California Community Colleges File Lawsuit Over CARES Act Aid

California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley talks to student media about a lawsuit filed Monday by the school system against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, in an effort to “stop the Department of Education from what we feel are arbitrary [restrictions]…and enforcing the limitations of the CARES Act aid.” Oakley argued that, “It was an arbitrary decision by the Secretary of Education to make that decision.” The Tuesday, May 12, 2020, meeting took place for roughly an hour over Zoom, allowing community college journalists across the state to ask questions of Oakley, as well as California Community Colleges Executive Vice Chancellor Marty J. Alvarado. (Michael Goldsmith / The Corsair)

California Community Colleges (CCC) filed a federal lawsuit this past Monday against the Department of Education and Secretary of Education Betsy Devos over the eligibility requirements of receiving emergency funds provided to educational institutions through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. 

“It is our hope that we stop the US Department of Education from enforcing… arbitrary eligibility restrictions on relief funds that Congress approved,” said CCC Chancellor Eloy Oakley in a press conference on May 12.

The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, provides higher educational institutions emergency funds to disburse to their students through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). Only students who are eligible to receive federal financial aid are entitled to the funding. This excludes students who are non-citizens, including international students and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as well as students without a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

The HEERF allocated approximately $12.5 billion towards higher education institutions, $580 million of which went towards community colleges in California alone. There are approximately 70,000 undocumented students who attend a school within the CCC system. The chancellor believes as many as 80,000 students can be deprived from the emergency aid.

“These funds, while [we] appreciate the funds that have come down from the federal government, certainly don't even begin to deal with all the need that's out there,” Oakley said.

Devos had originally stated in the cover letter of the CARES Act that institutions may independently determine the process in which they allocate funds to their students. “I would like to encourage the leadership of each institution to prioritize your students with the greatest need,” Devos said, “but at the same time consider establishing a maximum funding threshold for each student to ensure that these funds are distributed as widely as possible.“

There are no eligibility guidelines included in the CARES Act, in which HEERF falls under. The outline for eligibility for HEERF came from a subsequent “Frequently Asked Questions” issued by the Department of Education which gave this clarification. The lawsuit claims that the Department of Education “[failed] to consider the ramifications of its eligibility limitations.”

“Our situation can be as bad as any student's… I didn't receive help before, but I had to reduce my course load this semester so I can pay for essentials,” SMC student Ireney River said. “Leaving [these students] out can indicate that they are not worthy of bettering their future.”

Should the court rule in favor of Oakley and the other plaintiffs, educational institutions would be allowed to “exercise flexibility at the local level to determine which students should receive the aid and open it up for essentially all students, depending on their need now,” according to the Chancellor. Oakley and the Board of Governors for the CCC are joined by five community college districts, including the Los Angeles Community College District as plaintiffs of this case, represented by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.