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First Education Stimulus Aid Flows to States

Teacher-quality reporting, capital-spending flexibility outlined in new guidance

The first of $44 billion in economic-stimulus aid for education began flowing out to states last week—along with new teacher-quality reporting requirements for states and districts, and significantly more spending flexibility on school construction than many administrators had expected.

New guidance from the U.S. Department of Education spells out in more detail how states, districts, and institutions of higher education will receive money under the $39.8 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund and the $8.8 billion Government Services Fund, as well as how they may use it.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who unveiled the first payments at a school in Capitol Heights, Md., emphasized that the funding could be a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. “We have this magical opportunity to invest significantly in these best practices and scale up what works,” he said of aid under the American...