WASHINGTON DC – Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) announced that over $363 million is now available for Connecticut schools under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act funding will help local schools keep teachers in the classroom and make much-needed reforms that are currently at risk because of state and local budget cuts.
“This funding will prevent teacher lay-offs while laying the groundwork for a generation of education reforms,” said Congressman Himes. “Investment in education—giving the workers of tomorrow the skills to succeed today—is critical to our long-term economic prosperity.”
To date, Connecticut has received $109 million in Recovery funding for education through a combination of Title I and IDEA allocations, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants, and Independent Living Grants. On April 1, Connecticut received more than $35 million for Title I and over $71 million for IDEA, 50 percent of the Title I and IDEA funding for which Connecticut is eligible. On April 1, Connecticut also received $1.7 million in Vocational Rehabilitation funds and $671,000 in Independent Living funds.
In order to receive today’s funds, Connecticut provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze, and act on basic information regarding the quality of Connecticut schools. Categories of measurement include teacher quality, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, and progress on turning around underperforming schools. Connecticut is also required by the Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted, and how funds are used.
More information about the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program is available here: http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.