FRAMINGHAM – Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark announced today, April 1, the American Rescue Plan includes $16 million for the Framingham Public School district, a portion of the over $3.1 billion in emergency education funding to support Massachusetts schools and families.
“When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law last month, we knew that help was on the way. Today, I’m happy to announce just how substantial that aid will be for Framingham schools, families, and child care providers,”said Assistant Speaker Clark. “With this funding, Framingham schools, and schools across the district, will be able to open their doors and provide essential services to keep the entire school community safe. This pandemic and its physical, emotional, and economic fallout have made life increasingly hard for students and families, but this funding provides vital relief to get the Commonwealth and country back on its feet.”
“On behalf of the entire Framingham community, thank you!” said Framingham Superintendent Robert Tremblay. “The additional funding provided through the American Rescue Plan will directly support students and staff in the classroom and at home. Whether sitting in the classroom with their peers for in-person learning or learning remotely at home, our students will benefit from funding to be provided to the District.”
Tremblay said “Funding will allow us to increase technology options for teachers, increase connectivity for students at home through the purchase of hotspots, keep our students and staff safe through the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and COVID-related equipment and instructional supplies needed that were not budgeted in the current 2020-2021 School Department budget. The safety, health and success of our students and staff are our top priorities and the American Rescue Plan provides resources to ensure we accomplish this. We appreciate Congresswoman Clark’s unyielding support of Framingham!”
In total, Massachusetts will receive an estimated $512,000,000 for child care providers and families, $13,628,000 for Head Start programs, $1,830,128,000 for K-12 schools, and $825,467,000 for higher education institutions.
Nationwide, the American Rescue Plan provides:
- More than $120 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, which will give schools the resources they need to reopen safely for in-person instruction and address the significant impact of the pandemic on students’ education and well-being.
- $40 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, which is awarded directly to institutions of higher education. At least half of the funding institutions receive must be distributed to students in the form of emergency grants to prevent hunger, homelessness, and other hardships caused by COVID-19.
- $39 billion in supplemental funding for child care, which will help child care providers keep their doors open and reduce costs for struggling families.
- $1 billion in emergency funding for Head Start, which will be used to maintain access to services for children and families.
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Original story here.