Senator Fedor speaks about House Bill 170 on the Senate floor.
Last week, state Senator Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) applauded the Ohio Senate’s passage of House Bill 170, which appropriates federal Covid-19 relief dollars to schools across the state.
“It has been three months since we passed a version of this bill back in March,” Fedor said. “School districts have already started requesting these funds from the state to combat both the school funding shortfall and the coronavirus pandemic’s detrimental effects on education. It is imperative that we get these relief dollars to Ohio schools as soon as possible. Parents, teachers and students in the communities that we represent are depending on us.”
House Bill 170 appropriates a total of $787 million to the Ohio Department of Education to provide additional federal emergency relief funds to public and nonpublic schools. These funds will help schools offer programs to address learning loss and keep learning environments safe and healthy.
In addition to funding for schools, House Bill 170 also appropriates $7 million of dedicated funds for fiscal year 2021 to the Adjutant General for coronavirus relief efforts and $173 million of federal funds to the Department of Health for Public Health Emergency Response for fiscal year 2021.
“Our schools do so much more than educate our students,” Fedor said. “They connect students with resources that help with trauma and provide social-emotional support. Nearly 50% of children live in poverty, and in many cases, schools provide the only meals some children get in a day. They provide a superior service to our children and continued to do so in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. As this is the last week of the 2020 pandemic school year, these dollars are coming just in time.”