Private schools across the state received nearly $568,000 in federal funds for professional development for teachers for the 20011 fiscal year.
The funds were made available under Title II Part A education funds. The money is intended to be used for teacher training. Private schools are eligible for the funding because the aid is considered to be directed at students and teachers, not the schools themselves.
“The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, provides benefits to private school students, teachers and other education personnel, including those in religiously affiliated schools,” Malissa Valdes, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Education, said. “These services are considered assistance to students and teachers rather than private schools themselves. The reauthorized ESEA requires equitable services for private school students, teachers and other education personnel in some of its major programs.”
Locally, only one private school in Houston, Henry, Geneva, Coffee or Dale counties received Title II funds. Houston Academy in Dothan received a little more than $17,000 in federally funded professional development, according to Alabama Department of Education records. Dothan City Schools received about $305,000 from Title II.
Private schools must meet the same eligibility requirements as public schools to receive the funding, Valdes said.
When asked about whether private schools ought to receive public funds, John O’Connell, headmaster of Houston Academy, said, “Our parents pay taxes too.”
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