Massachusetts Education Stimulus
Recovery & Reinvestment Act for education in the state of Massachusetts
Summary
Massachusetts will receive education-related funding from the American Recovery and Reinvesting Act of 2009 (ARRA), through two principal avenues:
- $1.48 billion to be distributed through the U.S. Department of Education.
- $994 million through the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds. These funds go directly to the governor to use for what they determine to be "critical services", which can include funds to public colleges and universities and local school districts in Massachusetts for financial aid and operating costs. The governor can also direct money from this fund to private colleges and universities to modernize facilities or for other purposes.
Massachusetts Education Stimulus Breakdown
Higher Education Funds
The educational stimulus package includes a variety of higher education and vocational training funds and grants for Massachusetts:
- An increase in 2009 Pell Grant funding of $105.6 million over 2008 funds. The 103,000 current Pell Grant recipients in Massachusetts will receive an increase in the average award for the 2009-10 academic year from $3400 to $3,850.
- An additional $9.25 million for student financial assistance through grants to institutions to assist in the operation of work-study programs under the Higher Education Act.
- $280 million for Special Education Part B State Grants to help improve educational outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
- $10.3 million in education technology funds to purchase up-to-date computers and software and provide professional development.
- $209 million for Title I Education for the Disadvantaged.
Massachusetts's higher education students and institutions are also eligible to apply for the following grants funded by the stimulus package:
Community College and Career Training Grants
An institution in Massachusetts is eligible for only one grant, not to exceed $1,000,000, by demonstrating that it has reached out to employers to identify shortcomings in existing training opportunities within the community.
Teacher Certification and Training
Teacher quality enhancement grants are available to Massachusetts colleges and universities and eligible partnerships on a competitive basis.
Education and Human Resources
Provides grants for colleges and universities in Massachusetts to attract math and science teachers, and grants to improve match and science in K-12 schools.
Health Professional Training Program
Provides funding for the National Health Services Corporation (NHSC), which recruits and trains health professionals to deliver health care in underserved communities in Massachusetts.
Demonstration Program to Integrate Information Technology into Clinical Education
Provides grants to medical schools and medical related graduate schools in Massachusetts to carryout demonstration projects and develop academic criteria integrating EHR technology in the clinical education of health professionals.
Education tax credits
The federal education stimulus package also includes the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This modifies the federal higher-education tax credit established in 1997, which benefited middle-income students in Massachusetts by offsetting their tax liability. The new credit is “refundable,” meaning that lower-income households in Massachusetts that have limited or no federal income tax liability can now receive a partial credit in the form of a tax “refund" of up to 40 percent of qualifying expenses for a maximum refund of $1,000. This will potentially benefit 71,000 more students in Massachusetts.
Stimulus Breakdown (2008 vs. 2009)
City Specific Data - Where the money is going
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