U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently unveiled an interim final rule that requires colleges and universities to limit emergency coronavirus relief grants only to students who qualify for federal financial aid. Grants that have already been handed out are not subject to the restriction, said the rule.
The regulation, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, is effective immediately, although the department will accept public comments on the policy for 30 days. The rule carries out DeVos's policy, first announced in April, that prohibits undocumented immigrants—including those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections—and millions of other students who are not eligible for Title IV aid from receiving emergency stimulus grants created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The policy is being challenged in federal courts in California and Washington.
According to a department press release, the regulation helps to "ensure taxpayer-funded coronavirus relief money is distributed properly and does not go to foreign nationals, non-citizens, and students who may be enrolled in ineligible education programs."
Sec. DeVos added that the rule also aims to eliminate any "uncertainty" for colleges about how they must distribute the funds, while carrying out the department's "responsibility to taxpayers to administer the CARES Act faithfully."
Federal judges in two states issued rulings in the last week blocking the department from enforcing its restrictions, Inside Higher Ed reported. A judge in California on Wednesday and another in Washington State last week granted preliminary injunctions that gives colleges and universities in those states broader latitude in doling out the CARES Act grants. The rulings, for now, allows California and Washington institutions to give the help to thousands more students, including veterans attending college on the GI Bill, those who have defaulted on student loans, and others who are ineligible for regular student aid. However, the Washington State ruling leaves in place the ban on undocumented students receiving the grants. The limited injunctions apply only to institutions in the states of California and Washington and does not keep the interim rule DeVos announced last Thursday from going into effect in the rest of the nation.
Related Links
Federal Register
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-06-17/pdf/2020-12965.pdf
U.S. Education Department Press Release
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-issues-rule-protect-american-taxpayers-waste-fraud-and-abuse-ensure-covid-19-relief-funds-get-eligible-students
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/15/federal-judge-rules-against-devos-washington-state-over-emergency-grants