Tell Me More, Tell Me More: Three New Federal Education Initiatives Announced This Summer That You Need to Know About

While schools may have been out on summer break, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and Biden administration have been at work. It feels like there have been a plethora of announcements from ED on different new initiatives and funding, so it can be hard to keep track of what is going on. Below is a breakdown of some key initiatives announced this summer.

Headline: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Launches National Effort to Support Student Success  

What you need to know: This announcement was a call to action from President Biden for districts and schools to use their remaining American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds on high-quality tutoring, summer learning and enrichment, and after-school programs. In support of this national effort, the administration announced the launch of the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS) to add an additional 250,000 tutors and mentors over the next three years. NPSS is a collaboration with ED, AmeriCorps, and the Johns Hopkins University Everyone Graduates Center, established to recruit, train, place, and support screened adults to help with student learning.

Additionally, ED announced plans to expand the Best Practices Clearinghouse by asking education leaders to nominate work so that parents, educators, and communities know how federal dollars are being spent. The Best Practices Clearinghouse highlights ways that states, districts, and schools are using ARP funding to support learning recovery, increased academic opportunities, and mental wellness. 

Headline: U.S. Department of Education Announces Engage Every Student Initiative to Ensure Every Student Has Access to High-Quality Learning

What you need to know: The Engage Every Student Initiative builds off President Biden’s call to action in supporting the use of ARP funds to expand access to high-quality out-of-school time (OST) programs. This initiative will partner with education organizations and advocacy groups to provide technical assistance to education leaders in one central database, as well as create a $3–4 million dollar contract that will be awarded in FY2023 to provide best practices in program implementation for summer and out-of-school time.

Headline: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Two New Actions to Address Youth Mental Health Crisis

What you need to know: As part of the recently passed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in response to the Uvalde shooting, two new competitive grants offer close to $300 million in FY2022 for mental health support in schools.

• The Mental Health Service Professional (MHSP) Demonstration Grant Program will provide over $140 million to support strengthening the pipeline for the mental health profession, including partnerships to prepare school-based mental health services providers for employment in schools.
   
• The School-Based Mental Health (SBMH) Services Grant Program will provide over $140 million to states and school districts to increase the number of mental health services providers delivering school-based services to students in local education agencies (LEAs) with demonstrated need. The goal being to increase the number of school psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals serving students.

As a reminder, LEAs have until September 30, 2024, to obligate their ARP funds. Check out our blog post for an overview of the requirements and spending timelines of the federal coronavirus relief funds.