As promised, the Virginia
School Boards Association continues to monitor the Federal and State response
to the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our members informed regarding policies that
may impact school divisions across the Commonwealth. Yesterday, President Trump
and Secretary DeVos demanded schools reopen in the fall with full-time five day
a week learning. Both have made public statements that federal funding may
be withheld from schools that do not reopen.
On its own, the Administration
does not have the power to simply cut funding designated for public schools
that has been appropriated by Congress, but they could try and put rules in
place around pieces of the COVID-19 emergency funding through the CARES Act
that could restrict funds through an interim final rule. It is likely that a
court challenge would ensue if these actions were taken by the Trump
Administration.
VSBA is in contact with the legal
advocacy and government relations team at the National School Boards
Association and has been informed they are exploring the options around such a
rule and the potential legal challenges.
It should be noted that
the Administration has other methods to restrict funds in any new legislation
passed by Congress. They could ask Congress to tie funding levels in new
legislation to whether schools reopen. The President could threaten to veto any
legislation that does not have such a provision. The legislative language would
likely offer a carrot and stick approach if it were included in a bill.
Similar pressure has been used
by Congress in the past. One of the best examples is the National Minimum
Drinking Age Act passed in 1984 that tied state drinking ages with highway
funding. The legislation required states to raise their ages to 21 by October
1986 or they would lose 10% of their federal highway funds-every state complied.
This history raises the possibility that there could be strings attached to a
funding bill. But I think the odds of a proposal with strings like that
attached to it passing Congress are not high-particularly as more outbreaks pop
up and concerns by parents and others increase.
It is not likely that House
Democrats would agree to these provisions and the pressure on both parties to
pass additional legislation is likely going to increase as the emergency
worsens.
VSBA is in frequent contact
with the Virginia Congressional Delegation on matters related to COVID-19 and
the challenges school divisions in the Commonwealth face as they plan for
reopening. We are working with our federal and state association partners to
advocate for the necessary resources and local flexibility in developing
reopening plans that meet the needs of their individual communities.
Please do not hesitate to
contact VSBA Government Relations Specialist, J.T. Kessler, at jason@vsba.org or 434-295-8722 if you have
questions regarding the Federal and State response to school reopening. As
always, VSBA will keep you informed on the latest updates from Washington and
Richmond as they develop.
