AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN EDUCATION

The American Rescue Plan Continues To Reap Benefits For Education

Passed early in 2021, President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan set aside $170 Billion for education, the largest investment in education in US history. The results so far have been encouraging. Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to upgrading buildings where air conditioning was faulty, teachers’ unions have a greater say in how moneys are spent, dramatically more education support personnel have been hired (bus drivers, food service workers, other para-educators), mental health support for students, increased diversity in our teaching ranks — these are a few of the areas where the ARP has had a siginficant effect on our education system.

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN EDUCATION SOCIAL JUSTICE

President Biden Makes Historic Investment In Public Education

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]

AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN HEALTH CARE LEGISLATION STUDENT LOANS

Biden Kicks Off With The American Rescue Plan

Within 60 days of taking office, President Joe Biden signed into law The American Rescue Plan.

Among the many important provisions it contains are:

  • more than 500 million life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations in the arms of Americans,
  • $1400 per person to struggling US citizens,
  • extended unemployment benefits,
  • increased food aid,
  • student loan debt relief,
  • and aid to states, cities, tribal governments, and US territories.

Here’s a more detailed analysis.

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