ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Larry Hogan and State Superintendent Karen Salmon announced $210 million in additional funding to help Maryland schools and students most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This funding, allocated through the federal CARES Act, will be used to ensure that more students have access to remote learning, and expand targeted tutoring initiatives for at-risk students.
"For six straight years, we have provided historically high state funding for our schools, while fighting for more accountability for Maryland parents, teachers, and taxpayers, and working to achieve better results for our children," Hogan said. "Education has been and will continue to be our administration's highest priority. While many states have already seen significant cuts and layoffs, in Maryland, we are going to do everything we possibly can to level-fund K-12 education.”
So far, the governor’s office says more than $255 million in federal aid has been set aside to help students affected by the impact of the virus on education.
The announcement includes $100 million to help local school systems have access to the most up-to-date devices and connectivity
Another $100 million will go toward implementing tutoring, to deal with learning loss due to time away from direct instruction and teacher intervention.
The other $10 million will go toward rural broadband for students’ use in Western Maryland, Southern Maryland, and on the Eastern Shore.
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This network will initially be constructed in the areas that currently lack broadband service, but could be expanded to cover other areas of the state where access may be limited for other reasons.
“Long-standing gaps in educational opportunity and access have been further exposed and widened by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Salmon said. “Our goal with these resources is to give local school systems the support and flexibility to help ensure that students most impacted during the crisis receive intense focus and priority in our recovery efforts."