School Superintendents Association Reports on Use of Federal Stimulus Funds in Schools
This month, the School Superintendents Association reported survey results from July of this year on district leaders’ plans to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other federal stimulus funds for pandemic-related costs. The survey results were based on the 46 states that have submitted their plans for use of funds to the U.S. Department of Education.
According to the report, 75% of respondents indicated intentions to use ARP funds for summer learning, 62% for increasing students' internet connectivity, 61% for investing in educators' professional development, and 66% for hiring and training specialized instructional support personnel (SISP) such as counselors, social workers, and reading specialists.
With regards to hiring and training SISP, urban, suburban, and rural districts responded at nearly identical rates, indicating a widespread and uniform need for increasing the amount of SISP in schools. Furthermore, nearly 25% of respondents indicated they plan to use the three-year spending time frame to establish a pathway to attract and prepare diverse teachers to address local shortages.