In March, 2021, one of the first major pieces of legislationenacted by President Joe Biden was the American Rescue Plan. One of the major aspects of this mammoth stimulus package was its focus on public education. 3 years later, the Plan has had signficant positive impact on America’s public education system, K-12 and at the collegiate level. Here’s a list, courtesy of Wikipedia, of some of the education oriented provisions of the American Rescue Plan:
- $122 billion for K-12 schools,[96][81] to safely reopen most schools within 100 days.[3]
- T K-12 school funds may be used to improve ventilation in school buildings, reduce class sizes to make social distancing possible, purchase personal protective equipment, and hire support staff.[83][97]
- At least half of the money to colleges and universities must go to emergency grants to students.[89]
- 20% of school funding must be directed to programs to help counteract “learning loss” for students who missed school during the pandemic.[83]
- Almost $40 billion for colleges and universities,[97] including:
- Over $10 billion to over 1,000 community colleges[98]
- Over $2.7 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)[98]
- Over $190 million to Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)[98]
- About $11 billion to Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs)[98]
- About $5 billion to Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs)[98]
- Almost $1 billion to Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs)[98]