ED Details CARES Act Flexibilities for TRIO, GEAR UP Programs
As we’ve seen over the course of the year, maintaining any sense of normalcy, even in administering a grant, has proven to be a true challenge while dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Realizing this, the Department of Education last week issued a letter to grantees in federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) that have been impacted by the pandemic, detailing flexibilities made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (Pub. L. 116-136).
For example, projects under the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program may request approval to use carryover funding (any remaining funding from a budget year prior to 2020-21) and/or reallocate travel funding for the provision of additional stipends/increased stipends for participants to minimize disruption to activities and to enhance virtual services for participants. In addition, because regulations for the Student Support Services (SSS) Program enable grantees to provide grant aid to eligible participants, ED will use CARES Act flexibilities to will allow requests from SSS projects funded prior to federal fiscal year 2020 to amend their approved budgets to include grant aid. ED also will allow COVID-impacted SSS grantees to adjust matching requirements in certain circumstances.
The ED letter also said that the department will entertain requests to increase the dollar amount of participant stipends during the academic and summer component under the Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science and Veterans Upward Bound programs. Further, while the GEAR UP program statute currently provides flexibilities for GEAR UP Partnership projects, which allows for a match waiver for a GEAR UP Partnership project that can demonstrate it meets the waiver requirements as described in the GEAR UP regulations, ED said it will use CARES Act authorities to extend these same flexibilities to State GEAR UP grantees.
ED explained that such modification requests from a grantee under these programs must be directed in writing to its respective program specialist and describe the proposed use of funds, amount and brief rationale for each specific proposed modification, and they must be reasonable and necessary under uniform guidance. ED’s Office of Postsecondary Education will respond to any request and will follow up with an approval, denial, or, when necessary, request for further clarification. These flexibilities under the CARES Act are available from March 13, 2020, through Sept. 30 of the fiscal year following the end of the qualifying emergency, which, as of now, is Sept. 30, 2022. ED explained that its approval letters will indicate the length of time in granting the proposed modifications, with the possibility of future time extensions based on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ED also issued other recent letters explaining CARES Act flexibilities. Recipients of ED awards should take steps to stay abreast with these announcements.
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