American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 (H.R. 1)

American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 (H.R. 1)

Summary of Proposed Funding for Education

(California is expected to receive 10-12 percent of funding)

1/27/09

Education and Human Resources: $100 million

• $60 million for Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program which encourages talented science, technology, engineering, and math majors and professionals to become K-12 math and science teachers

• $40 million for Math and Science Partnerships which is a research and development effort that supports innovative partnerships to improve K-12 student achievement in math and science

After-School Feeding Program for At-Risk Children: $726 million

• $726 million to provide free dinners to at-risk children and to increase snack reimbursement rates

Child Care Development Block Grant: $2 billion

• $2 billion to supplement state general revenue funds for child care assistance for low-income families. These funds could be used to provide full-time child care services to an additional 11,600 children in California.

Head Start/Early Head Start: $2.1 billion

• $1 billion for Head Start, a comprehensive education, health, and nutrition and social/emotional development services for low-income children

• $1.1 billion to expand Early Head Start programs which provide services for low-income infants and toddlers

  • The U.S. Health and Human Services Department estimates that these funds will provide services to an additional 110,000 children annually, with an emphasis on early intervention services to infants and toddlers under Early Head Start

Title I Grants: $13 billion over two years

• $11 billion in additional funding for basic grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) eligible for Title I funds

  • The additional funding could be used to provide additional academic support to children from low income families who are failing or at risk of failing core subjects such reading, writing and math.

  • LEAs could use the funding for after-school and summer programs to extend and reinforce the regular school curriculum.

  • This funding could also be used to hire additional teachers or tutors to help those children who are most in need.

• $2 billion for school improvement grants

  • This funding could be used to further identify and address the needs of schools in program improvement, corrective action, and restructuring in order to improve student achievement.

Impact Aid Construction: $100 million

• $100 million to support school construction in LEAs with high percentages of children living on Indian land or children with military parents.

K-12 Repair and Modernization: $14 billion

• $14 billion can be used for health and safety repairs, facility modifications to provide access for disabled students, and educational technology, infrastructure upgrades, as well as projects to improve energy efficiency

• Funding will be allocated to states based on their FY 2008 allocation under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act, after a 1% reservation of funds for outlying areas and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. States must allocate funds using the same methodology within 30 days of receipt of the funds. There are provisions for redistributing the funding. Current language notes that this funding will be used to supplement, not supplant, state funding for school construction.

Education Technology: $1 billion over two years

• $1 billion provided through the existing Education Technology program for technology hardware, software applications, professional development and related instructional technology staff and services

Statewide Data Systems: $250 million

• $250 million to design and develop data systems that analyze individual student data to find ways to improve student achievement

  • These funds may be available to start implementation of recommendations in the McKinsey report on how to improve and expand California's education data system.

• Up to $5 million may be used for state data coordinators and for awards to public or private organizations or agencies to improve data coordination

Education for Homeless Children and Youth: $66 million over two years

• $66 million provided through the existing program to provide services to homeless children including meals and transportation when high unemployment and home foreclosures have created an influx of homeless children.

  • This funding could also be used to provide tutoring and other educational services to help homeless children reach state content and performance standards.

  • This funding could be used to purchase school supplies to students at shelters, temporary housing facilities, and other locations as appropriate.

  • Other uses could be for before- and after-school programs, mentoring, and summer programs for homeless children and youth.

Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities: $25 million

• $25 million to assist charter schools obtain financing for infrastructure projects.

Teacher Incentive Fund: $200 million

• $200 million in increased funding for existing competitive grants to school districts and states to develop and implement innovative strategies that provide financial incentives for teachers and principals who raise student achievement and close the achievement gap in high-need schools

• Funding would enable school districts to develop and implement systems to attract and retain highly qualified teachers and principals, and to align their pay with student performance

Teacher Quality Enhancement, State Grants: $100 million

• $100 million increased funding for existing competitive grants to states for reforming teacher licensing and certification requirements, providing alternative methods of teacher preparation, and providing alternative routes to state certification

  • These funds are administered by higher education

IDEA, Part B State Grants: $13 billion over two years (based on existing formula)

• $13 billion to increase the federal share of special education costs and prevent these mandatory costs from forcing states to cut other areas of education

  • Additional funding will assist school districts with paying for the rising cost of special education for students with disabilities. Although the number of students enrolled in special education has remained steady over the last 5 years, the severity of disabilities has intensified, including autism, which requires a greater investment of resources to ensure an adequate education is provided.

  • The additional funds will assist school districts from further reducing funding for general educational operations during the current state budget crisis.

IDEA Infants and Families: $600 million over two years (based on existing formula)

• $600 million to help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger

  • These funds are administered by the Department of Developmental Services

State Fiscal Stabilization Fund: $79 billion over two years

• $79 billion to provide fiscal relief to states to prevent cutbacks in critical education and other high priority services

• $25 million is reserved for the Secretary of Education for administration and oversight, including program evaluation

• $15 billion is reserved for State Incentive Grants

• The remaining funding (approximately $64 billion) is allocated by the federal Secretary of Education to the states, of which 61% is allocated based on school-aged population and 39% is allocated based on total population

• States shall use at least 61% of the funds they receive to support elementary, secondary, and higher education. These funds must first be used by states to restore state aid to school districts under the primary state K-12 education funding formula and to institutions of higher education to FY 2008 levels, to the extent feasible given available funds. Any remaining funds shall be allocated to school districts based on the formula under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. For each fiscal year, the Governor may use up to 39 percent of the funds for public safety and other government services, which may include assistance for elementary and secondary education and public institutions of higher education.

• To obtain funds, the governor of a state must submit an application including assurances pertaining to maintenance of effort of state support for education, achieving equity in teacher distribution and quality, establishing a longitudinal data system, and enhancing the quality of academic assessments for English language learners and students with disabilities. The maintenance of effort level is based on 2006 expenditures.

• Funds must be used for services authorized by ESEA, IDEA, and Perkins.

• $650 million (of the $15 billion reserved for State Incentive Grants) can be used for an Innovation Fund to support awards by the Secretary of Education to recognize states, local educational agencies, or schools that have made significant gains in closing achievement gaps