The Florida Department of Education has finally submitted a plan outlining how federal relief funds will be used to help schools recover from the covid-19 pandemic. The plan is four months late and Florida was the last state in the nation to submit one.
On the line is $2.3 billion in additional covid relief funds, adding up to a total $15 billion earmarked for Florida’s covid recovery in schools.
The Florida Phoenix has been writing about the issue for months now, with the DeSantis administration sitting on billions of dollars that could help public schools.
Back in March, the Biden administration announced that $122 billion dollars nationwide was available for schools from the American Rescue Plan act, with two thirds of the money immediately available to states and the remaining third contingent on the U.S. Department of Education’s approval of a state plan indicating how the funds will be used.
Florida’s share of that would total out to some $7 billion, with $4.7 available to the state that day and the approval of the state plan releasing the remaining $2.3 billion.
But the $2.3-billion plan languished for months.
Meanwhile, districts are still waiting for the money for additional tutors for struggling students, address the costs of additional sanitation practices in schools, and help with kids with mental health concerns as a result of the pandemic.
Florida’s state plan is now posted to the USDE website — dated Oct. 6 — four months past the deadline set by the feds.
In a Wednesday email, The Department of Education insisted that it did not miss any deadline, despite the fact that the USDE website says that the state plans were due on June 7, and a letter was sent to Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran indicating that it had.
The Department’s Wednesday email said that they could not send the plan in earlier because they had waited for the results of statewide assessments and conducted a survey of education stakeholders, which involved feedback from Florida district superintendents, among other reasons.
–Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix
bob says
Flor i duh relates to education
Jimbo99 says
Build more schools, a social distancing thing with controlled classroom sizes. Staff them obviously.
Charlie says
I bet if DeathSantis kids went to public schools this would have been submitted back in June when it was due. So, what has DeathSantis been doing with this money?
E, ROBOT says
I hope he tossed it in the general fund so tax payers get some relief.
Jp says
I’m sure he tried to find a way to put it in his own pockets.
The dude says
Relief from what?
Mike Cocchiola says
Florida under DeSantis – in fact, under any Republican – is simply deplorable. lies, obfuscations, neglect for anyone not a Trumper, disdain for public education and medical science… on and on.
We must fix Florida in 2022. Nikki Fried!
A.j says
A good reason to vote him out if office.
Been There says
Really, where are you going to get teachers to fill those positions in those new schools? Teachers are dropping out all over the country. The abuse they are getting is sick. I hear stories every day and listen to my daughter, a teacher, crying on her way in to work multiple times a month. I am begging her to get out and she is.
Dennis C Rathsam says
I remember when Charlie Crist was the Fl governor….You folks dont know how good you have it now. Most people in Fl, favor our governor. Only the democrats, dont like him, he stands up to Washington, stands his ground, and makes things happen. Thank god we have Mr De Santis, if we didnt our kids would have been taught CTR, and Florida,s kids would be blumming idiots.
Pierre Tristam says
Ah, “CRT,” and he doesn’t mean City Repertory Theatre, alas, but the new code for get that Black pigment away from my lilly-white child. I’m not sure Florida’s children, with the seventh lowest SAT scores in the nation, are especially Einsteinized. A little CRT (both kids) would do them good, and the commenter, too.
Gina Weiss says
Fix the public school system and pay the teachers what they deserve the unions are a waste they do nothing!