Recently, the Georgia Department of Education announced it will be allocating $6 million to school districts to help them serve students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that amount, Glynn County Schools will be receiving $23,872 from the FY21 IDEA Supplemental Relief Allocation and another $23,872from the FY21 CARES Act Education Allocation for a total of $47,744.
Dr. Pam McKinnon, Director of Special Education Services and Supports, says this funding will be used to help her department continue offering appropriate services to students who need them.
“Since we are still in the midst of the pandemic, the negative impact it has had on our students, especially those with disabilities in Glynn County, is still being assessed,” McKinnon said.
“We are grateful for the additional funds allocated to special education by the Georgia Department of Education. These additional funds will be extremely helpful in offsetting increased costs that we expect to incur as we make every effort to bring our students to a level they would be – had it not been for the pandemic – and to assist in ensuring they do not fall even further behind.”
State School Superintendent Richard Woods recommended the funding allocations, which were approved by the State Board of Education. The allocation is a combination of federal funds from the CARES Act (the COVID-19 stimulus bill) and IDEA funds for supplemental relief.
“It is critical that we ensure students who receive special education services do not fall behind as a result of the pandemic,” Superintendent Woods said. “These funds will be specifically directed, on a district-by-district level, toward safeguarding access and opportunity for students who require special education services.”
The funds are a formula grant; the amount allocated to each school district was based on the amount of funding that districts received from the IDEA 611 grant – an annual federal grant all states receive to support special education and related services – in the current fiscal year.