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

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.