Anne Bubnic's List: ARRA/SFSF

The document, released on April 24, 2009, is intended to spark ideas about how schools and districts might use Recovery Act funds, particularly under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Title I, and the Individuals with Disabilities Act Part B.

State Fiscal Stabilization Fund applications must be completed by May 4, 2009 to be eligible for the first round of SFSF funding.

Assurances are equired as a condition of receiving funds. LEA applicants do not need to sign and return the assurances with the application; they must be downloaded and kept on file for compliance reviews, complaint investigations, or audits.

The Department of Education received significant new funding that can benefit public charter schools. Over $100 billion in direct spending primarily is designated through already existing programs (e.g., Title I, IDEA) and the newly authorized State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund became the primary new education program in the bill, and absorbed the funding for modernizing public schools that had been included in earlier versions of the bill.

The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) program is a new one-time appropriation of $53.6 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Of the amount appropriated, the U. S. Department of Education will award governors approximately $48.6 billion by formula under the SFSF program in exchange for a commitment to advance essential education reforms to benefit students from early learning through post-secondary education, including: college- and career- ready standards and high-quality, valid and reliable assessments for all students; development and use of pre-K through post-secondary and career data systems; increasing teacher effectiveness and ensuring an equitable distribution of qualified teachers; and turning around the lowest-performing schools.

The first of $44 billion in economic-stimulus aid for education began flowing out to states last week-along with new teacher-quality reporting requirements for states and districts, and significantly more spending flexibility on school construction than many administrators had expected.

This new document from the US Dept of Education outlines capital spending and teacher-quality reporting expectations, with more capital-spending flexibility of ARRA funds than initially expected. Lots of great Q & A's in here that help clarify program uses.

Pearson Education analyzes the economic stimulus funding pots available for early childhood education.

School districts, county offices of education, direct funded charter schools will receive SFSF funding to offset reductions to state general purpose and categorical program funding reduced pursuant to Senate Bill 4 (Chapter 12, Statutes 2009-10, Third Extraordinary Session). This search engine allows counties and districts in California to see their estimated allocation for 2009.

ARRA provides $12.2 billion in funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) under Part B and Part C. Part B consists of $11.3 billion allocated for Section 611 (ages 3-21) and $400 million for Section 619 (ages 3-5 only).1 $500 million is provided for Part C (infants and toddlers). In addition to IDEA funding, it's possible that other ARRA line items, including but not limited to Title I and Head Start funding, might also be dedicated to special education and educational reforms. State Fiscal Stabilization Funds can also be used by states for these purposes, but there is no requirement that they do so.

The U.S. Department of Education released a new PowerPoint overview of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on March 24. While much of the information we have already covered, there are some new points that are of importance to the charter community.

Detailed Description of Appropriate and Inappropriate use of SFSF Funds. INAPPROPRIATE USES INCLUDE: * Payment of maintenance costs;\n * Stadiums or other facilities primarily used for athletic events or other events which charge for admission;\n * Purchase or upgrade of vehicles;\n * Improvement of stand-alone facilities whose purpose is not to educate students such as central office administration or operations or logistical support facilities; or\n * Financial assistance to students to attend private schools, unless the funds are used to provide special education and related services as authorized by IDEA.

While the Stabilization Fund will help relieve our immediate economic crisis, it is also intended to boost student achievement, so to access this money, we seek your commitment to the following four essential areas of reform:


* Making improvements in teacher effectiveness and ensuring that all schools have highly qualified teachers;

* Making progress toward college and career-ready standards and rigorous assessments that will improve both teaching and learning;

* Improving achievement in low-performing schools, by providing intensive support and effective interventions in schools that need them the most;
* Gathering information to improve student learning, teacher performance, and college and career-readiness through enhanced data systems that track progress.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that nearly $4 billion is now available for California under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. This funding will lay the foundation for a generation of education reform and help save hundreds of thousands of teaching jobs at risk of state and local budget cuts. California will be eligible to apply for another $2 billion this fall. California is the first state to be approved for the first round of state stabilization funding.

The Department of Education's $5 billion in "Race to the Top" and innovation funds provides a historic opportunity to reward states, school districts, and entrepreneurs doing good work for kids. Much of the funding, $4.35 billion, will go to states that can document successful implementation of NCLB's provisions—achieving equitable distribution of quality teachers, improving collection and use of data, implementing quality standards and assessments, and supporting struggling schools. The rest, $650 million, is reserved for school districts and nonprofits implementing proven reform strategies.

This is an analysis of economic stimulus funding for education, provided by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Federal stimulus dollars have begun flowing to the state. But LEAs are still a few weeks away from getting them in their hands. LEAs will begin receiving these funds in May. There are three primary one-time funding sources in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF).

An Alternative Accessible Version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) PreK-12 Education “Saving and Creating Jobs and Reforming Education” Powerpoint Presentation given by Andrea Ball at the May 2009 State Board of Education Meeting. Outlines all of the stimulus funding programs.

The United States Department of Education this week urged states to "act now" to get their applications in for stimulus package funding. Education Secretary Duncan said that states should act as quickly as possible on State Fiscal Stabilization Funds to help move reforms forward and to protect teaching jobs that are at risk.