Background: The U.S. Department of Education launched the Emergency Assistance for Non-Public School (EANS) initiative through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act (CRRSA) in December 2020. The bill enabled the Governor to secure the formula-based resources and targeted the State Education Agency, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), as responsible for administering the estimated $17 million in federal funds to address the impact that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on K-12 non-public school students and teachers in the state.

Providing timely emergency relief aid to support to 200 Nebraska K-12 non-public schools and support school assistance and services is not a typical capacity employed by the NDE. Therefore, the NDE is requesting information from viable organizations about approaches and available supports for timely school correspondence, publishing recipient application by March 1, 2021, and ensuring assistance or services, following the Federal guidelines, are available to the schools as soon as possible.

Responses to the Request for Information (RFI) may result in a contract for services with the NDE.

Purpose:

The NDE is seeking informational responses from qualified technical vendors to provide the following models of administration for the EANS program:

1. Describe an approach to providing the required assistance and services to non-public schools statewide. Include in the description: a) estimated timeline for implementing a recipient application process by March 1, 2021, b) a proposed approach for managing/providing requests for assistance and services under the EANS program allowable use of funds, and c) ensure transparency for the Department to develop priorities, provide programmatic governance, and receive data collections for reporting.
2. Describe an approach for managing this process. Identify a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate to support the proposed approach.
3. Describe the qualifications and experience associated with working with Nebraska non-public schools and other federal grants; including the number of successful implementations, ongoing support success, and specific examples of approaches associated with the work.
4. Provide any additional information or considerations that should be evaluated as part of the submission of the RFI.

Submit responses to the RFI and relevant questions electronically to:

Dr. Dean R. Folkers, Nebraska Department of Education Information Systems Officer Email: Dean.Folkers@nebraska.gov

Due Date: February 18, 2021