U.S. Department of Education Provides Multiple Updates to School Reopening and Coronavirus Aid
This week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) took a number of steps toward implementing the American Rescue Plan Act and advancing toward the goal of safely reopening school buildings. Below is a summary of activities:
COVID-19 School Testing Initiative
The American Rescue Plan Act will provide the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) $10 billion to administer a school testing program to aid in the Administration-wide effort to reopen most schools by the end of April. The CDC will provide funds and technical assistance to states and certain cities to set up and implement a screening program, which will provide ongoing testing students and educators to detect both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases. In addition to the school testing program, the Administration will bolster its testing and contact tracing efforts in high-risk, highly-impacted, and underserved communities.
American Rescue Plan Act Allocations
This week, ED announced state-by-state allocations for the $122 billion in awards to state educational agencies through the American Rescue Plan Act's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Act funds. The American Rescue Plan Act requires these allocations be based on proportions each State received during the most recent fiscal year under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Find state-by-state allocation amounts.
Next Steps
On March 24, ED will convene the National Safe School Reopening Summit as part of its plan to safely and quickly return K-8 schools to in-person instruction. The summit will offer best practices for COVID-19 mitigation strategies. First lady Jill Biden, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky are also expected to speak. The Department is also launching a Clearinghouse initiative that will act as a forum and provide resources to early childhood providers, Pre-K–12 schools and colleges and universities. The first resource in the Clearinghouse initiative will be a “Lessons from the Field” webinar series. Lastly, the Department will release Volume 2 of the K-12 COVID-19 Handbook in early April.