Stimulus Funding for P-12 Education

Education Week reports on how states and localities are using stimulus funding to support K-12 and expand Early Childhood programs. In Early Childhood the stimulus package increased funding for Head Start, Early Headstart and the federal child-care and child-development block grants, but

Stimulus money for early-childhood programs is also contained in other funding streams. For instance, Part C and Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—programs that serve children with disabilities from infancy to kindergarten age—are receiving $900 million. In addition, the $13 billion in Title I stimulus money, which can be used for schools that have large populations of children from low-income families, can be used to pay for early-childhood programs.

The Education Commission of the States issued briefs this week on promising state programs that may be eligible for competitive federal stimulus funding

the U.S. Department of Education will conduct a national competition among states for a $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” incentive program designed to push states to improve education quality and results. The Race to the Top fund will help drive substantial gains in student achievement by supporting states that make dramatic progress on four reform goals outlined in the ARRA. Race to the Top grants will be awarded in two rounds — fall 2009 and spring 2010.

For strategies on using stimulus funding to support early care and education.