蜜桃影视

The $130 billion for K-12 in President Joe Biden鈥檚 proposed relief plan doesn鈥檛 cover the full price tag of what the administration thinks it will cost to reopen schools, according to a White House breakdown of expenses obtained by 蜜桃影视.

The various categories, such as $50 billion for reducing class sizes and $3 billion for school nurses, total $199 billion. With $54 billion already allocated to districts from a December relief bill, that leaves $15 billion not covered by the new plan.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said additional relief packages can be expected.

鈥淚t is not the end of our work or the end of [the president鈥檚] efforts to help bring relief to the American public,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is a first step.鈥� (See a full breakdown of the 12 prioritized line items in the spending proposal)

With the Senate passing a early Friday morning along party lines, Congress can now move forward with crafting the Democrats鈥� relief bill. The document, which refers to estimates from the American Federation of Teachers and a December Centers for Disease Control , provides more detail on how the administration arrived at its figures and where states and districts will likely direct the funds.

The bulk of the total 鈥� $147 billion 鈥� focuses on maintaining and increasing staffing levels of teachers, nurses, custodial staff and other positions, while $9.5 billion is allotted for supplies such as masks and barriers between students.

The cost estimates match 鈥渢he needs we鈥檙e hearing from principals on the ground,鈥� said Danny Carlson at the National Association of Elementary School Principals. 鈥淚 think this plan rightly recognizes it鈥檚 going to take months for schools to dig out from the challenges induced by this pandemic, which will persist long after schools reopen.鈥�

While earlier relief bills provided flexibility for districts to spend funds on summer school, tutoring or other strategies to help students catch up, the gaps have only widened with continuing school closures. The Biden plan estimates $29 billion to provide 20 extra days of instruction to address pandemic-related learning loss. That鈥檚 less than the $36 billion estimate from the Learning Policy Institute, the Stanford University-based think tank led by Linda Darling-Hammond, who oversaw Biden鈥檚 education transition team. But even that estimate, included in a , was made in the early months of the pandemic.

A recent from Education Resource Strategies suggested districts would need to add an average of two months of additional instruction each year for the next five years to recover seven to eight months of learning. Many students, however, have now been learning remotely for nine months. The report estimated an average of $12,000 to $13,500 per student over the next five years in large urban districts to make up for lost instruction.

鈥淭his short-term infusion would allow districts to make aggressive in-roads” in helping students make the gains they would have if schools hadn鈥檛 closed, Jonathan Travers, a co-author of the report, said about Biden鈥檚 plan. 鈥淏ut in our most affected communities, it鈥檚 going to take an investment of new resources over several years and a strategic reorganization of people, time and money to tackle inequities and unsustainable underlying cost structures.鈥�

And with high rates of COVID-19 persisting in some regions of the U.S. and ongoing disputes between unions and districts over when schools will reopen, many students might not return until well into spring.

Conditions on reopening return

The line items in the document explain some of the exchanges Wednesday between senators and education secretary nominee Miguel Cardona during his confirmation hearing. Cardona, for example, said he was pleased to see specific funding in the president鈥檚 plan for school counselors. The breakdown sets aside $10 billion for counselors and school psychologists.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah referred to the president鈥檚 request for a 10 percent increase in teachers. 鈥淭his would be some 350,000 additional educators,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 presume that it鈥檚 their plan or your plan to fire these educators when COVID is over. Is that right?鈥�

Cardona answered, 鈥淐orrect, senator.鈥�

Other costs spelled out in the document include $14 billion for additional transportation costs, $7 billion for students鈥� at-home internet service, $1 million for community schools and $2 billion for grants that address pandemic-related educational inequities.

On Wednesday, the House passed its budget resolution, but will need to vote again on the Senate鈥檚 plan. When that occurs, both chambers can move forward with a fast-track 鈥渞econciliation鈥� process allowing them to pass the president鈥檚 full, $1.9 trillion package 鈥� if necessary, without Republican support.

The majority-led process, however, didn鈥檛 stop Republicans from reviving the Trump-administration鈥檚 position that schools should reopen in person before they receive more federal funds. Similar disputes are playing out at the local level, with suing its school district for not reopening schools and the Montclair, New Jersey, district in an effort to force teachers to return.

The House on Wednesday voted against Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson鈥檚 by a vote of 219-207. Meanwhile in the Senate, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri introduced a similar to the budget resolution that would direct federal funds only to schools that reopen. As expected, Democrats didn鈥檛 allow the measure into the resolution.

Go Deeper 鈥� Here鈥檚 the full $130 billion Biden school funding proposal:

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