Using American Rescue Plan Funds to Address Teacher Shortages
In March, President Joseph Biden signed in to law the American Rescue Plan Act (commonly referred to as ‘ARP’), which included more than $120 billion to help schools safely reopen for in-person learning. The funding can be used in a variety of ways, including to address the nation’s teacher shortage by placing teacher candidates in K12 classrooms. AACTE created a Toolkit to help members navigate conversations with state or local education leaders about using ARP funding for this purpose.
The Department of Education recently sent a letter reiterating that school districts can use ARP funding to address teacher and staff shortages and provided specific examples, including partnering with institutions of higher education to provide additional supports to educators through the use of teaching candidates and developing and implementing high-quality comprehensive teacher residency programs.
This is a unique opportunity that will help address the teacher shortage. Please contact me at mrose@aacte.org, if you have any questions or would like additional information about the Toolkit or AACTE’s advocacy work.
Tags: federal issues, funding, shortage
