED by March 17, 2021.

OCFS Provides Guidance on Background Checks

The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) issued a “Dear Provider Letter” to provide guidance on an updated schedule for completion of Comprehensive Background Check requirements. New federally mandated background check requirements were enacted in late 2019; however, the COVID-19 pandemic caused interruption in the ability to schedule fingerprinting appointments in 2020. The guidance in this letter outlines the expectations for completion of these requirements for those that were impacted during this specified timeframe in 2020.

SUNY Announces Comprehensive 25-Point Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Action Plan

Chancellor Jim Malatras announced SUNY’s 25-point Action Plan to close racial equity gaps, and eliminate cultural and institutional racial discrimination across SUNY campuses. The plan was developed in collaboration with a broad cross section of stakeholders. Members of the SUNY community were invited to provide feedback and recommendations as well.

Max SNAP Continues Through March & USDA Announces Extension of Summer Meals

The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) announced that all New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will receive the maximum allowable level of food benefits for March. Roughly half of all households participating in SNAP will receive the supplemental allotment later this month, which will result in an infusion of roughly $100 million into the state’s economy.

In addition, today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the nationwide extension of several waivers that allow all children to continue to receive nutritious meals this summer when schools are out of session. These flexibilities are now available through Sept. 30, 2021.

New COVID-19 Guidance

COVID-19

Higher Ed

Lower Ed

NYS Register

Proposed Regulations- 60 Day Comment Period

Emergency Rule Making

  • The State Education Department issued a notice of emergency rule making to provide flexibility for certain regulatory requirements in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The proposed amendments provide flexibility related to the following:
  • Renewal of limited permits in medicine;
  • In-person CPR course certification requirements for dentists and dental hygienists;
  • The takeover and restructuring of struggling and persistently struggling schools;
  • Teacher certification through the Individual Evaluation pathway;
  • Expiration dates of the Initial certificate, Initial Reissuance, Provisional certificate, Provisional Renewal, and Conditional Initial certificate for teacher candidates;
  • Emergency COVID-19 teaching certificates;
  • School district leader and school district business leader assessments;
  • Annual monitoring and tracking of prekindergarten program effectiveness and the annual report of the percentage of prekindergarten children making significant gains;
  • Application deadline for alternative high school equivalency preparation programs;
  • Unit of study requirements;
  • Regents examinations, pathway assessments, alternative assessments, technical assessments, and locally developed test requirements for a diploma;
  • NYS career and development and occupational studies commencement credential; and
  • General comprehensive examination requirements for a high school equivalency diploma.
  • The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities issued a notice of emergency rule making to assist providers in maintaining capacity to operate during the public health emergency in relation to day habilitation duration.

Emergency/Proposed Rule Making/60 Day Public Comment

The Office of Mental Health issued a notice of emergency adoption and proposed rule making to redesign Residential Treatment Facilities (RTF).

Funding Opportunities

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced the availability of funding for the Extended School Day/School Violence Prevention (ESD/SVP) Program to award competitive grants to provide support to students through extended school day activities and/or school safety programs which promote violence prevention. Due March 10, 2021

The Office of Mental Health is looking to fund six Care Transition and Support Teams (CTSTs) based on the critical time intervention (CTI) model, and provide two high-touch intensive outreach, engagement and care coordination CTI teams for the street and subway-dwelling homeless. Due March 12, 2021

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Charter School Office (CSO) is seeking proposals to establish a charter school technical assistance resource provider (TARP) to work with charter schools across New York State. Due March 17, 2021

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) is making up to $3.7 million in funding available under the Apprenticeship Expansion Grant (AEG-2) to increase employment opportunities for approximately 800 apprentices with a focus on underrepresented populations. Due March 26, 2021

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title II and Welfare Education Program to provide adult education and literacy services to assist out-of-school youth and adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and economic self-sufficiency and assist these individuals in the completion of a secondary school education. Due March 30, 2021

The Department of State seeks to create the New York State Professional Pathways for High-Skilled Immigrants (“NYS Professional Pathways”) program to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by assisting New York’s low-income immigrant population who received higher education abroad to pursue employment that matches their previous education and experience. Due March 31, 2021

The New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) announces a Solicitation of Interest (SOI) for qualified organizations that meet the criteria of a Settlement House, an independent, voluntary, not-for-profit organization engaged in community work and social services delivery in a defined neighborhood, in a municipality of the State of New York. Due April 9, 2021

The Department of State seeks to award funding to approximately 21 partner organizations located throughout New York State with significant concentrations of low-income immigrants and refugees to establish a network of neighborhood-based “Opportunity Centers – ESOL” where immigrants will be supported through opportunities to learn English as well as provided information to help navigate their communities. Due April 21, 2021

The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (NYSDOH AI), Division of HIV & Hepatitis Health Care, Bureau of Community Support Services and Health Research, Inc. (HRI) announce the availability of $2,514,252 annually in New York State (NYS) and federal funding for five years to provide legal services for individuals and families to support continuity in HIV care. Due April 29, 2021

Coming Up

The Board of Regents will hold their next meeting on March 15 and 16.

The Senate will hold a public hearing on diversifying agriculture and addressing food justice alongside continuing inequalities in our food systems on April 7.

OCFS, in conjunction with the Civil Service Employees Association, will be hosting a live webinar on “Child Care Providers and Federal Assistance: Small Business Administration Loans and Loan Forgiveness” on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 7 p.m.

Plugged In to Education is prepared by Hinman Straub P.C. and is intended to keep our clients informed about news and Legislative and regulatory developments that may affect or otherwise be of interest to them. The comments contained herein do not constitute legal opinion and should not be regarded as a substitute for legal advice. If you prefer not to receive these updates, please alert us so we may remove you from our distribution list. © Hinman Straub P.C. 2020. All rights reserved.