The U.S. Department of Education this week designated Alaska as “a high-risk grantee” because it said the state failed to fairly distribute COVID-19 relief to school districts.
The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act gave over $125 billion to schools across the nation to help cover pandemic-related costs. A March 27 letter from the U.S. Department of Education says that as a condition of receiving $359 million in federal COVID funding, Alaska is required to give $30 million to the highest-need schools in four districts.
The Alaska Department of Education said it “disputes that claim in the strongest possible” terms. According to a March 22 letter, the state says it has already complied with federal requirements and that it doesn’t believe it needs to give out additional funding to districts.
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