More Resources Hurricane Ed. Recovery Act Applications and Information About Hurricane Ed. Recovery Act Programs

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced today that more than $253 million from the Hurricane Education Recovery Act will be immediately available to restart school operations and meet the education needs of displaced students in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama.

"We are announcing today that we will be sending $100 million each to Louisiana and Mississippi, $50 million to Texas, and $3.75 million to Alabama as the first installment of the resources that are so desperately needed by the Gulf States," said Secretary Spellings.

"I have had the opportunity to visit each one of these states, as have my deputy and the head of my office for elementary and secondary education. I saw firsthand the severe devastation to the education community there. We are most anxious to get these resources on the ground, and we have worked closely with the state education chiefs in these states to make sure we have sound data on the affected schools and safeguards in place as these funds are administered, so these federal resources will flow not only where they are needed but also be delivered as quickly and effectively as possible."

The funds are the first from the $750 million that Congress has appropriated for restarting schools in the hurricane-affected states. Under this program, the Department is authorized to award funds to the state education agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama. These state agencies will use the funding to help local school districts and nonpublic schools defray expenses related to the reopening of, restart of operations in, and the re-enrollment of students in elementary and secondary schools that serve the areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The Hurricane Education Recovery Act will also provide funding under two other grant programs. The Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program will provide assistance to local education agencies for the cost of educating students enrolled in public and nonpublic schools who were displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita during the school year 2005-06. The Assistance for Homeless Youths program will provide a separate source of funding to state education agencies to address the needs of homeless students displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Department will use data on displaced public school students collected under the Emergency Impact Aid program to make allocations under the Assistance for Homeless Youths program.

More information on the Hurricane Education Recovery Act can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/051230.html.

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