The federal government provides billions of dollars to schools through grants for low-income schools and special education programs. SEND pupils told schools ‘can’t accommodate... www.schoolsweek.co.uk © Learning & Skills Events Consultancy and Training Limited. The government will spend £1 billion on an education “catch-up plan”, with a large chunk of the cash going directly to schools. While the CDC recommendations on in-school practices – such as wearing face masks, separating desks and staggering schedules for students – still hold, the debate led many to question whether the president has the power to cut federal school funding or influence the CDC. most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy, join us with a tax-deductible donation today. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC). (That's federal, state and local government spending combined.).

The federal government has withheld federal funding only in a couple of instances from states. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $12. The National School Lunch Program's daily participation is around 30 million students. So the only time that he shows an interest in public schools is when he sees them somehow connected to his economic agenda. Instead, as Redfield told ABC's "Good Morning America," additional reference documents will be provided.

And so, with the equitable services stuff the past few months, you saw state educational commissioners afraid to publicly say that Betsy DeVos was wrong, and they weren’t gonna follow her ruling because they were afraid she would withhold their money illegally or not, and they just didn’t want to get into a legal fight. But for the president to take that position, it seems to me they would have to go on a school district-by-district basis and actually affirmatively establish that there are several services that we’re paying you to provide that you’re not providing. Yeah, they could because it takes the US Treasury and Department of Education to send a check. There is a variety of what you might call qualitative standards under which they can hold funds.

But as of today, that power still rests with state education officers.

The violation would be, you’re not providing special education services, you’re not providing language services, you’re not providing lunch, you’re not providing supplemental reading instruction to low-income kids.

It’s a historic moment for our democracy, and never has it been so important to stay grounded in facts. More than 135,000 in the country have died from the virus. Given the federal government’s hands-off approach to addressing the coronavirus as infections spike throughout the country, superintendents have focused on consulting with governors and state public health departments to navigate how to reopen schools for the safety of teachers, administrators, and kids. Check out our. In both cases, it will be up to schools to decide how to deploy the tutoring, and whether to use it for individual pupils or small groups.

“This is not helpful. Any time that they’ve tried to withhold funds without that, courts have struck it down. They said, “Look, this discrimination based on sexual orientation violates sex discrimination,” and the district said, “We disagree and we’re going to keep pushing it right up to the edge of the department holding funds,” and then the district folded.

Betsy DeVos has been told no on vouchers for four years, and the CARES Act says nothing about vouchers. It doesn’t surprise me that they are saying they might actually refuse to cut checks. So if Southern schools want to delay until after Labor Day or delay two weeks, there are no provisions in federal law that dictate the date at which schools open. Johns Hopkins University alone received nearly $1.9 billion from the federal government in 2011, more than twice as much as any other university in the country.

All rights reserved. "The purse is controlled by the Congress.". "Our guidelines are our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid basically communities in trying to open K-12s," Redfield said. (That's federal, state and local government spending combined.) So they have to point to some civil rights violation. Listen on Apple Podcasts. What precedent is there for the federal government to withhold money from schools?

It's us but for your ears. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Terms of Service apply. The CARES Act passed in March allocated $13.5 billion to K-12 education, just a fraction of the $2.2 trillion in government spending thrown at the coronavirus pandemic. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and It feels like the president is saying, “If you don’t open schools for in-person instruction, we will withhold money.”. He added that he disagreed with the CDC’s guidance for reopening schools, which includes dismissing school when COVID outbreaks occur, enforcing social distancing within classes, limiting sharing, and conducting daily health checks, among other recommendations.

"We are asking people to stop taking medical advice from Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos. Mathis explains how most local funds come from property taxes – which means low-income communities, in particular, are underfunded, as they don't have the necessary tax base. We noticed you have an ad blocker on.

The government will spend £1 billion on an education “catch-up plan”, with a large chunk of the cash going directly to schools.

I don’t think there’s any statutory basis to say if you’re not physically open, we can’t fund you.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on another round of coronavirus stimulus, reopening schools, and the state of US-China relations. And “NTP Coaches” will see recent graduates trained up and then employed by schools to provide “intensive catch-up support” to pupils, with their salaries paid for by the programme. Despite Trump's distaste for the guidance, Redfield said Thursday on CNN the CDC will not revise its guidance for reopening schools.

So the violation of the statute would be, oh, you’re having online versus in-person. The charities’ Teaching and Learning Toolkit suggests it can boost progress “by up to five months”.

In April, Dr. Rick Bright said he was ousted from his position at the Department of Health and Human Services because he opposed the drug hydroxychloroquine, which Trump was touting. On Twitter, Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal funds from school districts if they refuse to reopen.

Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? Thank you. Schools will be able to decide whether to use tuition sessions in addition to their pupils’ normal school day, or during their timetabled day.

The specific date at which you start your school is not a condition of federal funding mean, no.

As the map above shows, that … He called the guidance “very tough & expensive.”. Donald Trump's push to reopen schools comes amid a nationwide debate over whether it's safe for children to return to the classroom amid coronavirus. “They have, aside from doctors, the most difficult job in America right now.

In a recent letter to Congress, the Council of Chief State School Officers, a nonprofit organization that represents public officials who lead state departments of elementary and secondary education, estimated the cost of safely reopening is between $158.1 billion and $244.6 billion. The question is, how do we define reopening? Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said Thursday that it’s “too early to tell” if an agreement can be reached on the administration’s desire to add conditions to additional school assistance. Even the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is broken up into multiple parts. I’m struggling to see how they could do that.

The qualitative standards would be, “Well, you’re not complying with IEPs for special education students. That would be a creative basis. The remaining £350 million will pay for the establishment of a National Tutoring Programme, which will run for the duration of the next academic year and give schools access to subsidised tutoring sessions and free coaches for up to two million disadvantaged pupils. As to those they could just withhold all your money because those say no federal-fund recipients can engage in race discrimination. So, like, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination; Title IX of the Education Amendments of ’74 prohibit sex discrimination; then you’ve got a disability, etc, etc.

As the map above shows, that one number masks a huge variation.

As the map above shows, that …

DeVos pointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) guidance, which urges schools to reopen if possible. President Donald Trump criticizes the CDC guidelines for the upcoming school year. You’re not delivering services to them. There are other funds in there—Title II, which is about teacher training. It's unclear how much additional aid schools could receive. While the administration is pushing hard for schools to reopen, officials have also said implementation decisions have to be made on the local level.

“I would much prefer that schools open,” Roberts added.

An education law professor tells Mother Jones that it’s a hollow threat without any legal basis, but that there are still gray areas in which the White House could maneuver. So the federal government said, “Look, we’re not going to give you your federal funds.” So that happened. Teachers fear for their safety. By not standing up for their own rights, they lose them to bullies. "They must fully open and they must be fully operational, and how that happens is best left to education and community leaders.". "The burden falls worst on the poorer districts, the big-city districts.". It’s sort of like they want what they want, and it really ties back to equitable services under the CARES Act.