Washington, D.C. - U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) today met with Texas Education Agency Commissioner Shirley Neeley and Higher Education Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes in Washington, D.C. to discuss the progress made in distributing the federal education-related relief for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on to local school districts and schools.
Schools throughout Texas had until yesterday to submit their applications to TEA for Impact Aid and Restart Funding reimbursements to help cover the costs of additional students enrolled in the school as a result of either Hurricane Katrina or Rita. TEA anticipates being able to distribute the first installment of reimbursements within the next two months.
"Texas schools swung their doors wide open to students displaced by the hurricanes and today they are one step closer to receiving the federal aide they need to help cover those costs. Commissioner Neeley and her staff at TEA are working hard to make sure those dollars get to where they are needed the most as quickly as possible," said Brady who led the Texas delegation's effort for equal access to the federal funding in December.
Commissioner Neeley assured Congressman Brady that schools throughout the Eighth District would get continued support from Texas Education Agency with Adequately Yearly Progress leniency and increased funding.
On December 19, 2005, Congress approved the Department of Defense Appropriations bill including $29 billion for Hurricane Relief. Of the total $29 billion, $1.6 billion was set aside for education hurricane recovery, to among other things, reimburse schools that took on students and aide schools that were heavily affected by one or more of the hurricanes and need to restart their activities. TEA will serve as the distributing agency for the federal funds to impacted schools throughout Texas.
Ultimately, Texas schools will be reimbursed by the federal government $6,000 per hurricane displaced student. The money will be allocated in $1500 per quarter per student installments to the school for as long as the student is enrolled this school year. Some schools with higher Katrina student enrollments may have already received an advance on those funds from TEA.
At the highest point of enrollment, Texas schools had taken on over 48,000 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Currently, about 38,000 students from Louisiana and Mississippi still remain in Texas schools.
The $1.6 billion for hurricane education funding also included $200 million in aide for higher education Commissioner Paredes said should go a long way helping reimburse Texas colleges that took in the more than 4,000 displaced Hurricane Katrina students.
Background:
Impact Aid Funding
The Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students program will provide assistance to local education agencies for the cost of educating students enrolled in public and nonpublic schools who were displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita during the 2005-2006 school year. Primarily these funds are used for "in-the-classroom expenses" related to the actual education of the students.
Restart Funding
Funds awarded under the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations (Restart) program, authorized under section 102 of the Hurricane Education Recovery Act, support local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonpublic schools with expenses related to the restart of operations in, the reopening of, and the re-enrollment of students in elementary and secondary schools that serve an area in which the Federal government declared a major disaster related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. These funds are used after a disaster to rebuild and clean up facilities or provide temporary classrooms. Funds may also be used for necessary transportation expenses among other uses.
