Feds Set $220M for Student Recovery

The U.S. Department of Education and several private philanthropists are providing $220 million of new funding for efforts to provide students with academic and mental health recovery as communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The new funding announced by the Education Department on April 27 coincides with the agency’s recent American Rescue Plan (ARP) Recovery Summit focused on student mental health and academic recovery support.

Of the $220 million of new funding, the Education Department is providing $160 million, and a collection of private sector philanthropist are chipping in another $60 million.

Those donors include: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $17 million for high-impact tutoring; $14 million from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation for afterschool support; and $10 million from the Raikes Foundation to support accelerated learning and expanding access to mental health supports.

“As we move beyond reopening, the Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Education will remain laser-focused on helping students recover academically from the pandemic and access the academic, mental health, and other supports they need to thrive,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

“We are already seeing the impact the American Rescue Plan is having on schools, students, families, and educators—from increased access to academic and mental health supports to expanded summer learning and enrichment programs funded by federal pandemic relief funds,” he said.

“With additional investments from the Department’s grant programs and the philanthropic community, we can scale our recovery efforts, make ARP dollars have an even greater impact, and ensure every student – no matter their background, family income, or zip code – has the academic and mental health supports they need to succeed. In states and districts across the country, American Rescue Plan funds are having a direct impact on student, family, and educators’ recovery,” the secretary said.

According to the Education Department, the ARP Act has provided $130 billion in funding to states and districts across the U.S. to help K-12 schools reopen during the pandemic and recover.  It said that all states have complied with a requirement of the law to release the first two-thirds of funds to districts by the one-year deadline since ARP was passed.