The Joint Finance Committee met on Wednesday afternoon and voted 11-4 to tie $65.5 million of the $686 million in federal education relief funds received by Wisconsin to in-person instruction.
The Committee's change impacts the $67 million in discretionary funds received by DPI from the most recent federal COVID relief bill. DPI had proposed using $65 million of these funds to ensure that every school receives a minimum $395 per pupil aid increase. Under the Joint Finance Committee's motion, $65 million will still be targeted to schools that received less than $395 per pupil from the federal pass-through funds, but the amount of aid provided to each school will be based on the number of in-person instruction hours they offer during the 2020-21 school year. The Committee did not modify DPI's proposal to use the remaining $2 million in discretionary funds to ensure that all schools receive a minimum allocation of $100,000.
As required by federal law, 90% ($617.4 million) of the federal funds will be allocated directly to schools using the existing federal Title 1 formula.
Schools can use these federal relief funds for a host of activities related to responding to COVID-19. Allowable uses include addressing learning loss; planning for, coordinating and implementing activities during long-term closures, which includes providing technology for online learning to students; and purchasing educational technology, which includes hardware, software and connectivity.
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