(Lincoln, NE) -- Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts backs a bill in the Unicameral that would help low-income students who have fallen behind in school due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill, LB-1240, was introduced by State Senator Joni Albrecht and would use $60 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to help students who fell behind in their studies due to virtual learning during the ongoing pandemic.
During a press conference supporting the bill on Tuesday, Ricketts said that the money would be distributed over three years, $20 million each year. "Two-thousand dollars to each child to be able to help get a tutor or digital learning services or whatever it would be, to be able to help that child catch up in their coursework." Ricketts says the students would have to be in the free lunch program in order to be eligible for the funding.
The federal funds from ARPA would be distributed into Family-Directed Education Recovery Accounts for the students who need the help to get caught back up.