When a public school district receives acompetitive grant under the BilingualEducation Program, students attendingprivate schools located in that district canreceive benefits from this grant. Benefitsinclude bilingual instruction, parentprograms, and professional development.

The Bilingual Education ProfessionalDevelopment Program also providesbenefits to private school students byproviding professional developmentactivities for their teachers.

Districts with a threshold number orproportion of recent immigrants qualify for the EmergencyImmigrant Assistance Act funds, which generally flow byformula from the states. When a district participates in thisprogram, immigrant students attending private schools locatedin this district receive educational materials and other benefits.

Professional development activitiesfunded under the Goals 2000 EducateAmerica Act must provide for theparticipation of private school teachersand administrators.

Additionally, materials developed withGoals 2000 funds, such as materials tosupport high academic standards, must,upon request, be made available toprivate schools.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA) requires that every state have in effectpolicies and procedures to ensure that allchildren with disabilities residing in the state areidentified, located, and evaluated. Thisincludes children with disabilities attendingprivate schools, regardless of the severity oftheir disability and who are in need of specialeducation and related services. Childrenattending private schools who are found tohave a disability may receive services that arefunded with the federal dollars that fund specialeducation. If the state allows, they may alsoreceive services through state and local fundingsources.

Private schools are eligible to applyfor discounts for connectivityexpenses to be linked totelecommunications, including theInternet. Discounts vary dependingon the level of poverty at the privateschool. Discounts are fundedthrough the Universal Service Fund.

The E-rate program is administered by the Schools and LibrariesDivision of the Federal Communications Commission.

For further information, visit the Office of Non-Public Education onthe Web at www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/NonPublic.

Contact us with your questions and concerns by:

Mail: Office of Non-Public EducationU.S. Department of Education400 Maryland Avenue, SWWashington, DC 20202-3600

Phone: 202-401-1365Fax: 202-401-1368E-mail: OIIANon-PublicEducation@ed.gov

Title VII ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducation

Act—Bilingual

Education

Goals2000:

EducateAmerica

Act

Individualswith

DisabilitiesEducation

Act—Part B

U.S. Department of EducationOffice of Non-Public Education

TelecommunicationsAct — E-Rate

Benefits for Private SchoolStudents and Teachers

from Federal Education Programs

May 2000

Private school students and teachers,including those in religiously -affiliatedschools, can receive many federaleducation program benefits. Thebenefits are designed to meet theneeds of the students being servedand not of the private school itself.

Following are summaries of someprograms from the U.S. Department ofEducation that provide benefits toprivate school students and theirteachers. The U.S. Department ofEducation strongly supports the equi-

table participation of private school students in thesefederal education programs.

For more information on federal programs for privateschool students and teachers, state regulation of privateschools, private school statistics, and publications andlinks of interest to the private school community, visitwww.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/NonPublic.

Title I provides supplementary instruc-tion by public school teachers tostudents who are failing or in dangerof failing to meet high academicstandards and who live in areas ofhigh poverty. Instruction can also beprovided through the use of computer-assisted instruction, after-schoolprograms, tutoring, and other waysthat will meet the needs of the partici-pating students. The Supreme Courtdecision Agostini v. Felton in 1997clarified that the EstablishmentClause of the First Amendment to theU.S. Constitution does not prohibit

providing these services in Title I space located in theprivate school.

The Eisenhower ProfessionalDevelopment Program providesprofessional development opportunities toprivate school teachers that are designedto meet the specific needs of privateschool students. Priority is given toprofessional development activities inmath and science.

The Reading Excellence Act providesbenefits to students at private schoolslocated in public school districtsparticipating in this program to assist inensuring that every child learns to readwell and independently by the end of thethird grade.

The Technology Literacy ChallengeFund is provided to every state, which inturn competes grants to its public schooldistricts. Students attending privateschools located in public school districtsthat receive grant funds from theTechnology Literacy Challenge Fund canparticipate in the program benefits, whichinclude computer hardware and software,professional development, and parenttraining.

A competitive Technology InnovationChallenge Grant is provided to consortiamade up of at least one high-poverty

public school district and can include other public schools,private schools, public television, community organizations,and literacy associations. Students attending private schoolslocated in the public school attendance areas receivingassistance from the grant or private schools that areparticipating in a consortium receive benefits from theprogram.

Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology, alsoa competitive grant program, provides professionaldevelopment activities to private school teachers that aredesigned to meet the needs of private school students.

Private school students can receiveequitable services from the public schooldistrict under the state and local grantprogram to meet their specific needs fora violence-free and drug-freeenvironment. The services can includeprevention programs, alternativeactivities, peer mediation, counselingservices, and crisis interventionprograms. Funds flow first to the stateand then are subgranted to local publicschool districts.

Middle School Drug Prevention andSchool Safety Coordinator Initiative

provides assistance in public middle schools that havesignificant drug, discipline, and violence problems. Privateschool students participate in services provided by that publicschool.

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, a coordinatedgrant from the Departments of Education, Justice, and Healthand Human Services, provides services to private schoolstudents located in public school districts receiving thiscompetitive grant. Services can include linking parents tocommunity services and providing information on healthyliving.

Title VI provides innovative assistance,including supplementary educationalmaterials such as computers, computersoftware, library materials, andreference materials; programs toimprove the higher-order thinking skillsof disadvantaged students; andprograms to serve gifted and talentedstudents. The materials or servicesprovided are those that will meet thespecific needs of the private schoolstudents.

The Class-Size Reduction program isalso part of Title VI and provides for the

hiring of public school teachers to reduce class size. Thesefunds cannot be used to reduce class size in private schools.However, public school districts also have the option ofsetting aside a portion of their Class-Size Reduction fundingfor professional development. In these cases, private schoolteachers also receive professional development that isdesigned to meet their needs.

PrivateSchools

andFederal

EducationPrograms

Title I ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducation

Act—Education

forDisadvantaged

Title II ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducation

Act—EisenhowerProfessionalDevelopment

Title III ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducation

Act—TechnologyEducation

for All

Title IV ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducationAct—Safeand Drug-

FreeSchools

Title VI ofthe

Elementaryand

SecondaryEducation

Act—InnovativeEducationProgram