More Than $666 Million in Recovery Funds Now Available for Massachusetts to Save Jobs and Drive Education Reform
Application for Part 1 of Massachusetts’ State Stabilization Funds Approved Today
Archived Information


FOR RELEASE:
May 27, 2009
Contact:Sandra Abrevaya
(202) 401-1576 or sandra.abrevaya@ed.gov

U. S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that more than $666 million is now available for Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts will be eligible to apply for another $328 million this fall. Today's funding is being made available per Massachusetts's successful completion of Part 1 of the State Stabilization Application, which was made available on April 1st.

"The $666 million Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts can now utilize these funds to save jobs and lay the groundwork for a generation of education reform."

To date, Massachusetts has received $236 million in education stimulus funds-representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants and Independent Living Grants. On April 1st, Massachusetts received $82 million in Title I funding and more than $149 million in IDEA funding. This represents 50% of the Title I and IDEA funding Massachusetts is eligible for in total. On April 1st, Massachusetts also received $4 million in Vocational Rehab funds and more than $1 million in Independent Living funds.

In order to receive today's funds, Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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: 05/27/2009