Skip to main content
				  About Us
Contact Us
FAQs
					Language Assistance
						English
							español
							中文: 繁體版
							Việt-ngữ
							한국어
							Tagalog
							Русский


U.S. Department of Education
Search for: Toggle navigation
		  U.S. Department of Education
	  Student Loans
Grants
Laws
Data U.S. Department of Education Continues Aggressive Plan to Safely Reopen Schools
                                                          Archived InformationU.S. Department of Education Continues Aggressive Plan to Safely Reopen Schools
Will Help Schools Navigate Reopening, Share Best Practices, and Access Billions in Funds to Support Safe School Reopening Through the American Rescue Plan
March 12, 2021
**Contact:** Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
Following President Biden's signing the American Rescue Plan into law, the U.S. Department of Education announced additional details on its plans to support schools in safely returning to in-person instruction. The Department of Education will provide best practices, guidance, and support to schools as they navigate reopening, while the American Rescue Plan will provide $130 billion to help schools implement these safe reopening measures and address the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. These efforts are part of U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona's priority to support schools, campuses, and students across the country and were outlined in President Biden's Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers.

"Students learn best in schools," Secretary Cardona said. "Our top priority is to make sure America's schools continue to reopen as safely and as quickly as possible, and our job is to provide states, districts, educators, and families with the resources they need to do so. Now that the American Rescue Plan has been signed into law, we can get states and districts additional funding to reopen safely and address the needs of students. These actions will provide schools, educators, and families with additional support to make sure our students and communities emerge from this challenge stronger." While Cardona recognizes that there's no one-size-fits-all solution to reopening schools, the Department will work with state and local communities to ensure schools and campuses are quickly able to access and utilize funds from the American Rescue Plan and know how to utilize them to support their reopening efforts and address the needs of students.

Today's announcements include additional information on the steps the Department is taking to help schools and communities share best practices around reopening and how to implement effective solutions.

**The Department will convene a virtual National Safe School Reopening Summit this month** to share best practices, discuss successful mitigation and reopening strategies, and learn from students, educators, and other experts. The Summit will offer a forum for researchers and practitioners to discuss strategies for addressing the social, emotional, and academic needs of students—with a focus on those students most underserved—as many schools across the country continue their work to safely reopen. It will also feature experts from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Education who will discuss how schools can safely reopen and how the Biden Administration is providing support and resources to schools, educators, and students as they work to reopen safely and address student needs.

**The Department is launching the "Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse" called for in President Biden's Executive Order, starting with the "Lessons from the Field" webinar series.**  The Clearinghouse will highlight lessons learned and best practices that can help schools and districts identify opportunities to best utilize American Rescue Plan funds to meet their unique needs. The Clearinghouse will include resources that target the needs of students and teachers, faculty and staff in early childhood programs, K-12 schools, and colleges and universities in three main areas:

**Safe and Healthy Environments:** School and campus approaches to implementing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommended mitigation strategies and preparing for and sustaining in-person operations safely.

	**Providing Supports to Students:** School and campus strategies to meet student social, emotional, mental health, academic, financial, and other needs, including access to food and other basic needs.

	**Teacher, Faculty, and Staff Well-Being, Professional Development, and Supports:** School and campus strategies to address the social, emotional, health, and other needs of teachers, faculty, and staff.The Clearinghouse's "Lessons from the Field" webinar series will begin on March 31.  The Department welcomes lessons learned and best practices from the field for consideration for the Clearinghouse, including those with an educational equity focus. Submissions should be sent via email to: Bestpracticesclearinghouse@ed.gov. Please visit https://bestpracticesclearinghouse.ed.gov/ for more information about the Clearinghouse.

**The Department will release Volume 2 of the K-12 COVID-19 Handbook for districts, schools, and educators in early April.** This volume will provide research-based strategies to address the impact of COVID-19 on students, educators, and staff, especially for historically underserved students and communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. In February, the Department released the first volume of the COVID-19 Handbook, which provided educators and staff with practical examples, roadmaps, and tools to implement CDC's K-12 operational strategy for in-person learning, including the recommended five key mitigation measures. Since the release of Volume 1, the Department and CDC have transmitted the handbook and offered technical assistance to educators; state and local elected officials in every state and territory, including governors, chief state school officers, state boards of education, state legislative leaders and staff, mayors, and superintendents; and thousands of stakeholder organizations across the country.

In addition to the American Rescue Plan, these actions are key parts of the Biden Administration's national strategy to provide states, early childhood providers, schools, districts, and campuses with the support and resources they need to reopen safely for in-person instruction. Last week, the President also directed all U.S. states and territories to prioritize vaccinations of teachers and staff in Pre-K-12 schools and childcare providers throughout this month, with the goal of all providing these frontline essential workers with at least one vaccine dose by the end of March.
Tags:    SafetyCoronavirusPress Releases
		How Do I Find...?
    
  
  Student loans, forgiveness
Higher Education Rulemaking
College accreditation
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
FERPA
FAFSA
1098, tax forms
More...
Information About...
    
  
  Elevating Teaching
Early Learning
Engage Every Student
Unlocking Career Success
Cybersecurity
Search press releases
  
			  Search for:
Find By Month
    
  
  February 2024
      January 2024
      December 2023
      November 2023
      October 2023
      September 2023
      August 2023
      July 2023
      June 2023
      May 2023
      April 2023
      March 2023
  
  
  
  
      All Press Releases




*Our mission* is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
		Student Loans
Repaying Loans
Defaulted Loans
Loan Forgiveness
Loan ServicersGrants & Programs
Apply for Pell Grants
Grants Forecast
Apply for a Grant
		
		Laws & Guidance
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
FERPA
Civil Rights
IDEA WebsiteData & Research
Education Statistics
Postsecondary Education Data
ED Data Express
Nation's Report Card
What Works Clearinghouse
Open Data Platform
COVID Relief Data
		About Us
Contact Us
ED Offices
Jobs
Press Releases
FAQs
Recursos en español
Budget, Performance
Privacy Program
Homeroom Blog
	Notices
FOIA
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Security
Information Quality
Inspector General
Whitehouse.gov
USA.gov
Benefits.gov
Regulations.gov