April 3, 2020
The Honorable Tom Wolf
Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
508 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120


Dear Governor Wolf:

On behalf of the 14% (two hundred thirty-nine thousand plus students) of Pennsylvania's school children and thousands of educators and leaders in Pennsylvania's nonpublic schools, we thank you sincerely for your leadership in handling the COVID-19 crisis. As you have communicated publicly about the unprecedented challenges in the delivery of education to families across our state, we feel it has been important to include the PA nonpublic schools as part of the state's educational network. Every child is important, and they all need compassionate care and leadership in what is a trying time for them.

Our nonpublic school leaders and educators are developing new ways to deliver a quality education to their students in all areas of Pennsylvania, without an established prior roadmap. Many of our schools have offered a continuous and seamless educational plan for our families from day one of the school closures. Our students and parents are cooperating beautifully.

Together, we are facing an unprecedented crisis. Across our diverse and broad coalition of nonpublic schools and organizations, we have witnessed and borne the significant costs of this public health crisis. The expenses incurred during the preparation, planning and implementation process for our continuity of instruction plans throughout this crisis are extreme. As a cohesive and robust network of schools, we must be part of any solution that is devised. We also are concerned that, even more than the public sector, the non-public educational sector could face unique and exacerbated implications of this crisis long after the public sector has recovered from this significant disruption.

We are most focused on the following critical areas of impact to our schools, and respectfully must ask our elected leaders to especially consider the following:

1. In the same manner as public schools, nonpublic schools are seeking funding for the recommended CDC cleaning and sterilizing of our school buildings to remove any signs of COVID-19. If we are fortunate enough to reopen, we appreciate that there will still be some ongoing risks of transmission, so cleaning will be a continuing need, as will other precautionary measures (e.g., protective masks).


2. We are also seeking funding for all the additional costs incurred for remote learning, e.g., hiring additional staff, purchasing a platform to host the new distance learning and all other related costs.


3. The need to stabilize and increase the current funding levels, including the specific areas benefiting nonpublic students and schools (transportation, nonpublic pupil school assistance, nursing services, security grants programs, textbooks, and others).


4. Ensure that federal funds committed and received by the state are equitably distributed to nonpublic schools, as we understand the Federal laws to require.


5. Any funds expended by the state to cover gaps in federal legislation must also include nonpublic schools, including loss of revenue, or specific expenses related to COVID-19 preparation and interruption.


6. Nonpublic schools must immediately receive and be held harmless related to their equitable share of federal title programs and services, and funding/services carried forward must be held harmless.


7. Any additional support of small businesses in the Commonwealth be designed to include both our non-profit educational institutions and the non-profit IRC §501(c)(3) entities and churches that often provide support for them.