Federal COVID Education Funding: Too Much and Inequitable?

Neal McCluskeySince March, the federal government has enacted two big COVID-19 relief bills affecting elementary and secondary education, and there is another, colossal bill on the way. The combination of the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA), and developing Biden plan would provide nearly $212 billion for K-12 education according to the estimate itemized below. This is a  huge sum considering that in a normal year – 2018 – we spenta  total of $832 billion on elementary and secondary education.I am interested in two major questions about this funding: Is it being shared equitably between public and private schools, and is it sufficient to cope with COVID-19? Below is a  breakdown of K-12 funding under the two passed, and one proposed, acts.According to this estimate, public schools will have received an estimated $3,920 per student, and private schools $2,276, when all is said and done. This is inequitable for private schools if we want to treat all kids equally and all have been impacted by COVID-19. However, if the goal is to direct funds to low ‐​income students, this may be equitable because public schools serve higher shares of such students.Whether federal aid should benefit all students or just low ‐​income has been a source of contentionthroughout the COVID struggle. Much of the aid has been parceled out based on low ‐​income shares of total enrollm...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs