The American Rescue Plan: An Era of Recovery

The United States Capitol Building

Last March, schools across Massachusetts and the country closed their doors and moved to virtual learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One year later, the American Rescue Plan was signed into law. From long lines at food banks to unforeseen small business closures to unprecedented levels of housing insecurity, the pandemic has brought to national attention the racial and economic disparities persistent throughout our society. The American Rescue Plan was signed as a first major step towards responding to the inequities created and exacerbated by the pandemic. More specifically, components of the American Rescue Plan focus on challenges faced by schools and families, such as equitable education finance and nutrition assistance provisions.

“Murray recognizes that when students return back to school, ‘these are not the same students nor the same schools that were happening in March of 2020,’ and stresses that schools cannot revert to business as usual.”

I spoke with MAC Executive Director Kevin Murray about his thoughts on the American Rescue Plan during a pivotal period in education, “of what we would dare call recovery.” Murray recognizes that when students return back to school, “these are not the same students nor the same schools that were happening in March of 2020,” and stresses that schools cannot revert to business as usual.

What influenced the creation of the American Rescue Plan?

COVID-19 has created “hugely varying impacts across school districts and even within individual schools.” Disproportionately impacted by the pandemic are Black and Latinx families, low-income families, and families with students with disabilities. The pandemic has highlighted the need to prioritize equity in education policy, and a core theme of the American Rescue Plan is equity.

How does the American Rescue Plan relate to MAC’s work?

Through the MAC Chat series, Helpline, and the COVID-19 Information Clearinghouse, MAC works side-by-side with families to navigate barriers to education. The connection between the American Rescue Plan and MAC is a shared mission to find a way for students to “go back [to school] in a way that is really equitable.” Additionally, the availability of resources, “will change the discussion around recovery in the education sector, especially focused on the communities and the families that [MAC] works with so we see it as having a direct relationship to all the various areas in which we have programs.”

What is the greatest strength of the American Rescue Plan?

Money. The American Rescue Plan provides an “unprecedented volume of resources” to school districts and states. Ten percent of funding ($122.8 billion) will be distributed to states and the remaining 90 percent will be allocated to school districts based on the share of Title I funding received under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The pressing question is: Can school districts spend their funding on programs that respond to, “the situation of students coming back to school,” and communities that have suffered the most from COVID-19? With the money made available by the American Rescue Plan, “everybody who is interested in equity in education has an opportunity,” to benefit from potentially innovative and inclusive programming.

Appropriations for programs included in the education stabilization fund: $2.7 billion Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools, $39.6 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, and $122.8 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Total $165.1 billion. Source: Congressional Research Service

How can schools support families in accessing benefits of the American Rescue Plan?

First, schools must connect with families. As students return to schools, schools need to create “very active and aggressive engagement with families.” Second, schools should create a district-level diagnostic analysis “to identify who in the community has really been affected” and “to develop specific programs” designed to suit the needs of families. Third, school districts need to make every effort to educate families on how programs under the American Rescue Plan are being implemented in their communities.

The American Rescue Plan represents an unprecedented opportunity for schools to use the period of the return to school to address some of the longstanding racial and income inequities in public education. This is not a time to focus on “getting back to normal.” The Plan will place large amounts of resources in the hands of some of the country’s most disadvantaged school districts. Students, parents, educators and other education stakeholders must learn what resources are coming into their communities and how decisions will be made about the use of these resources. If this moment passes us by, it may be a very long time before we have another moment of such opportunity.

David Spicer is a Communications Intern at MAC and a sophomore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in political science and philosophy. Please reach out to dspicer@massadvocates.org with questions or comments.