$635 Million in Recovery Funds Now Available for Tennessee to Save Teaching Jobs and Drive Education Reform
Application for Part 1 of Tennessee's State Stabilization Funds Approved Today
Archived Information


FOR RELEASE:
May 18, 2009
Contact: Sandra Abrevaya
(202) 401-1576 or sandra.abrevaya@ed.gov

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that $635 million is now available for Tennessee 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. Tennessee will be eligible to apply for another $313 million this fall. Today's funding is being made available per Tennessee's successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1.

"The $635 million Tennessee will receive today is part of the single largest boost in education funding in recent history," said Duncan. "The president's leadership and support from Congress have made this historic investment possible. Tennessee can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform."

To date, Tennessee has received $228 million in education stimulus funds—representing a combination of funding for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Vocational Rehabilitation Grants and Independent Living Grants. On April 1, Tennessee received more than $97 million in Title I funding and $123 million in IDEA funding. This represents 50 percent of the Title I and IDEA funding Tennessee is eligible for in total. On April 1, Tennessee also received more than $6 million in Vocational Rehab funds and $1 million in Independent Living funds.

In order to receive today's funds, Tennessee provided assurances that it will collect, publish, analyze and act on basic information regarding the quality of classroom teachers, annual student improvements, college readiness, the effectiveness of state standards and assessments, progress on removing charter caps, and interventions in turning around underperforming schools.

Tennessee is also required by the Department of Education to report the number of jobs saved through Recovery Act funding, the amount of state and local tax increases averted, and how funds are used.

See Tennessee and other state applications for initial funding under the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Program at http://www.ed.gov/programs/statestabilization/resources.html.

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Last Modified: 05/19/2009