THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Wednesday, April 21, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

 Big Education Ape

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES 

Bricolage Academy educators request NLRB union election | The Lens https://thelensnola.org/2021/04/20/bricolage-academy-educators-request-nlrb-union-election/

Progress on Early Retirement Incentive | JD2718 - https://wp.me/pOjh-29S on @wordpressdotcom

How The Pandemic Changed The College Admissions Selection Process This Year http://feeds.scpr.org/~r/893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews-Education/~3/9BoD0hC7VxY/

'We Need To Be Nurtured, Too': Many Teachers Say They're Reaching A Breaking Point http://feeds.scpr.org/~r/893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews-Education/~3/3FgXpsfb8hU/

How to Talk About Police Brutality with Children https://www.momsrising.org/blog/how-to-talk-about-police-brutality-with-children

Jersey City school district reverses in-person learning plans https://www.njspotlight.com/video/jersey-city-school-district-reverses-in-person-learning-plans/

Sanders And Top Progressives Push To Make College Free For Most Americans https://www.npr.org/2021/04/21/989176846/sanders-and-top-progressives-push-to-make-college-free-for-most-americans

How Schools Can Help Kids Heal After A Year Of 'Crisis And Uncertainty' https://www.npr.org/2021/04/21/989056927/how-schools-can-help-kids-heal-after-a-year-of-crisis-and-uncertainty

Bernie Sanders Wants To Tax Wall Street To Pay For Free College https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-tax-wall-street-free-college_n_607f8f06e4b03fc5b215fea6

OPINION: Why public school teachers need paid family and medical leave - https://hechingerreport.org/?p=78659 via @hechingerreport

Michigan Dad Pulls Biracial Child Out of School After Teacher, Other Student Cuts Her Hair https://www.theroot.com/michigan-dad-pulls-biracial-child-out-of-school-after-t-1846721152 via @TheRoot

Educators expose the teachers unions’ role in facilitating the deadly reopening of US schools https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/04/21/educ-a21.html

Dems push $25B to electrify school buses, a Biden priority https://www.ny1.com/share/nyc/brooklyn/ap-top-news/2021/04/21/dems-push-25b-to-electrify-school-buses-a-biden-priority?cid=share_twitter

Open Press Roundtable with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Students, Educators, and School Administrative Staff Eligible for the Dream and Promise Act | U.S. Department of Education - https://www.ed.gov/news/media-advisories/open-press-roundtable-secretary-education-miguel-cardona-and-students-educators-and-school-administrative-staff-eligible-dream-and-promise-act

How the Federal Government’s Charter School Program Went Wrong | Ed Politics - https://edpolitics.org/?p=349

Florina Rodov: Charter Schools Should Get Zero Federal Dollars | Ed Politics - https://edpolitics.org/?p=347

Pennsylvania should increase early childhood investment by $250 million, national report says https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/21/22395738/pennsylvania-should-increase-early-childhood-investment-by-250-million-national-report-says

Teachers Discuss George Floyd Murder And Chauvin Verdict https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/us/teachers-students-derek-chauvin-guilty-verdict-george-floyd.html

Home-school students could participate in public school activities under proposal in Missouri House | Politics | stltoday.com - https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/home-school-students-could-participate-in-public-school-activities-under-proposal-in-missouri-house/article_7592c0d3-0c19-592d-bb9f-b51fea6a4b70.html#new_tab on @stltoday

‘Pandemic or not’: Nashville FRONT group pushes for teacher accountability in TCAP testing | WKRN News 2 - https://www.wkrn.com/?p=824780

Getting Education Data Right: The Case of High School Admissions - Columbia Journalism Review - https://www.cjr.org/?p=86181 via cjr

S.F. school board approves unusual contract terms with superintendent - https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/S-F-school-board-to-vote-on-unusual-contract-16115916.php#new_tab on @sfchronicle

A year without play: Parents and experts worry about loss of social skills during pandemic https://whyy.org/articles/a-year-without-play-parents-and-experts-worry-about-loss-of-social-skills-during-pandemic/

Vote favors measure to pay private tuition for poor pupils - https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/apr/21/vote-favors-measure-to-pay-private-tuition-for/?news-politics#new_tab on @arkansasonline

Hackers post 26,000 Broward school files online https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/fl-ne-broward-schools-hackers-post-files-20210419-mypt2qtlc5a7xela4x6bcg5hdy-story.html

New Indiana budget proposal increases funding for teacher pay and voucher expansion https://in.chalkbeat.org/2021/4/20/22394363/indiana-budget-school-funding-teacher-pay-voucher-expansion via @ChalkbeatIN

Arizona Governor Vetoes Strict Sex Education Legislation | KNAU Arizona Public Radio - https://www.knau.org/node/147959

Many Schools, Few Kids: St. Louis Plagued By Too Much Unused Building Space | St. Louis Public Radio - https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2021-04-21/many-schools-few-kids-st-louis-plagued-by-too-much-unused-building-space#new_tab on @stlpublicradio

COVID: Newark school board goes ‘nuclear,’ tells teachers to return to classrooms April 29 – East Bay Times - https://bayareane.ws/3xe3x2s on @eastbaytimes

Biden administration extends universal free school lunch through 2022 | TheHill - https://thehill.com/node/549310

Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie accused of perjury; attorney Barbara Myrick also indicted https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-ne-robert-runcie-arrested-20210421-vv6rp3c65raqzl2w6khdtmkeny-story.html

OPSB committee approves list of 20 school campuses to rename https://thelensnola.org/2021/04/21/opsb-committee-approves-list-of-20-school-campuses-to-rename/

Gary Rubinstein’s Blog: Education Reinventers | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10870 on @NEPCtweet

Anchorage School Board passes anti-racism and equity policies with overwhelming support - Alaska Public Media - https://www.alaskapublic.org/?p=298602 via @aprn

Big Education Ape: No Justice, No Excellence | Teacher in a strange land - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/no-justice-no-excellence-teacher-in.html

Big Education Ape: What's ahead for teachers? | Cornell Chronicle - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/whats-ahead-for-teachers-cornell.html

Big Education Ape: Teacher Tom: I Will Not Prepare Children for The "Jobs of Tomorrow" - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/teacher-tom-i-will-not-prepare-children.html

Big Education Ape: Jeff Bryant on America’s Workforce Radio: “Charter schools are often nonprofit in name only.” | Ed Politics - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/jeff-bryant-on-americas-workforce-radio.html

Big Education Ape: Megan Prather: Back to the drawing board: SVCSB calls for new Epic settlement proposals - NONDOC - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/megan-prather-back-to-drawing-board.html

Big Education Ape: U.S. Ed Dept. Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Emergency Relief Fund + USDA Issues Pandemic Flexibilities for Schools and Day Care Facilities | U.S. Department of Education - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/us-ed-dept-releases-state-plan-template.html

Big Education Ape: Biden Asks Congress to Double Title I on top of Stimulus Dollars: Why Is All This Money Needed? | janresseger - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/biden-asks-congress-to-double-title-i.html

Big Education Ape: Parent as Teacher during the Pandemic | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/parent-as-teacher-during-pandemic-larry.html

Big Education Ape: Thank you, Darnella Frazier. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/thank-you-darnella-frazier-deutsch29.html

Big Education Ape: School Finance 101: Filling our Nation’s Funding Gaps | National Education Policy Center - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/school-finance-101-filling-our-nations.html

Big Education Ape: John Thompson: More Oklahoma Charter School Scandals - Network For Public Education - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/john-thompson-more-oklahoma-charter.html

Big Education Ape: A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #tBATs - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-very-busy-day-larry-ferlazzos_21.html

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Tuesday, April 20, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

by Mike Simpson / 23h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Elected Chicago school board gets support from civil rights leaders - https://www.chicagobusiness.com/node/946981 The Limits of Listening to Wonks | Just Visiting - https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/limits-listening-wonks Texas Congressional Democrats Seek To Block Governor’s Grab Of COVID-19 Education Funds – Houston P

 Big Education Ape

No Justice, No Excellence | Teacher in a strange land

No Justice, No Excellence | Teacher in a strange land

No Justice, No Excellence

Like most of America, I’ve been glued to the Derek Chauvin trial, watching the evening highlights, nail-biting Tweets–Why is this taking so long? —and cable news analyses. Have we moved forward as a society? Are we, if not woke, at least emerging with new awareness, from centuries of abusive and racist behavior?

Yesterday, before the verdict was announced, I caught the end of an on-the-street reporter’s comments, and she said school leaders–she called them ‘assistant principals’–were on the street with their HS students, awaiting the news, and chanting ‘You can’t stop the revolution.’

The reporter seemed surprised that school administrators would be positive about a student walkout, rather than threatening to put these uprisings on students’ permanent records. Students, it seems, in MN at least, have become more specific and articulate in their demands.

At Minnetonka High School, in Minnesota:

The district has followed through…adding hate symbols to the list of items banned in school dress codes, expanding its reach in hiring to target more diverse job candidates and creating an online reporting system for incidents of harassment and discrimination.

Students see the district’s unwillingness to acknowledge the specific pain or concerns of Black students, or students in other groups, as evidence that leaders haven’t or don’t CONTINUE READING: No Justice, No Excellence | Teacher in a strange land

What's ahead for teachers? | Cornell Chronicle

What's ahead for teachers? | Cornell Chronicle

What's ahead for teachers?

One of the nation’s most influential labor leaders, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten ’80, meets Thursday with ILR Dean Alex Colvin to discuss “One Year Later, What’s Ahead for Teachers?”

Part of ILR’s eCornell series entitled “The Future of Work: Labor in America,” the event is free and open to the public.

Register here for “One Year Later, What’s Ahead for Teachers,” which will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 ET on Thursday.

The first in the ILR “Future of Work” series was “Unionization in Big Tech: Why Now?” and is accessible by completing the form in this link.

After this Thursday’s event, the next in the series will be a May 10 keynote with Colvin, Thomas Perez, labor secretary in the Obama administration and former Democratic National Committee chair, and Cathy Creighton, director of ILR’s Buffalo Co-Lab. The keynote begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.

On Thursday, Weingarten and Colvin will discuss three areas:

• the pandemic’s impact on K-12 learning and teaching, this fall and beyond
• how the Amazon union vote is affecting labor
• how the Biden administration will impact teaching.

Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, a union of 1.7 million teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare CONTINUE READING: What's ahead for teachers? | Cornell Chronicle

Teacher Tom: I Will Not Prepare Children for The "Jobs of Tomorrow"

Teacher Tom: I Will Not Prepare Children for The "Jobs of Tomorrow"

I Will Not Prepare Children for The "Jobs of Tomorrow"

I've spent most of my professional career railing against the widely held belief that our schools exist for the purpose of vocational training. Those "jobs of tomorrow" our policymakers are always going on about? "Out educating the Chinese?" Getting the kids "college and career ready?" What a crock. First of all, no one knows what those jobs of tomorrow might be, no matter how authoritatively they speak of the future. The jobs that today's five-year-olds will be applying for 20 years from now are unimaginable to us. Indeed, it will be the children of today who invent the jobs of tomorrow. And this has always been true, going back at least to the Industrial Revolution when policymakers were certain that we would all move to the cities to take our place along an assembly line. My own high school career counselor got it wrong. Most of the jobs our daughter is applying for today didn't exist when she was a preschooler. As for competing with the Chinese, that's a dubious and mercenary adult concern, one that is a cruelty when inflicted on innocent children.

No, the proper "career" aspiration for a preschooler is princess. 

The role of education (not necessarily school) in a self-governing society is to produce good citizens, critical thinkers CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: I Will Not Prepare Children for The "Jobs of Tomorrow"

Jeff Bryant on America’s Workforce Radio: “Charter schools are often nonprofit in name only.” | Ed Politics

Jeff Bryant on America’s Workforce Radio: “Charter schools are often nonprofit in name only.” | Ed Politics

JEFF BRYANT ON AMERICA’S WORKFORCE RADIO: “CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE OFTEN NONPROFIT IN NAME ONLY.”

How charter schools profit off the backs of taxpayers

Charter school management companies can make huge profits off operating nonprofit charter schools. Here’s how they do it.

Jeff Bryant on America’s Workforce Radio: “Charter schools are often nonprofit in name only.” | Ed Politics

Florina Rodov: Charter Schools Should Get Zero Federal Dollars | Ed Politics - https://edpolitics.org/?p=347

How the Federal Government’s Charter School Program Went Wrong | Ed Politics - https://edpolitics.org/?p=349

Megan Prather: Back to the drawing board: SVCSB calls for new Epic settlement proposals - NONDOC

Back to the drawing board: SVCSB calls for new Epic settlement proposals

Back to the drawing board: SVCSB calls for new Epic settlement proposals

The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board held a special meeting this afternoon where members approved a motion to draft a new consent agreement to conclude charter termination proceedings with Epic One-on-One Charter School.

Epic attorney Bill Hickman and assistant Attorney General Marie Schuble will each submit new Epic settlement proposals with amendments requested by the SVCSB, such as full cooperation with the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office and the appointment of a compliance officer.

Epic’s governing board had proposed a settlement agreement at its April 14 meeting in an effort to resolve the SVCSB’s charter termination case, but the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board declined to accept their proposal today.

“I’d like to make a motion to have the parties, through their designated counsel, submit an amended consent order that includes, but is not limited to the sections that (SVCSB director) Dr. Rebecca Wilkinson will CONTINUE READING: Back to the drawing board: SVCSB calls for new Epic settlement proposals

U.S. Ed Dept. Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Emergency Relief Fund + USDA Issues Pandemic Flexibilities for Schools and Day Care Facilities | U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Education Department Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund | U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Education Department Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

U.S. Education Department Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund

APRIL 21, 2021

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released the State plan application that will support states in describing how they will use resources under the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund to continue to safely reopen schools, sustain their safe operations, and support students—especially those most impacted by the pandemic. 

Last month, states received access to two-thirds of their ARP ESSER allocation—a total of $81 billion. The remaining $41 billion will become available after states' plans are approved by the Department. After the final one-third of funds are made available, states would have received access to nearly $122 billion to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our nation's students.

"Throughout my recent school visits, I have witnessed how federal relief dollars are being used to help schools reopen safely and communities recover from the impacts of the pandemic," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "These American Rescue Plan funds are essential to providing more in-person learning options for students quickly, sustaining schools' safe operations, supporting our students' social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs, and boldly addressing inequities that were exacerbated by the pandemic. In developing plans to utilize these funds, it's critical that states and districts bring to the table the voices of those who can best speak to how we can meet these goals, including students, parents, educators, and stakeholders."

Today's action demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to support states in their ongoing efforts to sustain the safe reopening of schools and to maximize in-person instruction safely and quickly.

The State plan application presents an opportunity for states and local education agencies to engage the public to ensure that the needs of students and communities are best reflected in state and local spending plans. Many states and school districts are already actively developing their plans for the use of ARP ESSER funds. At the state level, stakeholder engagement must include students; families; Tribal Nations; civil rights organizations, including disability rights organizations; teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff and their unions, school and district administrators; superintendents; charter school leaders; and other stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.

In addition to the State plans, school districts will also be required to seek broad public input and develop their own plans for the use of ARP ESSER funds. This is in addition to the statutory requirement in the American Rescue Plan that school districts develop a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services.

In the State plan, states will describe how they will ensure states and school districts are demonstrating transparency in their planning, identify and meet the needs of students most impacted by the pandemic, choose effective evidence-based interventions, and prioritize educational equity, inclusive stakeholder engagement, and strong fiscal safeguards. These plans will provide critical information to the public and the Department about the use of these unprecedented resources. The plans will also inform the Department's technical assistance to states and school districts, as well as the Department's approach to monitoring implementation of ARP ESSER funds.

States must submit their ARP ESSER State plans by June 7, 2021. The Department will begin approving applications and disbursing the remaining ARP ESSER funds expeditiously once plans are received and reviewed.

To support states in completing their ARP ESSER State Plans and meeting ARP ESSER requirements, the Department has also issued an accompanying notice of interim final requirements with additional details. The notice is available here: https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/.

States must also commit to several actions as part of their receipt of ARP ESSER funds. One addresses civil rights protections, reflecting the state's responsibility to ensure that it will conduct all its operations so that no person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination based on race, color, national origin, which includes a person's limited English proficiency or English learner status and a person's actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; sex; age; or disability. Other important commitments address transparency and compliance with ARP ESSER requirements such as uses of funds, maintenance of effort, and maintenance of equity.

Today's actions are part of the Biden Administration's broader efforts to help schools quickly and safely reopen for in-person instruction. In addition to providing $130 billion for K-12 education in the American Rescue Plan to support the safe reopening of K-12 schools, the Biden Administration has:

• Released two volumes of the COVID-19 Handbook, which provide roadmaps and strategies to support the safe reopening of all America's schools and to promote educational equity by addressing opportunity gaps that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
• Held a National Safe School Reopening Summit, where districts, educators, school leaders, and students shared best practices on how to reopen schools quickly and safely.
• Called on states to prioritize vaccinations for educators. According to a recent CDC survey, 80 percent of educators received at least one vaccination by the end of March.
• Provided $10 billion in funding for COVID-19 testing for PreK-12 educators, staff, and students.

U.S. Education Department Releases State Plan Template for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund | U.S. Department of Education

USDA Issues Pandemic Flexibilities for Schools and Day Care Facilities through June 2022 to Support Safe Reopening and Healthy, Nutritious Meals

Nutrition standards return with options and resources to support safety and social distancing

APRIL 20, 2021

Contact:   Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today issued a broad range of flexibilities to allow school meal programs and childcare institutions across the country to return to serving healthy meals in fall 2021 as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to reopen schools safely. Several meal service flexibilities that enable social distancing are now extended through June 30, 2022. The waivers continue the Administration’s commitment to provide safe, healthy meals free of charge to children as the pandemic continues to threaten the food and nutrition security of our most vulnerable.

“USDA will remain relentless in ensuring our nation’s children get the critical nutrition they need,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “States and districts wanted waivers extended to plan for safe reopening in the fall. USDA answered the call to help America’s schools and childcare institutions serve high quality meals while being responsive to their local needs as children safely return to their regular routines. This action also increases the reimbursement rate to school meal operators so they can serve healthy foods to our kids. It’s a win-win for kids, parents and schools.”

A recent study from Tufts University found that in 2018, schools were the single healthiest source of U.S. food consumed across a sample of children and adults. The 2018 study found that diet quality for foods from schools improved significantly from a similar study conducted in 2003-2004. Schools nationwide will be allowed to serve meals through USDA’s National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Option (SSO), which is typically only available during the summer months. This option maintains the nutrition standards of the standard school meal programs – including a strong emphasis on providing fruits and vegetables, fluid milk, whole grains, and sensible calorie levels, while allowing schools to serve free meals to all children. In addition, schools that choose this option will receive higher-than-normal meal reimbursements for every meal they serve, which will support them in serving the most nutritious meals possible while managing increased costs associated with pandemic-related operational and supply chain challenges. This option also affords schools the financial flexibility to further customize their meal service design to fit their local needs.

“Students’ success in the classroom goes hand in hand with their ability to access basic needs like healthy and nutritious meals,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “It’s critical that our efforts to reopen schools quickly and safely include programs that provide access to free, healthy meals for our most vulnerable students, particularly those whose communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic. This program will ensure more students, regardless of their educational setting, can access free, healthy meals as more schools reopen their doors for in-person learning.”

USDA will continue to offer targeted meal pattern flexibility and technical assistance as needed. In addition, schools and both child and adult care institutions can continue providing breakfasts, lunches, and after school snacks in non-group settings at flexible meal times. Parents or guardians can also pick up meals for their children when programs are not operating normally, all while maintaining social distancing consistent with federal recommendations.

Up to 12 million children are currently living in households where they may not always have enough to eat during the pandemic. During the past year, America’s schools and childcare centers have provided a nutrition lifeline for children across the country, many of whom depend on USDA’s child nutrition programs for the nourishment they need to grow and thrive. Some kids rely on these programs for as many as three meals a day, underscoring how essential it is for USDA to empower schools and childcare centers to continue their dedicated efforts to serve healthy meals, safely.

Earlier this month, the Department of Education released Volume 2 of its COVID-19 Handbook , “Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs,” which includes initial recommendations and resources for schools and communities to support our nation’s most vulnerable students during the pandemic, including those facing food insecurity. The Handbook includes strategies to increase student and family access to meal programs during the school year and over the summer, including specific strategies for underserved students such as students experiencing homelessness and English learners, and how federal funding can support these efforts.

The announcement today comes in addition to a variety of actions taken recently by USDA to strengthen food security, drive down hunger, and put a greater emphasis on the importance of nutrition. Just recently, USDA maximized economic relief for struggling families by taking administrative action on SNAP emergency allotments by targeting an additional $1 billion per month to roughly 25 million people. The Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act provides over $12 billion in new nutrition assistance to address hardship caused by the pandemic, including:

• Extending a 15 percent increase in SNAP benefits— providing over $1.1 billion per month in additional benefits for about 41 million participants—through September 2021;
• Adding $1.1 billion in new funding for territories that operate nutrition assistance block grants—home to nearly 3 million Americans—to support those hard-hit by the pandemic;
• Extending and expanding P-EBT—a program that served over 8.4 million families with children at its peak last year—through the duration of the public health emergency;
• Funding meals for young adults experiencing homelessness through Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) emergency shelters;
• Providing nearly $900 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), including a temporary increase in fruit and vegetable vouchers to $35 per month and an historic investment in innovation and outreach to better serve more than 6.2 million people that use WIC to support a healthy start for infants and young children.

For a complete list of the waiver actions announced today, visit FNS’s COVID Response page at www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

USDA Issues Pandemic Flexibilities for Schools and Day Care Facilities through June 2022 to Support Safe Reopening and Healthy, Nutritious Meals