Total Recovery Act: $787 Billion
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Total Recovery Act: $787 Billion

January 05, 2011 1 min read
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal government’s $787 billion economic-stimulus package, provided more than $100 billion in funding for education programs. In addition to preventing the loss of education jobs because of budget cuts, the ARRA legislation, signed into law in February 2009, also aimed to promote innovative education policies. In August 2010, the Education Jobs Fund sent an additional $10 billion in federal aid to states to help avert teacher layoffs.

The largest share of the education funding in the ARRA was directed to K-12 programs through the U.S. Department of Education. The department received slightly more than $79 billion that could be used for that purpose. More than half of that money was allocated to the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to help states restore funding for education programs cut from their budgets as a result of the economic downturn. Most of the money in that Stabilization Fund was distributed to states based on population; $5 billion in discretionary incentive and innovation grants was awarded through competitive processes.

Download a detailed chart that breaks down stimulus funding (PDF)

Related Tags:
Economy Federal Budget/Funding Stimulus Department of Education

SOURCES: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; EPE Research Center, 2011; U.S. Department of Education, 2010.

Note: Higher education programs receiving ARRA funds through the U.S. Department of Education include: Federal Pell Grants ($15.64 billion), mandatory Pell Grants supplemental funding ($1.474 billion), Vocational Rehabilitation state grants ($540 million), Federal Work-Study ($200 million), and Student Aid Administration ($60 million). Other education-related programs receiving ARRA funds include: Head Start ($2.1 billion), Child Care and Development ($2 billion), IDEA Part C grants for infants and families ($500 million), IDEA Part B preschool grants ($400 million), Independent Living ($140 million), Child Nutrition ($100 million), Education and Human Resources ($100 million), YouthBuild ($50 million), and the Office of the Inspector General ($14 million).

In March 2024, Education Week announced the end of the Quality Counts report after 25 years of serving as a comprehensive K-12 education scorecard. In response to new challenges and a shifting landscape, we are refocusing our efforts on research and analysis to better serve the K-12 community. For more information, please go here for the full context or learn more about the EdWeek Research Center.

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