| School Districts to Receive First Installment of Recovery Act Funds |
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Congressman Travis Childers (D-MS) announced recently that the first installment of emergency education funding has been released for schools in Mississippi’s First Congressional District to help save education-related jobs and maintain programs for low-income students and students with disabilities. Specifically, school districts will receive 50 percent of allocated Title I and IDEA funds immediately. “North Mississippi schools are struggling to serve their students during these difficult economic times,” said Congressman Childers. “These Recovery Act funds will provide significant aid to the school districts and students that need it the most, and will help ensure that our children receive the education they need to succeed. “These investments in education will also help create and save jobs by providing funds to retain teaching faculty and hire workers for school modernization.” Nationwide, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $13 billion in Title I funds, which helps low-income students, and $13.5 billion in IDEA funds, which helps students with disabilities. This is the first of two installments of direct funding for Title I and IDEA programs that for school districts will receive under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; the second installment of funds will be released to districts in the fall of this year. In addition to the Title I and IDEA investments, the economic recovery plan also created a state stabilization fund to help stabilize state and local budgets and restore harmful cuts to education. Guidelines were issued today to clarify how these funds must be used to help clear up recent confusion over whether the state can decide how local districts and colleges use those funds. States can also now apply for this funding. The guidelines confirm that while states allocate the funds, it should be up to local school districts and colleges and universities to decide how to use this emergency aid, not up to states. The guidelines also reaffirmed that state stabilization funds should be used for three purposes: to backfill harmful cuts to k12 and higher education, to stave off teacher layoffs, and to modernize school facilities – which could create new jobs. IDEA is the major federal program that provides funding for special education and related services to students with disabilities. The Title I program provides funds to low-income school districts that are in even greater need during the economic downturn. The funds appropriated through the Recovery Plan are distributed through the previously defined IDEA and Title I formulas. |