Hurricane relief (http://hurricanehelpforschools.gov/).
As noted in the last issue, the Department's Fiscal Year 2006
appropriations includes $1.6 billion in hurricane-related aid, part of
the Hurricane Education Recovery Act. Last week (January 5), Secretary
Spellings announced the immediate availability of some of those funds in
four states for restarting schools and meeting the needs of displaced students. Louisiana and Mississippi will receive $100 million each;
Texas will receive $50 million, and Alabama will receive $3.75 million
(see http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/051230.html). This
week (January 11), the Department offered guidance for all states on
applying for emergency impact aid for displaced students and assistance
for homeless youth. A single application covers both programs (see
http://hurricanehelpforschools.gov/proginfo).