Jamison Coppola, AACS Legislative Director, joins Matt to provide us with a deeper look at the CARES Act including why (if you are participating) you should use 100% of the funds for payroll. Jamison also shares some details about two other relief funds from the CARES Act that have been designated for schools. Listeners will also learn what Jamison and his team are hearing in D.C. about the upcoming election.
Resource mentioned on the show:

• Contact us and let us know if you've applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and what your experience has been.  Reach us at [email protected].

Maureen Van Den Berg and Matt discuss 7 tips for parents who now find themselves balancing working from home along with tracking the progress of their students through their daily school lessons and work.  While there are some obvious challenges, Maureen provides practical insight on how parents can keep their sanity and actually enjoy this season.  Maureen serves in the AACS Legislative Office as a policy analyst.

Resources mentioned during the podcast:

• video of frustrated mom;
• resource page for parents

AACS Legislative Director, Jamison Coppola, joins Matt to help school leaders think through the religious liberty implications of participating in the program. Some of the topics discussed include:

• Since specific religious liberty language was not in the bill, what can we expect from the regulations that have already been released as well as the ones that are yet to be released?
• What are some similarities between eminent domain and a ministry's involvement in this program?
• What if a ministry participates in the program, but the political winds change through an election, court decision, or new legislation?

How will your school be impacted by the CARES Act?  AACS Legislative Director, Jamison Coppola, joins Matt on the podcast to share 4 initial takeaways from the CARES Act, which President Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020.  While regulations are still being written for the law (at the time of publishing), these initial considerations should help schools decide on their next steps relating to the provisions of the law.

Christian schools across the country have been wrestling with how to serve pre-K students and their families effectively during the Coronavirus outbreak.

In episode #3, our panel deals with the following questions:
1. Should our pre-K program remain open or should we close? What are programs doing around the country?
2. If we close our pre-K program, what do we do about tuition?
3. What are some practical suggestions for serving pre-K students and families during this time?
4. How are our pre-K employees impacted by new legislation?

Episode 3 panelists include:
Edward Earwood, Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools,
Dr. Cathy Dotson, Preschool & Elementary Principal at Wilmington Christian Academy,  Steve Cummings, Head of School at Athens Christian School and AACS legal counsel, 
Dr. Jeff Walton,  Executive Director of the AACS

Resource:
Here is a sample letter used by Dr. Dotson's school for communicating with pre-K families.  Thank you Dr. Dotson for sharing this with us!

AACS Legislative Director, Jamison Coppola, joins Matt Ticzkus to discuss how the three Coronavirus relief bills will impact Christian schools.  Before providing an overview of the bills themselves, Jamison provides insight into the work that his team is doing on behalf of Christian schools in Washington, D.C.

Resources mentioned in the show:
White paper on paid leave for COVID-19. (Families First Coronavirus Response Act)

AACS COVID-19 resource page.

One of the top questions we are currently receiving in our office is, "should we continue to collect tuition during a Coronavirus school closure?"  AACS Executive Director, Dr. Jeff Walton and AACS Regional Director, Matt Ticzkus answer this questions in episode 1 of AACS Today.

The short answer is, "yes," but, as AACS Executive Director Jeff Walton points out, you must continue to educate students and provide value to families during the closure.  Dr. Walton and Matt provide practical insights on how to do that while the school building is closed.

One resource mentioned during the episode was the COVID-19 resource page on the AACS website, which can be accessed at https://www.aacs.org/covid-19/.