School relief money distributed to state

The U.S. Department of Education has approved New Mexico’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief plan and has distributed to the state, the education department announced in a news release.

The state will use the funds to help safely reopen and run schools and expand opportunity for students who need it most, particularly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the news release stated.

New Mexico is receiving more than $979 million total in relief plan funds, and the most recent approval of the state’s plan will release the final $327 million to the state, according to the news release.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the news release, “The approval of these plans enables states to receive vital, additional American Rescue Plan funds to quickly and safely reopen schools for full-time, in-person learning; meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs; and address disparities in access to educational opportunity that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.”

New Mexico Secretary of Public Education Dr. Ryan Stewart said in the release, “This plan reflects the input of hundreds of stakeholders throughout the state.”

The funds, he added, “will “position New Mexico to bounce back strongly from the pandemic.”

The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) will use $22 million to support strategies to accelerate learning on academic acceleration for educators and administrators, developing tutoring programs and peer-to-peer tutoring and mentoring.

The PED will use $3.8 million of the relief funding to provide grants to districts and partner organizations to run summer programs for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education; outdoor environmental education; arts or cultural programs; programs aimed at at-risk youth and teens; and agricultural and career and technical education programs.