The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) provides an update to a September 2020 article on how states have invested federal relief funds to support education. States commonly invested the funds to purchase COVID-19 mitigation supplies, address the digital divide, and provide direct support to schools, higher education institutions, and early childhood education providers.
This update highlights how the Maine legislature continued to keep schools safe for in-person learning by investing part of the $364 million it allocated for K-12 education to make facility modifications to increase social distancing capacity and add school medical staff.
Additionally, in efforts to close the digital divide, the Mississippi legislature allocated $200 million to support rural broadband expansion and purchase hardware for students.
