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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Do educators say US schools still need billions of dollars to cope with the coronavirus?

By Esther Honig
YES

Early in the summer, two public-education administrator groups estimated U.S. schools needed $8.3 billion just to provide masks and some other needed protective gear in order to safely reopen in the fall.

Congress approved $13.5 billion in emergency K-12 school funding in March as part of an overall relief bill, along with another $3 billion for discretionary use by governors. Much of that funding went to support immediate needs like technology for distance learning. A second bill proposed in the House in October would allocate another $225 billion for education, but hasn't progressed.

As schools reopened in recent months, there were many reports of teachers spending their own money to purchase items like masks and sanitizing supplies. With forecasts of huge revenue shortfalls ahead for state and local governments, local governments are stretched to provide for their needs.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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