OSPI allotted nineteen private schools $3.7M designated by Congress as emergency relief funds through the EANS 2 Program or ARP EANS for private schools to support low-income students most impacted by COVID. Each private school received a letter from OSPI with an amount and a timeline of September 2024 to spend their funds.
Washington State was given $45.3M of EANS 2 funding to support its low-income students attending private schools. OSPI gave the schools $3.7M of the $45.3M; the rest, $41.6M, went to Governor Inslee’s Office.
The $41.6M windfall wasn’t enough, and in a surprise move, legislators took half of the $3.7M budgeted and, in many cases, already spent by the private schools and diminished the timeline from a year to less than a month for schools to spend the funding.
We want the approximately $1.8M of EANS 2 funding to go, as promised, to the private schools. The schools need this funding to pay teachers who have already provided services to children this year and to honor the schools’ commitment to families to provide needed services next year.
WFIS is working with private schools, advocacy organizations, legislators, OSPI, the Governor’s Office, and the US Department of Education to rectify the situation.
Please reach out to EANS@k12.wa.us if you have any questions.