Learn About How COVID-19 is Affecting Education Funding Our Advocacy Work

Posted by PA Schools Work on April 21, 2020

PA Schools Work held a webinar about how COVID-19 is affecting our schools and our advocacy work on April 14, 2020.  Below you’ll find a link to a recording of the webinar, plus some corresponding resources discussed on the webinar.

You can view the archived webinar here (you will need to input your name and email to view the video): https://www.gotostage.com/channel/6f0a970de4a34b59a5a51e42e4492af0/recording/d3ff9e4dd9054e1c93d6749e5fdc996e/watch

If you’d like to catch up on prior webinar sessions, we archive all of our webinars and associated content on our website: http://paschoolswork.org/resources/webinars/

More Resources

One of the webinar presenters, PA Budget and Policy Center Director Marc Stier, has written extensively on the economic impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania. Here are a few pieces that might be of interest:

• The Likely Impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania
• Funds for Pennsylvania in the Senate Coronavirus Relief Act

As discussed on the call, Pennsylvania is expected to get $524 million from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Of that amount, 90% or $471 million is allocated directly to school districts following the Title I formula. Details about these funds have not yet been released, but the law identifies 12 different allowable uses. In total, the federal CARES Act includes $30.75 billion for education nationally, $13.5 billion of which is specifically earmarked to K-12 education. This is a tiny fraction of what the federal government provided during the Great Recession in 2009, when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act delivered $79 billion for K-12 education and more than $100 billion in education funding overall. More advocacy at both the state and federal levels will be needed to ensure schools get the aid they need to bridge the gaps and get through the COVID-19 crisis.