The U.S. Department of Education said yesterday that funding provided to higher education institutions based on the CARES Act (federal stimulus in response to COVID-19) cannot be distributed to students who do not receive Title IV financial aid funds. As critics immediately pointed out, this would exclude Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and international students from receiving the funding.
From Inside Higher Education: "Beyond excluding so-called DACA students, the department’s attempt to bring more clarity muddled the question of which students can get emergency help, making it even more difficult for colleges to get money in the hands of those who need it, said Terry Hartle, the American Council on Education’s senior vice president for government and public affairs."
From the Chronicle of Higher Education: "Those limitations came even as the stimulus law itself made no mention of eligibility for federal student aid to qualify for the emergency money. In addition, the formula Congress used to allocate the money included all students, not just those who can receive the Title IV dollars. Some higher-education associations questioned whether the department had made a reasonable interpretation of the legislation."
Read the Department's full information sheet here.
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