On Katrina's 2nd Anniversary, U.S. Urged to Bolster Aid for School Recovery

The U.S. government showed a “massive failure” in its response to the educational troubles that arose in the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, and it now needs to raise its level of assistance dramatically, the Southern Education Foundation contends in a new report .

Released two years to the day after the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, the report amasses a range of data to argue that the federal government’s response to the post-storm challenges faced by K-12 and higher education fell far short—and that it’s not too late to shift course.

“What is urgently needed now is a full, well-executed strategy through national public policy to ensure that the resources are in place to provide a quality education for Gulf Coast children, lest they be victimized twice—first by the storms and second by indifference or...