Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough
Education Week‘s Andrew Ujifusa contrasts the public education support in the new federal coronavirus stimulus passed this week by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump to the 2009 federal stimulus passed during the Obama administration to address the Great Recession: “Remember the last time we had a big federal stimulus for education? The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ended up being a lot smaller than the coronavirus aid package President Donald Trump signed last week, but it included much more money for education in coping with the impact of the Great Recession. And it also teed up President Barack Obama’s education agenda for his two terms… The majority of the 2009 stabilization cash—$48.6 billion—went out to states by formula for early learning, K-12, and postsecondary education. The remaining money? It was earmarked for Race to the Top and the Investing in What Works and Innovation programs.” (Emphasis is mine.)
Let’s pause for a moment and express gratitude that this week the Trump administration has not earmarked any of what will be desperately needed education relief funding to force states to qualify to participate in a competitive grantmaking process like Race to the Top. Remember when, just to qualify for money from that particular federal stimulus program, states were forced to grade their teachers according to their students’ test scores and spend the money on rapid school turnaround plans like firing principals and teachers, charterizing schools, and closing schools. In this very significant way, we are all much better off.
But, according to experts, we are also worse off in 2020 than in 2009. Why? So far, at least, there is a whole lot less federal money available to meet the challenges public schools will need to address in the current emergency and as they try to get back up and running in the context of what is likely to be a state fiscal crisis. All the things states tax in order to generate the revenue to operate public services are now losing money. Sadly many businesses are closing and many people are losing their jobs. State budgets are likely to be much reduced in the immediate future.
The Education Law Center’s David Sciarra, Jessica Levin, and Wendy Lecker provide the CONTINUE READING: Federal Coronavirus Relief Act Will Provide Urgently Needed Money for Public Schools, But Not Nearly Enough | janresseger