States to Receive Stimulus Funds This Month

The Education Department will hand out $44 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in the first of two distributions.

“These funds will be distributed as quickly as possible to save and create jobs and improve education, and will be invested as transparently as possible so we can measure the impact in the classroom,” Arne Duncan said in a press release.

The money must be used within the next two years to raise student achievement standards, improve data systems, and improve the quality of teaching.

To receive aid, state officials must commit to meeting ARRA requirements.  For the second distribution, they must show evidence of progress.  To see a list of requirements along with the break down of funding go to www.ed.gov/policy.

The Education Department also created a $53 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Funds (SFSF) to aid state and local budgets, and provide incentives for federal programs like “Race to the Top” and “Invest in What Works and Innovation.”

“These are difficult times for our school boards and this aid is critical to avoid layoffs and higher taxes,” N.Y. Senator Charles Schumer said in a recent NY Times article.

Duncan said that the stimulus funds are temporary, and warns states against using the money for any long term problems.

Money cannot fix the U.S. education system alone.

“This challenge isn’t an intellectual one, it’s one of political courage,” Duncan said in an article from the Washington Post.