U.S. Department of Education 
On April 1, the U.S. Department of Education posted on its Recovery website (http://www.ed.
gov/recovery) a number of documents on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including:

• State Fiscal Stabilization Fund cover letter (with an overview of data metrics), application and guidance;
• Title I, Part A guidance;
• IDEA, Part B guidance;
• IDEA, Part C fact sheet and guidance;
• Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants fact sheet and guidance; and
• Independent Living Programs fact sheet and guidance.

Please visit the website above to access all of this information. Also, click here to read a press release and here to read the statement of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

On March 7, the U.S. Department of Education (USED) released preliminary guidance on and information about the release of ARRA funds for key education programs. Included are a general overview, a fact sheet on the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, a fact sheet on Title I and a fact sheet on IDEA Part B. Below is a summary of key points:

State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF): The Department will award SFSF funds to governors in two phases. By the end of March, USED well make available a streamlined application for use by governors. Within two weeks of receipt of the application that contains the required information, USED will release to the state 67 percent  of its SFSF allocation.  

To receive its initial SFSF allocation, a state must submit to USED an application that

(1) provides assurances that it will take actions to:

(a) increase teacher effectiveness and address inequities in the distribution of highly qualified teachers;

(b) establish and use pre-K-through-college and career data systems to track progress and foster continuous improvement;

(c) make progress toward rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments; and

(d) support targeted, intensive support and effective interventions to turn around schools identified for corrective action and restructuring; 

(2) contains baseline data that demonstrates the state's current status in each of the four education reform areas; and

(3) includes a description of how the state intends to use its stabilization allocation. 

If a state demonstrates that the amount of funds it will receive in phase one (67 percent of its total stabilization allocation) is insufficient to prevent the immediate layoff of personnel by LEAs, state educational agencies, or publicly funded institutions of higher education, USED will award the state up to 90 percent of its SFSF allocation in phase one. 

A state will receive the remaining portion of its SFSF allocation after USED approves the state's plan detailing its strategies for addressing the education reform objectives described in the assurances. This plan must also describe how the state is implementing the record-keeping and reporting requirements under ARRA and how SFSF and other funding will be used in a fiscally prudent way that substantially improves teaching and learning.

In the near future, the Department will issue guidance on the specific requirements that a state must meet to receive its phase two allocation. The Department anticipates that the phase-two funds will be awarded beginning July 1, 2009, on a rolling basis.

SFSF money is available for state fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Funds are available for obligation at the state and local levels until Sept. 30, 2011. 

State Incentive Grants: USED is now calling this the Race to the Top Fund.  Guidelines and applications for these competitive funds for states will be posted expeditiously. Race to the Top grants will be made in two rounds—fall 2009 and spring 2010. 

Title I, Part A: USED will release 50 percent of a state's Title I ARRA's allocation by the end of  March.  No new application is required. These funds will be sent to State Education Agencies, which must distribute 96% of the funds to eligible school districts (see info below on a required 4% set-aside below). In order to receive the remaining Title I, Part A recovery funds, a state must submit, for review and approval by USED, an amendment to its Consolidated Application that addresses how it will meet the recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the ARRA. The second half of the Title I funds will be made available between July 1 and September 30, 2009. Note that the "regular" FY 2009 Title I funds will be distributed in accordance with the normal cycle - on July 1, 2009 and on October 1, 2009. 

Even though the Title I funds are considered FY 2009 funds (normally available for the 2009-10 school year), states may award funds to LEAs based on their current approved applications.  It thus appears that some of the Title I funds may be spent this current school year (2008-09). 

In the absence of a waiver, an LEA must obligate at least 85 percent of its total FY 2009 Title I, Part A funds (including ARRA funds) by Sept. 30, 2010. Any remaining FY 2009 Title I, Part A funds will be available for obligation until Sept. 30, 2011. 

A state must reserve 4 percent of its Title I, Part A recovery funds for school improvement activities under section 1003(a) of the ESEA. Of this 4 percent of funds, at least 95 percent must be allocated directly to LEAs for school improvement activities.  This pot of school improvement funds is in addition to the $3 billion provided in ARRA for Title I school improvement, grants (discussed below). 

USED says that the Secretary will consider waivers of several Title I rules including Maintenance of Effort (MOE), 20% set-aside for SES/school choice expenses, the per-pupil amount for SES, the limitation that no more than  15% of  Title I funds may be carried over into the succeeding school year. 

Title I School Improvement Grants: These formula funds will be made available to state education agencies beginning in fall 2009, and will be conditioned upon receipt of further information that will be outlined in future guidance. 

IDEA Part B: As with Title I, USED will release 50 percent  of the ARRA IDEA funds to state education agencies by the end of March. As with Title I, no new application is required. The remaining 50 percent  will be awarded on October 1, 2009. In order to receive the remaining 50 percent of IDEA, Part B recovery funds, a state must submit, for review and approval by the Department, an amendment to its FY 2009 application to address the recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the ARRA. As with Title I, the regular FY 2009 IDEA funds will be awarded on July 1 and October 1, 2009.  

LEA eligibility for the first 50 percent of the IDEA recovery funds is based on eligibility established by the LEA for FY 2008 funds. A state should make the Part B Grants to States and Preschool Grants recovery funds that it receives in March available to LEAs by the end of April 2009. 

LEAs should obligate the majority of these funds during school years 2008–09 and 2009–10 and the remainder during school year 2010–11. States may begin obligating IDEA, Part B recovery funds immediately upon the effective date of the grant. All IDEA recovery funds must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2011.  

State-level MOE may be waived under Part B of the IDEA by the Secretary of Education on a state-by-state basis, for a single year at a time, for exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances, such as a natural disaster or a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the financial resources of a state. LEA-level MOE may not be waived.