Last evening, President Trump signed House Resolution 6201,
the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This is the second supplemental
appropriation related to the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic. The legislation
contains several provisions of interest to education leaders including:
Key Provisions of HR 6201
- Emergency paid sick leave program, including for individuals unable to work because they are caring for a child who is home because of a virus-related school closing.
- Expansion of federal food assistance for families affected by a virus-related school closure of five or more days. The bill permits states to provide emergency food stamp assistance to families where a child would otherwise have been eligible to receive a free or reduced-price school meal.
- Expansion of school meals. Provides USDA new power to grant state waivers for federally subsidized school meals in the event of a school closure, including waivers to states that want to distribute food in different settings outside a school and allow flexibility on meal components.
You can find a summary of the legislation by accessing the House Appropriations
Majority Committee Summary by clicking
here.
Congress and the White House are in negotiations drafting a $1 trillion plus third supplemental emergency spending bill that could pass by the end of the week. Although it is unclear which legislation the White House is targeting, the Administration, late yesterday, asked Congress to provide $150 million in emergency aid to the Department of Education. Of this amount, $100 million would be available to help schools respond to unforeseen COVID-19 related emergencies; $40 million would be available for student loan servicing costs; and $10 million would be set aside for the Department's administrative costs to extend telework. We expect these targeted investments in education to be followed by other supplemental emergency funding.
Congress and the White House are in negotiations drafting a $1 trillion plus third supplemental emergency spending bill that could pass by the end of the week. Although it is unclear which legislation the White House is targeting, the Administration, late yesterday, asked Congress to provide $150 million in emergency aid to the Department of Education. Of this amount, $100 million would be available to help schools respond to unforeseen COVID-19 related emergencies; $40 million would be available for student loan servicing costs; and $10 million would be set aside for the Department's administrative costs to extend telework. We expect these targeted investments in education to be followed by other supplemental emergency funding.
We will continue to monitor developments at the federal and
state levels of government and provide information to you as it becomes
available. If you have any questions, please contact VSBA Government Relations
Specialist, J.T. Kessler, at 434-295-8722 or jason@vsba.org.
