Since March of 2020, $295 billion dollars in funding for education has been made available via three stimulus bills passed by the Federal Government. In this article, we will take a closer look at the education funding in those three bills; the American Rescue Plan, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act. We’ll also provide some overview information about Studica and how we can assist academic institutions and educators in finding the best solutions to meet their needs, goals, and budgets.

Federal Funding for Education

The funding from the Federal Government is focused on helping schools safely reopen, sustain safe operations, and support students. Many vulnerable students have experienced significant learning setbacks during the pandemic and this funding is designed to help them make up for lost learning opportunities.

American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan includes $122 billion in relief for K-12 schools as part of the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund. It also includes $40 billion for higher education in HEER (Higher Education Emergency Relief) Funds. Plus, $7.6 billion for special education, children and youth experiencing homelessness, Tribal educational agencies, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives, emergency assistance to non-public schools, and the Outlying Areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

“This pandemic has taken an extraordinary toll on students, parents, educators, and schools, and we know that our schools, students, and communities need help now to reopen safely and quickly, and to stay open,” said the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “These funds from the American Rescue Plan and the extraordinary steps the Department is taking to get these resources to states quickly will allow schools to invest in mitigation strategies to get students back in the classroom and stay there, and address the many impacts this pandemic has had on students—especially those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

The funds are designed to fund safety and health measures consistent with CDC guidelines and address gaps in learning resulting from the pandemic particularly for those students hit hardest with the goal of bringing students back into classrooms safely and as quickly as possible.

CRRSA Act

Signed into law in December of 2020, The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act provided an additional $81.9 billion to the Education Stabilization Fund that was established with the CARES Act. The largest portion of these funds is directed towards Elementary and Secondary schools. HEER also received additional funding with some funds specifically designated to minority-serving institutions and for-profit colleges. Additional money was allocated to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund.

CARES Act

Passed in March of 2020, the CARES Act was the first of the three bills that included funding for education to address the pandemic. It allocated over $30 billion dollars to the U.S. Department of Education through the ESF, Education Stabilization Fund. The ESF includes three primary relief funds including the ESSER Fund, the HEER fund, and the GEER Fund.

Studica Can Help!

Studica has served the education market for over 35 years. Offering a variety of innovative solutions including software, robotics, and technology products for classroom and remote learning, Studica can help you find technology and curriculum to help get your students back on track and assist teachers. Our team of experienced Academic Consultants is dedicated to helping educators.

We believe in listening to our customers carefully so we understand clearly what you need, the parameters involved and work with you to identify and explore the best solutions for achieving your goals. We understand how the buying process works for schools. We do our best to make the process as easy as possible for you. Even getting everything on one purchase order if it will make the process easier for you. We also offer kitting and procurement services. If you have any questions or want to speak with one of our Education experts, please contact Studica.

Studica works with Academic Consortiums including the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and UTeachEngineering, providing procurement Services and technical expertise. We have a variety of solutions for STEM education, robotics, language learning, data acquisition, game design, coding, and more. Our catalog includes fischertechnik, Language Tree Online, YoYo Games, Unity, NI (formerly National Instruments), Moore Solutions, Inc., Siemens STEM Courses, PTC, Chaos, databot, Babbel, Pixologic, and our own Robotics products. In fact, our Studica Robotics (SR) division manufactures and develops Sensors, Controllers, and Kits that are used around the world for education and competitions. Studica is also a  Global Partner and the official exclusive product supplier for the WorldSkills Mobile Robotics Competition for Shanghai 2022 and Lyon 2024.

Sources:

https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/department-education-announces-american-rescue-plan-funds-all-50-states-puerto-rico-and-district-columbia-help-schools-reopen
https://oese.ed.gov/offices/american-rescue-plan/american-rescue-plan-elementary-and-secondary-school-emergency-relief/
https://covid-relief-data.ed.gov/
https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/