(Des Moines) Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education today announced that more than $11.5 million in federal relief funding is available to assist public school districts in providing mental health support and other wraparound services to pre-K-12 students, and support community college efforts in expanding programming to help more Iowans earn short-term credentials needed for in-demand careers.
The $11.5 million is Iowa’s share of more than $1.3 billion in discretionary funds provided through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II Fund), which is part of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act passed in December 2020. Governors in each state were granted a share of discretionary dollars to address critical needs resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.
The funding announced will support the following initiatives:
- Up to $8.67 million in competitive grants to help pre-K-12 school districts coordinate and deliver mental health services and wraparound support to students, youth mental health first aid training and implementation, and suicide prevention services and programming.
- Up to $2.89 million in competitive grants for Iowa’s community colleges to supplement the state’s GAP Tuition Assistance Program, which will help more Iowans whose jobs were impacted by the pandemic to enroll in short-term training and credential programs leading to high-demand jobs in fields like advanced manufacturing, commercial truck driving, information technology, health care and welding.
More information on the process for school districts and community colleges to apply for this round of funding will be provided soon.