Statement from Deborah Delisle, President and CEO of the Alliance for Excellent Education, on the COVID-19 Relief Bill
For Release: December 21, 2020
Contact: Phillip Lovell, 202-494-5004, plovell@all4ed.org
Washington, DC—“Teachers have been educating students for months, primarily in remote settings, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Congress is finally offering much needed support. Although it is less than what has previously been proposed by both Democrats and Republicans, the Alliance for Excellent Education appreciates the $54 billion provided in this bill for our nation’s K-12 students.
COVID-19 is expanding opportunity gaps that have long plagued our education system. While these new resources will be helpful, the degree of learning loss resulting from COVID-19 calls for an even more significant response in the coming weeks and months, particularly in high-speed home internet access and devices. One in three Black, Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students do not have high-speed home internet access and are more likely than their White peers to be disconnected from online learning, according to an analysis we released in partnership with National Indian Education Association, National Urban League, and UnidosUS. The Heroes Act proposed $12 billion and the Senate bipartisan agreement proposed $3 billion to connect students, but this bill provides no funding to directly address the Homework Gap. What we offer to our students tells them what it is we value. When it comes to closing the Homework Gap, Congress is failing our most vulnerable students. Let’s make all students a priority now.”
Deborah S. Delisle is the president and CEO of the Alliance for Excellent Education and served as Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education from 2012 to 2015.
The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. all4ed.org