Schools need to go beyond just ensuring they are open to help students during the pandemic and should use federal stimulus funds to increase access to tutoring and mental health counseling, Miguel A. Cardona, the education secretary, said on Thursday.
Mr. Cardona said the department has distributed all $122 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to states. The stimulus money was meant to help schools safely reopen during the pandemic and aid students in recovering academically from the effects of remote learning.
The secretary urged schools to hire more tutors, social workers and mental health counselors with the funds, challenging district leaders to “set a goal of giving every child that fell behind during the pandemic at least 30 minutes per day, three times a week, with a well-trained tutor.”
“Safely reopening schools is just the baseline. It’s not good enough,” Mr. Cardona said. “We must make up for lost time.”
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