Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

U.S. Department of Education Announces Hurricane Flexibility Guidance

  • 09/22/17

As part of its ongoing work to aid hurricane relief efforts, today the Department of Education released new non-regulatory guidance to help Department grantees and program participants remove barriers to restoring teaching and learning environments and to expediting the recovery process for all those impacted by the recent hurricanes.

"For children of affected families, returning to school can provide stability in a time of upheaval as they reconstruct their lives," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. "The Department will continue to provide whatever flexibility and support it can to help ensure stakeholders have the resources they need to get these students back into the classroom as quickly as possible."

The newly released guidance provides support to state and local educational agencies, Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools, postsecondary institutions and other Department grantees and program participants in a variety of ways, while also covering topics specific to program areas.

Examples of such supports include:

  • Flexibility on reporting deadlines, timelines for grant-funded activities and maintenance of fiscal effort or matching requirements.
  • Potential alternatives and strategies for providing program services after disruption.
  • Suggested methods for ensuring continuity of services and communication with program participants.

To view the Non-Regulatory Guidance on Flexibility and Waivers for Grantees and Program Participants Impacted by Federally Declared Disasters, click here.

All interested parties are urged to contact the Department of Education with any requests for assistance beyond the scope of the documents released today. The Department is committed to collaborating with impacted parties, as well as other federal, state and local agencies to remove barriers and expedite the work necessary to respond to and recover from the recent hurricanes.

It is important to emphasize that this guidance addresses only federal requirements and flexibilities and that only state and local officials can address state and local requirements and flexibilities.

For additional resources on natural disasters click here.

 

Featured

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.