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Friday, January 15, 2021

Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post

Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post
Biden, aiming to reopen schools, set to request infusion of cash



President-elect Joe Biden will ask Congress for $130 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, plus billions more to implement rapid coronavirus testing in schools, a far more aggressive response than anything lawmakers have approved to date.

Another plank of Biden’s proposal, announced Thursday, aims to mount a national vaccination plan that could facilitate school reopening as well, with vaccinated teachers more willing to return to classrooms.

The proposals are part of a $1.9 trillion “rescue plan” that also includes $1,400 stimulus checks to most households and other aid to state and local governments, transition officials said. A senior official called it a “bold and historic emergency package to change the course of the pandemic.”

For schools, Biden says his goal is to have a majority open for in-person classes within 100 days of his inauguration. It’s unclear how he will measure success, and some research suggests the nation may have achieved his goal.

The Trump administration has not kept track of how many schools or school districts are open for in-person classes, and a transition spokesman said the new administration will work to improve data collection.

Biden reiterated Thursday that he would do everything he could to safely reopen “a majority of our K through 8 schools” by the end of his first 100 days.

“We can do this if we give the school districts — the schools themselves, the communities, the states — the clear guidance they need as well as the resources they need that they can’t afford right now,” he said.

Biden hopes to achieve his goal with the help of a hefty federal aid package. At $130 billion, the K-12 schools piece of his proposal is more than twice the $64 billion provided to date over two previous relief CONTINUE READING: Biden to ask for tens of billions of dollars to help open schools - The Washington Post