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President Obama signed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law on February 19, 2009. It contains more than $100 billion for education.
The ARRA covers a variety of spending programs for education. Many of ARRA’s education funding programs will be based on existing formulas and census information, but some will be competitive.
Race to the Top Fund is a component of ARRA. Washington is the lead state for the multi-state SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium that earned a four-year $176 million to develop an assessment system based on the Common Core State Standards.
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Major Funding Programs
- State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF): This new program provides $48.3 billion for restoring state education funding. Washington is expected to receive about $1 billion in SFSF money between now and fiscal year 2010-11.
- Student Achievement, ESEA, Title I, Part A: ARRA provides additional money for local education agencies (generally school districts) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of poor children who need help in meeting states’ challenging academic standards. Washington schools are expected to receive about $135 million in Title I funds in addition to the money it already receives.
- Special Education, IDEA, Part B: ARRA provides additional money to help states and local schools insure that children with disabilities have access to a free, appropriate public education. Washington schools are expected to receive more than $221 million in additional funds for special education.
- School Improvement: ARRA provides Washington approximately $44.5 million in additional funds to help schools that have failed to demonstrate adequate yearly progress (AYP) in meeting state academic goals.
- Educational Technology, ESEA Title II, Part D: ARRA provides additional money to LEAs to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology. Washington schools are expected to receive an additional $8.7 million for technology.
- Homeless Children and Youth, McKinney-Vento, Title II: ARRA provides additional money to ensure that homeless children and youth have access to a free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education. Washington is expected to receive additional money for the education of homeless children and youth.
- Child Nutrition Services: ARRA provides additional funds for improvements in program equipment distributed to the states. States must distribute these funds via competitive grants to local school food authorities, with priority given to those schools in which at least 50% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. The program is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Pupil Transportation: The funding most directly associated with school transportation is through the National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of the $90 million going directly to the states, Washington’s share is $1.7 million. The Department of Ecology will oversee the distribution of Washington’s $1.7 million.
- School Facilities and Organization - ARRA School Bond Opportunities: ARRA has made available new and expanded bond opportunities for school districts to include Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs), Qualified Zone Academy Bonds (QZABs), Build America Bonds (BABs), and Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs). These programs can provide interest-free bonds to schools for construction, rehabilitation, repair, energy-saving renovations, teacher training and land acquisition.
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