There is no doubt that our economy is in bad shape, but do not assume that educational services for struggling students will have to be cut back. Teachers, administrators and parents alike should know that the economic recovery package passed this winter will provide funds - increased, new money - to certain key programs. Title 1, as well as IDEA (Special Ed) programs will in fact receive significantly more funding in the upcoming fiscal year than in the last one. And these programs will also receive large funds for the remainder of this school year.

Additional federal funding is hardly a panacea for local schools. The decline in local property values and the decline in state revenues from increased unemployment will challenge most school systems. Some schools will need to do everything from turning down thermostats, to cutting extra-curricular activities to cutting close to the bone by laying off teachers. No system will be happy about their new economic circumstances, and some will suffer considerably. However, the current leaders in Washington have decided to increase federal funding for education to help alleviate the problems of local school systems and ensure that essential programs are not cut. This commitment is not small.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will inject about 787 billion dollars into the economy and 115 billion dollars is designated for education. This 115 billion will be allocated over three years, but more will be available early in the process than later. Just under half of the total is called “stabilization” money and roughly 80 percent of it will flow through to local school systems. This will help many local systems avoid deep cuts in services. About 18% of the stabilization funding will be left to the discretion of the states, which means that it could still be used to support local schools. About 30 billion dollars will go to grants and tax cuts to support higher education. The lion’s share of the remainder goes to Title 1, which gets about 13 billion, and IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act) programs which get 12.2 billion. In a typical recent fiscal year, Title 1 funds have totaled around 13 or 14 billion dollars a year, and IDEA funding has totaled about 10 or 11 billion.

Therefore this new, additional money is very significant - and it is important to note that much of it will come on line quickly. In the area of stabilization funding, 67% will be available by April 1, 2009 and states may apply for it to use in both the current school year and the next one. The remaining 33% will be available later, but will have to be allocated by September 1, 2011 at the latest.

In the Title 1 and IDEA areas, the new funding will take effect even more quickly. In these areas several billion dollars will be available on April 1, and most of this will NOT require a special application process. The federal government hopes to have almost all of this money in the hands of states or local schools by April 30 and it MUST be spent by June 30, 2009. That money will be quickly followed by other funds for the 2009-2010 school year, although schools may need to submit applications for this later funding.

The stabilization money will alleviate at least some of the strain on the operating budgets of many local school systems. The sizable Title 1 and IDEA funds should allow the students who need the most help to get it. One of the key points of the stimulus funding is to act quickly, both to make sure that money flows into the economy quickly and also to make sure that education does not suffer as much as some parts of the economy already have.

 For those of us working with students who struggle with reading, writing, grammar and other basic language skills, the new federal funding is good news. Although most schools will still face significant economic challenges, only a few systems can claim that they need to cut back services for their most needy students. The teachers, administrators and parents responsible for struggling learners should all be aware of these realities. Teachers may lose some amenities, but they should not need to give up essential materials, training or support. Administrators may have to fight for their fair share of funds, but for the most part, funds should be there. Parents can’t expect miracles, but they can expect that the mandated education that their children need should be funded.

 Some schools may even have an unusual opportunity to explore new options at this time. If you have students who are not responding well to your current curricula, you may find funds this spring and summer to try new ones. After this spring there will also be special funds (for which you will need to write grant applications) for trying innovative methodologies and advancing educational standards. The new Secretary of Education has some interesting ideas, and for at least the next two or three years, he will have sizable funds to implement his initiatives.    

It certainly makes sense to spend your money wisely in any environment, but the pressure to do so now is even greater. At Stevenson Learning Skills, we have always felt that effective instruction does not need to be expensive instruction. Unfortunately, in the great push to research reading interventions that are educationally effective, no one seems to have bothered to research interventions that are also cost effective. The Stevenson Program has helped many students who have not responded effectively to other specialized interventions. Given the time and expense of any intervention, it is always more cost effective to succeed than it is to fail. However, some effective programs can still be very expensive. The Stevenson Program uses research-based methods to teach a solid core of basic language skills, but it requires much less investment than most.